Chef's first Steem post - SMOKED CHICKEN!

Hi Steem!

Been waiting about a week to post something about who I am and what I do. Cooking is my occupation, hobby, and passion.

My girlfriend and I are both chefs, we live together and often have our friends over for dinner. We love cooking, making cocktails, and being good hosts.

It being summer in Canada, and about 35 degrees yesterday, we thought we would enjoy a lovely backyard BBQ.

Let's start with the rub

1. 1/4 cup coarse ground black pepper
2. 1/4 cup kosher salt (we prefer Diamon Crystal)
3. 1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
4. 1 tsp garlic powder
5. 1 tsp onion powder
6. 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
7. 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine all these ingredients in a bowl until uniform

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Rub the chicken

Sorry for the slightly unappetizing picture. But its important to season a chicken INSIDE AND OUT. Really, very important.

Always season from UP HIGH, it allows for even dispersion. Season with one hand and then rub into the skin with the other, really making sure the rub sticks in an even coat to the ENTIRE chicken.

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Fire. There is so much flavour in smoke and it is really easy to create that flavour at home without using a fancy smoker or any pricey tools.

We have a simple charcoal grill from Weber

Tools you will need:

1. Applewood chunks
2. Lump Charcoal
3. Old Newspaper
4. Lighter
5. Chimney Starter (optional but REALLY helpful)
6. Aluminum Tray (to catch drippings)
7. Instant-Read Thermometer

Fill the bottom of your chimney starter with newspaper. Hilariously, we used the BBQ Edition of our local paper (cover image is from our favourite BBQ joint, J and J BBQ in Kensington Market)

Fill the rest of the chimney with charcoal and use a lighter to light the newspaper. Once the newspaper is lit, leave the chimney alone until all the charcoal has ignited and turned grey.

This took about 15 - 20 minutes, and has NO lighter fluid or any chemical accelerators (which ruin the taste of your final product)

Position foil pan on one half the grill, fill with warm water. The water will add steam, regulate temperature, and capture any dripping from the chicken to prevent a grease fire.

VERY CAREFULLY, dump the hot coals onto the other half. Add a few more bits of charcoal and disperse about 2 - 3 wood chunks on top.

Position the chicken over the drip tray and close the lid.

A few things to note in this image:

1. Vent is open only partway. You need air circulation to keep the fire going, but you do not want too much smoke to escape

2. Thermometer reads 300 degrees F. As long as this number stays in the 300 - 350 range, you are doing great! We position the thermometer where it is for convenience and because it is reading the temperature nearest to the chicken. A lot of BBQs come with gauges at the bottom or on the side, because fire is fickle they may not be accurate reads as to the temperature closest to your meat.

3. DO NOT OPEN the lid unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Opening the lid lowers the temperature of the grill and allows for the smoke to escape. Only open the lid if your temperature starts to dip below 290 degrees F to add more charcoal, or if your grill has stopped emitting smoke, to add more wood chips. Remember: If you're LOOKING, you're NOT COOKING.

About and hour and a half later (when the deepest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F)........

(Drum roll please)

It got dark and the lighting isn't so great anymore. But let me tell you what you see.

Perfect, crispy skin and juicy, smoky meat

Let it rest 20 minutes and then DIG IN

If you've lasted this long, feel free to write below with ANY questions or comments. We are happy to hear feedback.