SUPER SECRET RECIPES
Dirty Chicken Breasts
The trickiest thing with smoking chicken is that the smoking process is so slow that the chicken will get dried out and rubbery. To combat this we have a magical mysterious process called brining that keeps the chicken moist. After an hour or so of brining (much longer for a whole chicken) we can cook the breasts several hours without them turning into the gruesome chicken jerky. However, brining itself can be tricky. The process involves a salt solution that causes the magical osmosis that keeps the chicken moist. Too little salt in the brine and osmosis will not take place. But, too much salt will make the chicken breasts inedible. Also the brining time will be an important factor. You can’t brine the chicken breasts overnight.
Place chicken breasts in a turkey bag with the following:
Dirty Brine
12 ounces pickling salt (must use scale)
2 quarts water
½ jar of olive juice
Twist tie the bag and put inside yet another plastic bag (to avoid messes) and put in the fridge for about 1 – 1 ½ hours. Use pickling salt because it dissolves in cold water. You must measure it with a scale to be sure you have the right amount. The olive juice is a discovery of Rachel’s. If you’ve ever had a Dirty Martini you know it’s a martini with olive juice hence the Dirty Brine. This makes for some very nice complex flavors in the chicken breast.
In a jar, mix the following ingredients:
Dirty Rub
1 cup sugar
½ cup kosher salt
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon chipotle pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
½ tablespoon celery flakes (ground)
½ tablespoon celery seeds (ground)
I usually grind the celery seeds and flakes together using a liberal amount of each. Kosher salt makes a much nicer crust than table salt when used as a rub. After mixing the ingredients together in a jar, transfer some to a shaker can for sprinkling.
After the breasts have brined for about an hour and a half, rinse them off (to avoid excess salt) and sprinkle both sides of the breasts with the Dirty Rub. Smoke the breasts for at least an hour or two. Don’t worry if they smoke a little too long, they’ve been brined now. They can take it. If they don’t cook enough during the smoking process (it’s low and slow, remember), you can finish them off on a tabletop grill or frying pan. Your Dirty Breasts will taste incredible with a wonderful assortment of flavors. The brining process keeps them moist, the olive juice in the brine adds a subtle flavor. The smoking of course makes the chicken delightful and the Dirty Rub makes it a little spicy and delicious.
A word about cleanliness. It’s not called Dirty Chicken Breasts because they’re dirty. Never save or re-use brine. Chicken presents extra problems with cleanliness. Avoid cross contamination. Do not put cooked chicken on a tray that was used for raw chicken without washing thoroughly. Always be sure chicken is thoroughly cooked before serving.
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