What's on the Grill #166
Smoked Rotisserie Chicken! It seem as of late, that the rotisserie has been in heavy use. I most likely attest this to the fact it's been cold out and the rotisserie is set-it-and-forget-it. As winter gets ready to pass the baton to spring, I know that I can't use the excuse of laziness, thin skin, and a lack of Arctic wear to justify using the rotisserie. I will, however, base its use on good grilling. Fortunatley, that won't be hard.
The special thing about tonight's roto bird is the smoke. Thanks to a call into Greg Rempe's most excellent BBQ Central Radio Show, I won some wine infused wood chips from Green Leaf BBQ. I follow both Tim from Green Leaf BBQ and Greg from BBQ Central on Twitter, so this was really a perfect storm of BBQ greatness.
No sooner than had Tim received my contact info, than I received my box of wine infused chips. For tonight's bird, I chose the chips, versus the larger chunks.
I prepped the bird as usual, after first realizing my roaster was the victim of a tragic accident. There is nothing worse than getting ready to feast on a chicken that was the victim of an accident!
Open fracture aside, I planned to explore the smoke from the chips, so I opted for just salt and pepper for the bird (and a sling). To make the spice application easier, I truss the chicken, spit it, and then place it over the sink. Once over the sink, it is much easier to oil and season the chicken without losing half of the season on your hands, or on the countertop.
I soaked the wood chips for about an hour. With the grill prepped for indirect medium, I dropped the chips on to the coals, closed the lid, and waited for smoke. With the chips smoking, I mounted the bird...on the grill...and waited.
After the bird spun for about an hour and fifteen minutes, I took it off. The results were great. I found it amazing how well the wine-ish smoke permeated the flesh of the chicken. With the minimal rub, the wine/smoke was definitely the dominant flavor. In the future, I'm looking forward to trying the wine infused chips out with a pork shoulder.
Yes, roto birds are easy for winter. However, the fact that they are so good and you get so many meals from them make roto chickens not only easy, but enjoyable multi-meal feasts, whether it's warm or cold outside!
The special thing about tonight's roto bird is the smoke. Thanks to a call into Greg Rempe's most excellent BBQ Central Radio Show, I won some wine infused wood chips from Green Leaf BBQ. I follow both Tim from Green Leaf BBQ and Greg from BBQ Central on Twitter, so this was really a perfect storm of BBQ greatness.
No sooner than had Tim received my contact info, than I received my box of wine infused chips. For tonight's bird, I chose the chips, versus the larger chunks.
I prepped the bird as usual, after first realizing my roaster was the victim of a tragic accident. There is nothing worse than getting ready to feast on a chicken that was the victim of an accident!
Open fracture aside, I planned to explore the smoke from the chips, so I opted for just salt and pepper for the bird (and a sling). To make the spice application easier, I truss the chicken, spit it, and then place it over the sink. Once over the sink, it is much easier to oil and season the chicken without losing half of the season on your hands, or on the countertop.
I soaked the wood chips for about an hour. With the grill prepped for indirect medium, I dropped the chips on to the coals, closed the lid, and waited for smoke. With the chips smoking, I mounted the bird...on the grill...and waited.
After the bird spun for about an hour and fifteen minutes, I took it off. The results were great. I found it amazing how well the wine-ish smoke permeated the flesh of the chicken. With the minimal rub, the wine/smoke was definitely the dominant flavor. In the future, I'm looking forward to trying the wine infused chips out with a pork shoulder.
Yes, roto birds are easy for winter. However, the fact that they are so good and you get so many meals from them make roto chickens not only easy, but enjoyable multi-meal feasts, whether it's warm or cold outside!
Mike Lang