Hot smoked chicken in a smokehouse at home

Step-by-step cooking

1. Step 1:

   

   Prepare the chicken carcasses. Of course, the result will be much tastier and better from poultry than from purchased. Pluck the bird, gut it, scorch the remaining down and small feathers, and then thoroughly wash the bird in clean water.

2. Step 2:

   

   Remove the fat on the abdomen and neck, as well as cut off the tail. Why is it recommended to do this? When smoking, the chicken is cooked at a temperature above 100 degrees, from this fat can drip and fall on the coals, which will contribute to the appearance of fire.

3. Step 3:

   

   Prepare everything you need for the marinade. Peel the garlic and rinse it together with the bay leaf.

4. Step 4:

   

   Pour cold water into a saucepan, add salt, sugar and send everything to the stove.

5. Step 5:

   

   After boiling, add garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves and juniper berries. Any of these components can be excluded according to your taste preferences. Turn down the stove to a minimum and cook the brine for 3 to 5 minutes.

6. Step 6:

   

   Remove the pan from the heat and add a bunch of fresh or a pinch of dry thyme to the marinade. Leave the brine to cool to room temperature.

7. Step 7:

   

   Wash the lemon and parsley..

8. Step 8:

   

   Cut half a lemon into circles.

9. Step 9:

   

   Put the carcasses in a deep large cup or saucepan, pour the marinade.

10. Step 10:

    

    Squeeze out the remaining half of a lemon from above, add the parsley mashed with your hands and sliced citrus slices. You can cut the whole lemon into slices and send them to the marinade, or, if desired, squeeze out the juice from the whole lemon (as you like and more convenient). Set the pressure so that the meat is completely in the brine. Cover the pan with a lid and send the bird to marinate in the refrigerator for a day or two (I usually stand for two days).

11. Step 11:

    

    Remove the pickled chickens from the marinade, dry them with paper napkins and leave them to air for 3-4 hours in a draft. It is very convenient to use a special net for drying fish, if there is no such one, then you can hang chickens on harnesses by wrapping the carcasses with gauze (to prevent dust and insects from entering).

13. Step 12:

    

    Soak the chips in cold water. For smoking, it is better to use a sliver of alder or any fruit trees (I took cherry this time).

14. Step 13:

    

    Cover the bottom of the smokehouse with foil. Melt the fire, wait until there are good coals left.

15. Step 14:

    

    So that the smoke evenly permeates the meat of whole carcasses, place the sticks in the bellies (as in the photo. You can use wooden skewers).

16. Step 15:

    

    Squeeze out the chips.

17. Step 16:

    

    Spread it on the coals.

18. Step 17:

    

    Place the chickens on the grill in the smokehouse and close the lid. Smoke chickens at a temperature of 100-120 degrees from one and a half to two hours.

19. Step 18:

    

    This is how the chickens looked after 30 minutes of smoking.

20. Step 19:

    

    After an hour, the carcasses were already more ruddy.

21. Step 20:

    

    And this is how the bird looked at the end of cooking.

22. Step 21:

    

    Cool the finished chicken and send it to the refrigerator for a few hours, preferably overnight. The meat will become even more fragrant and tastier.