Smokin' Summer

About a year ago, my parents gave me a smoker/grill as a kind of nest-warming gift. In that time, we've used it as a grill a fair bit and hadn't really gotten around to the smoking part yet. All that changed the weekend after Memorial Day. Now I will never look at little bits of apple or hickory wood the same, my eyes are always peeled for great sales on whole chickens or large loin roasts, and I find myself sniffing intensely when the familiar waft of wood smoke wanders into my neighborhood. And I am grateful to Dad for it all!

Rather than spend a lot of time talking about the perfect smoker (it's not rocket science, people!) or pontificating on what kind of wood or wood chips are best (Dad gave me a bunch of pieces of apple wood he trimmed from the trees and, I gotta say, free works for me!), I thought I'd give you a bit of an illustrated guide to my adventure in smoking a couple of chickens. If you don't want to join me on that journey, there's also a quick-n-dirty guide/cheat sheet at the end. And now, let's get smokin'...

My husband and I chose a lazy Sunday for our smoking adventure. When we got up in the morning, I took 4 small pieces of apple wood and got them smoking in a bowl of water. I also gathered together a fresh bottle of liquid smoke, 2 cans of beer, and a pair of heavy gloves for handling the various pieces of the smoker that might get uncomfortably warm. The brands of liquid smoke and beer don't matter, but do yourself a favor and don't focus your dollars on them. Save that for nice chickens! Next up - it was time to assemble the smoker.

You can get your coals going in whatever manner you typically do, but we used a chimney to get them evenly hot and ready to go. Use enough charcoal to fill the lower pan evenly. You shouldn't need more than one bowl of charcoal for smoking two birds. Many people highly recommend lining the bowl with heavy foil to make cleanup easy and I can attest to that being a bit of a relief after you've stuffed yourself with smoked chicken, look outside as the last bit of daylight fades, and realize you still need to clean and put away the smoker! You'll notice my smoker has a little raised brick and stone platform it rests on while in use. You don't need anything that involved, but bear in mind that your smoker will be going for something on the order or 4-5 hours and give it some space around it and make sure it's on a surface that's safe for grilling and smoking on. It's also always smart to have a fire extinguisher and water source nearby … just in case. Once our coals were ready and evenly arranged in the lower pan, I removed the soaked wood from its water bath and placed them evenly over the hot coals. Then it was time to set up the drip pan.

Here again, to help with an easier cleanup, I liberally sprayed the upper pan (also known as the drip pan) with cooking spray. Once I was done with that, I carefully positioned it above the charcoal pan. You need to be careful, as the pan below and the sides of the smoker will be hot. Make sure the pan is set and stable before adding liquids to it. I added the water I soaked the wood in, the 2 cans of beer I had out, and half the bottle of liquid smoke to the drip pan. Then I added enough water to reach the rim of the pan, as pictured. Now it was time to fetch the birds!

I got two whole chickens, each weighing between 5-6 pounds. I'd rinsed, cleaned, seasoned, and stuffed the cavities with coarsely chopped onion and lemon the night before. You can tie the chicken legs together to help keep the stuffing items (anything from onions and celery to lemons and apples will work) from falling out. I recommend completing this step in advance as it saves time and effort on smoking day and allows the seasoning to really work into the birds. What did I use for my seasoning? This time around, I used a spice blend from Penzeys that I like called Northwoods Fire. However, you can use just about any seasoning you want. Anything you would use with ribs, steaks, or other grill food will be fine. A lot of people use a bit of poultry seasoning in the mix, too. One of the fantastic things about smoking chickens is that it's hard to go wrong and, even if you do, the mistakes are delicious!

I placed the middle section of my smoker over the coal and drip pans and positioned the metal grill over the top of it. Then I placed the prepared chickens on the grill, making sure there was space around them to allow smoke to move freely about the smoker. Then it was time to place the domed lid on the smoker and promise myself I wouldn't peek! Removing the lid slows the smoking process and loses precious smoke that will help flavor the birds. So be patient. It will be okay. I promise.

Then I waited. I had some coffee. I read a book. My husband got curious and used my nifty temperature gun (it's an infrared thermometer, but doesn't it look like it should be a prop on an episode of Star Trek?) to test the outside temperatures of the smoker. If you're curious, the lid came in at about 150 degrees, while the base was coming in over 400 degrees. If you've done things right, the charcoal will keep a slow, even heat for hours. About halfway through the process, I checked the drip pan to see if it needed more water, but it didn't. You don't need to be babysitting the smoker while it works its magic, but if it's a pretty day, why not enjoy kicking back and enjoying the patio? That was my thought, anyway! And then, about 5 hours later, our eyes were greeted by something delicious-looking:

And it's a damn shame that the Internet cannot share with you how absolutely mouth-watering the aroma that permeated my neighborhood was. That aroma alone nearly makes it all worth it … but that thought quickly faded when I bit into a piece (followed by more pieces) of delicious smoked chicken. If this process seems intimidating to you, fear not. If you take the chickens off the grill too early and they aren't fully cooked, simply finish cooking them in your oven. You will still have delicious smoky flavor. If you fear you've over-cooked them and they seem dry, slice the meat thinly and use it in everything from smoky jambalaya to fantastic summer salads. Like I said earlier, even the mistakes taste amazing! Now, for those looking for a good, go-to guide, here' the one I promised: