Last minute chicken brine question

[TestRocket]

I know I could look for hours and find what would work for the occasion. But I don't have hours to look around. We have at the last minute decided to have people over for dinner tomorrow and have 5-6 packs of chicken thighs (4 each pack) in the freezer. Well right this minute they are in the microwave thawing out. My question is using everyday salt, sugar and any other normal household spice what's an easy way to brine the chicken? I have two one gallon plastic containers all the chicken will fit in and room in the fridge. And having not ever done chicken in the OBS any time and temp suggestions would be appreciated! And if I have an empty rack and you have an idea I would like to hear it too. Thanks!

[DarqMan]

Here's a simple one.  i'm sure other will have better.

1 gallon water
3/4 cup kosher salt
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon each of dried tarragon, thyme, black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Well, if it were me with those kinds of constraints and company coming I probably wouldn't start experimenting.  That said here is a very simple as easy one for a whole chicken.  For parts I would cut the brine time to 2 hrs and then cook as indicated, time will depend on where in the smoker and the rest of the smoker load.

[TestRocket]

So I should slow down a little? Is brining overnight not a good idea on chicken parts?

[KyNola]

In my opinion overnight brining is really not necessary for chicken thighs.  Would suggest maybe 4-5 hours.  Smoking/cooking temp in the Bradley for poultry I would suggest 250.  Vent 100% open the entire time.  You want that moisture to get out of there.

Relax, it's going to turn out great.

[TestRocket]

Side note BLSH:
I've struggled all day to figure out how to use HTML coding to get what I want to appear in a post. In your last reply you use the words "here is" as a link. Please change the outside brackets to parentheses or something and show me how you did that! Thanks!

KyNola, with that I think I have a plan in mind. Brine first thing in the morning for 4-5 hours and then allow to air dry in the fridge for as long as I can. Using BLSH's link I'm thinking 3-4 hours in the OBS will do. Internal temp will be the deciding factor. So now I'm off to get the chicken parts into the fridge and maybe some ice cream before bedtime? Thanks!

[Mr Walleye]

Ok... Here ya go...

When you are posting a reply, just above the text area are the smiley's, just above that are the code buttons. The third one from the left is "Insert Hyperlink" which looks like this...

(url][/url]    (the first bracket is supposed to be a square bracket)

Next you use an equals sign after the first "url", followed by the actual link. Then you type what ever text you want the link to be in between the centre two brackets.

Here's BLSH's link with the front bracket changed to a round bracket so you can see it.

(url=http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?35-Smoked-Chicken-From-mws]Here Is[/url]

Mike

[TestRocket]

YES! I see a bit more clearly now. "Ask and learn, offer help when you can." A motto we should pass on. Thanks!

[TestRocket]

Ok that was weird, I'm going to bed now.

[StickyDan]

I don't  think the brine is necessary for chicken thighs.  I'd just hit em with your favorite seasonings and toss in the smoker for about 1.5 - 2hrs on high heat with vent wide open.  After that amount of time, keep an eye on them and pull when they're cooked.  Or pull just before they're cooked and finish on the grill.  
On another note, you could marinade them for a couple hours before smoking.  
This is a great recipe I saw on TV once.  Sounds stupid but it works and tastes great.

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate
Cayenne pepper
minced onion
Any other seasoning of your choice  - I like garlic, pepper and seasoning salt too.

Place chicken in large ziplock bag -add ingredients, shake well and let sit in fridge  for about 2 hrs.  cook.  YUM.  

[DarqMan]

StickyDan, do you add any water to the concentrate or just use the concentrate itself?

[EZ Smoker]

Here's a thread where, in the initial post, I linked to a number of chicken parts threads with brief explanations of the threads. 
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=15941.0

The general consensus seemed to be that finishing the chicken parts on a high-heat grill was necessary to get the skin right.   Also, everyone seemed to agree that the vent should be wide open for chicken, and that the smoker temp should be pretty high (250 or so).    There were some who felt brining isn't necessary with dark meat, but some who liked to brine.   And they all seemed to agree that a shorter brining time would be more appropriate for parts, as opposed to brining a whole chicken. 

That thread was a great learning experience for me, and I cooked wings on the bottom two racks of my OBS, with the temp as high as I could get it, then finished with just 3 minutes or so on a hot grill.   They were fantastic.  I didn't brine my wings.   Just olive oil and Chacheres Creole (which replaces salt).

[TestRocket]

After asking for some help last night and getting it, I decided on a plan. I brined 18 chicken thighs for 4 hours this morning and then rinsed, trimmed and applied a little of my rub and back into the fridge to air dry for several hours.

I used this for my brine:
1 gallon water
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, thyme, black pepper and my BBQ rub (more or less).

I had just added the second element to my OBS and preheated it to 250 degs (with two foil wrapped bricks, no PID yet) and put the chicken in (the two middle racks). I placed the two temp probes from my new Maverick ET-7 and an older single probe transmitter in three different places around the lower rack. The temperature varied by as much a 50 degs for most of the smoke and settled down to about 25 degs. Anyway I smoked with apple wood for 2 ½ hours and the IT was 160 -175. I removed the chicken and added some BBQ sauce and placed them on the grill for about 15 minutes. We also had corn on the cob that was cooked on the grill along with rolls and roasted red potatoes and a fruit salad. Yum!

So after 4 ½ hours of yard work, 3 plus hours of cooking I'm full and tired. And happy because every body said that was the best chicken they had ever eaten!

Click on the PICS to get a larger view.

In the brine:


Trimmed with rub:


Sauced and ready for the grill:


Time to eat:

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Looks good!

[DarqMan]

Looks very good.  Nice job!