Chicken thigh question.

[Uncle Pigfat]

I'm going to take a break from the pig this weekend and smoke some chicken thighs (with bones and skin).  I'm going to brine them a while first, but after the brine I'm not sure what to do about seasoning. My brine recipe is as follows:  

*  2 quarts water
* 2 tablespoons kosher salt
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 2 garlic cloves
* 2 teaspoons dried thyme
   
after the smoke I'll be saucing them and throwing them on the grill to crisp and char a little.  Any suggestions as far as a post brine pre-smoke rub goes?

[ArnieM]

If you're brining and then saucing, I'd just smoke 'em naked.  You don't want the rub and sauce flavors to conflict.

The brine sounds a little on the sweet side.

[Uncle Pigfat]

It's tasty.  I've never found it to be very sweet at all.  When I've used it in the past before I had the smoker, I'd usually brine a while then throw them in the oven for 45 minutes then finish on the grill.  The thyme and garlic come through more than the sugar.  Then again, I usually use extra garlic.

I was thinking naked for the smoke was probably the way to go.  Decision made.  Thanks Arnie! 

[ArnieM]

A "standard" brine is one gallon of water, one cup of salt and one half cup of sugar.  Of course, it can be scaled up or down and have your favorite spices added - absolutely nothing wrong with extra garlic.  Shallots work pretty well too.

You've done it before so you know there's a balance between getting nicely done chicken and black, raw chicken.

You might want to try Demerara sugar.  The crystals are pretty coarse.  It has less of a tendency to burn then white or brown sugar and works well in a Q sauce.

Lastly, if you don't have a digital kitchen scale, get one.  $25 or so, nothing fancy.  When it comes to salt and sugar you're much better off going by weight than volume.  A cup of common table salt (I never use it) will weigh more than a cup of medium coarse Kosher salt.  The table salt is denser.  A half cup of brown sugar will weigh more than a cup of white sugar and both will weigh more than Demerara. 

So, when using ratios, go by weight rather than volume.  If you're gonna do sausage, a scale is indispensable.

Good luck with the thighs.

[Uncle Pigfat]

A "standard" brine is one gallon of water, one cup of salt and one half cup of sugar.

Cool, so really I'm just low on salt.  Truth be told, this is Tyler Florence's "ultimate bbq chicken" brine.  Either way, I'm pushing forward.  This will be my first chicken experience in the smoker, so my only question is how much smoke should I be considering?  I was thinking an hour forty min of apple, but I think I remember seeing somewhere that chicken is a smoke sponge so I'm thinking I should be careful.

**I found the post I was looking for.  2hrs of apple smoke for probably 12 - 14 thighs (doubling the brine since the recipe is for around 6).**

[Habanero Smoker]

When I brine chicken I alway air dry in the refrigerator until the pellicle forms. I invert the racks to elevate the chicken off the surface. If you don't have time for that, make sure you pat well-dry with paper towels.

If the thighs have skin, keep the vent wide open.

[Uncle Pigfat]

So I've been air drying in the fridge after a 10 or 11 hour brine since 1am - it's 10:10 am now and the skin is tacky but there's a little bit of brown coloration going on.  Is this something I should be concerned with, especially since these guys aren't hitting the smoker until 2:00?  I've read about this air drying an the protein layer forming and feel like I should be fine, but at the same time I don't want to poison myself or my brother and his wife.

[Habanero Smoker]

Nothing to be concerned about. Mine often get a light brown "tan".

[Uncle Pigfat]

Yeah.  I stopped thinking about it.  Once they hit the heat the coloring kind of went away.  That fridge resting pays some serious dividends.  I've never had skin so crispy with chicken so juicy underneath.  I ended up brushing the thighs with a cider vinegar, olive oil and spice concoction I came up with on the fly right before I tossed them in.  Thanks for the tips Habs!

[Habanero Smoker]

You welcome.

I saw your other post, and the thighs look good. Allowing the pellicle to develop on the chicken draw out moisture form the skin, and concentrates more sugar on the surface.

[Smokeville]

Uncle Pigfat (great name btw);

How long do you brine them for?

Thanks, Rich

[Uncle Pigfat]

around 11 hours.  I dried between 12 and 13 hours.