After seening a recipe online for a marinade using vodka, coriander and lime, it got me thinking.
As I have never used vodka in cooking I decided I would like to try it. So, taking the idea from what I had seen on the internet I decided to try a marinade of my own.
Off to the store I went.
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b593/TriangleMan1/20130125_1753360_zps571501a1.jpg)
As you can see its a bit of a busy selection compared to the 3 ingrediants I saw previously.
The ingrediants are a bit of a clash between the original recipe I read and a Jamaican Jerk style.
List:
Vodka
Coriander
Mint
Lime
Garlic
Mixed spice
Light brown sugar
Birdseye chilli
Shallots
Salt/cracked black pepper
Chicken
Here goes..
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b593/TriangleMan1/20130125_191140_zpsa37055d9.jpg)
With vodka
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b593/TriangleMan1/20130125_191313_zpsf6ddf858.jpg)
Blitzed
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b593/TriangleMan1/20130125_191358_zps592163a7.jpg)
Ziplock overnight
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b593/TriangleMan1/20130125_193048_zps7d04b802.jpg)
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b593/TriangleMan1/20130125_193053_zps71d45c90.jpg)
Next day I fired up the DBS with a couple houres worth of apple chips in the mag. Cooked the chicken low and slow for about 3 hours,
This is what came out....
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b593/TriangleMan1/20130126_164048_zpsd39315ee.jpg)
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b593/TriangleMan1/20130126_164122_zps7e421df5.jpg)
Now, to be very honest, It was just waaaaay to much smoke flavour. So much so that it just completely over powered the origianl marinade which in itself has a lot of fresh punchy flavours going on but nothing that can hold up to the level of smokieness I was getting. Now thats my fault, obviously.
Next time, I will increase the amount of chilli by one or two more , cut back on the smoke time big time and maybe finish on a bbq to crispen it up.
Might even leave out the smoke altogether and just bbq it. It is a lovely, light and fresh marinade that just might need a good basting over some hot coals.
Anywho, I do look forward to trying this again.
Lesson learnt.
Just curious. With all of the acid from the lime, the vodka and the overnight marinade did you find the chicken to be mushy at all? I have found that a marinade with a lot of acid on chicken will cause the meat to begin to be mushy if left too long.
Didn't find it mushy at all, to be honest. The meat was very tender. But like I said the flavour was completely lost with the amount of smoke coming through.
Also, I really just don't get the point of the vodka. When i first read about it I thought it might be a bit of fun. But I really dont see what the vodka bringes to the dish.
I think some rum on the other hand would work much better. Much, much higher sugar content and in my opinion a better flavour all round.
I'm gonna try it this weekend. Will also try adding a little fresh ginger in the mix. Won't be smoking it, think I'll be firing up the charcoal bbq for this one.
I'll post up some pics and let ya know how it goes.
:)
Vodka will mostly boil off and not leave you with any flavor. In a wet sauce, there's a chance that some residual might be left over to give you the flavor of alcohol, but in a smoke, it's useless except for possibly dissolving and transporting some of the marinade flavors.
Besides that, thanks for the post...I've been gearing up to smoke a chicken and this is good info.
looks great
Very nice color you got on those bird parts.
Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk
Sorry it didn`t turn out, but it looks great.