High all.
Got my hands on about 5 lbs. of chicken hearts. Was thinking about boiling them for a few hours till tender then dusting with Jan's Rub and giving them around 2 hours of smoke.
Would anyone have a suggestion or 2? Definately open to new ideas.
Thanks in advance.
What's up Mac?! I raise and custom butcher almost every type of poultry and meat mammal you can imagine for a living. I have a custom cut and cure butcher shop where I make a multitude of different cured and smoked meats as well as sausages and cold cuts. Boiled and smoked hearts are great if you use the stock for other recipes afterwards but if you're looking for huge flavor I suggest using a basic onion, garlic, brown sugar and kosher salt brine overnight followed by your favorite poultry rub and smoked to your liking. I love to skewer for the process and finish with some home made BBQ sauce. Hope whatever you do turns out awesome!
I would love to see this cook.
Chicken hearts, gizzards, & livers are some of my favorites.
So, so far, half of them boiled, dusted and smoked & the other half brined, rubbed and smoked.
I'm guessing the brined ones would take between 4 & 5 hours at 225.
I'm getting hungry already.
Tried them today and I must say I'm pretty close to being addicted to them already.
Made a brine. 1 Gallon water, 1 1/2 cups salt, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 onions, 1 head of garlic cut in half & a few bay leaves. Boiled it for 30 minutes then cooled. Added my hearts and sat it in the fridge overnight, 14 hours. This morning I drained them then coated with about a 1/2 cup or so of rub. Was running short so it was a mix of my pulled pork and Jan's rubs.
https://storage04.dropshots.com/photos7000/photos/1398295/20180521/cvn_115857.jpg
Then into the Bradley for 4 hours at 220 F. with apple.
https://storage04.dropshots.com/photos7000/photos/1398295/20180521/x_153658.jpg
They look a little overdone but believe you me they aren't. Once I had 1 I was hooked. A little bbq sauce and I was in heaven.
Not perfect but I'm happy for my first try at them. Next time I would give them a stir at the 2 hour mark with a spritz of apple juice and maybe a spritz again at the 3 hr mark.