Sunday, October 26, 2014

Spachtcock and Smoke

Two things I've never done to a chicken before and I wasn't sure the smoking would work on a regular weber grill.   I tried Youtube... lots of videos on how to cut the chicken down the back and spread it open, only needed one.  The first one I clicked on happened to be this one guy who I find really annoying, though his videos are really easy to follow. 

What I really wanted to know what how to cook a chicken on the grill without burning the outside and having blood at the bone.  That was much harder to pin down.   It seemed like everyone wanted to show me how to cut the chicken flat but everyone seemed to assume that "smoke the chicken" was self-explanatory.

The results!

So... have you tried cooking anything new lately?


20 comments:

Pete said...

Rice, actually. Yeah, I know, who can't cook rice? Well, I can't. We usually go the instant route since we seldom have it but I saw a package of white rice in the pantry and I thought, heck, why not learn how to cook rice right?

As you can imagine, the Internet was too helpful - use twice as much water as rice, not 1.5 times the amount of water to rice, cook it and leave it on the stove, cook it and take it off the stove, covered, uncovered. You get the idea.

I tried the microwave version and that was a bust. Tried the stove top method and that was better.

Still fine tuning it. But everyone's right, it does taste better than instant. Worth the trouble? Hard to say.

Still, I'd rather have some of your chicken. Got any left?

Trooper York said...

You should try Goya rice Pete. That is pretty easy to cook and they have some great flavors.

Michael Haz said...

Pete! Whoa, it's good to see you here!

I made pho, or at least something that looked and sort of tasted like pho. The difficult part was the ten hours it took to make a good broth. Sheesh.

On the other hand, I have pho in my house!

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I took one look at that photo of that delicious chicken, on its back, all hot and glistening, and a thought popped into my head, immediately, and it would be right about now that I apologize to you, Synova.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

That chicken looks delicious.

Synova said...

I might have been too timid about the coals because I was afraid of burning the whole thing so it was in the grill for three hours. I used apple wood chips.

The leg quarters pulled right off and the breast was still moist and slightly pink.

So I think that it all counts as a success. :)

Also, Eric, apology accepted. :)

Synova said...

Rice is hard.

I suggest a rice cooker.

ricpic said...

The only problem I have with cooking rice is burning it when I'm distracted doing something else in a different room (like posting on the internet) while it's boiling down. Even then you can save it if you rush in and take the pot off the heat the minute you hear that crackling sound. Best ratio in my experience is a a cup of water to a third of a cup rice. I don't put butter or salt in the water since I always mix the rice into a pan of sautéed veggies and beef, chicken or fish that has been well seasoned and then check the seasoning after the rice has been added. My cooking repartee is limited but at least I've got rice dishes down pat. ;^)

ricpic said...

Oh, I should have added that I'm addicted to brown rice. White rice, what's that for?

ricpic said...

P.P.S. That chicken is a thing of beauty. Beyond my skill set.

Unknown said...

The chicken looks de-lish. What spices did you use?
No exciting cooking tips at the moment. Old standards only. I make Jacques Pepin's veggie risotto on a regular basis.
(google Jacques Pepin Savory staples episode 101) (for some reason it won't link) Arborio rice is tender and a bit gooey. yum.

Pho broth - good idea.


&
If you like rice, invest in a rice cooker. Makes rice easy peezy.

deborah said...

Looks delish, Synova.

rcocean said...

I made some scallop-red bell pepper soup. It was delicious - but a lot of work.

XRay said...

When I saw the pic I thought ChipA post...

That's a compliment, Synova. It looks wonderful.

Chip Ahoy said...

Pete, I make rice all the time the old fashion way, how Sueko showed me at age 10 and it's worked ever since.

Short version: (generally speaking) 1.5 X volume of water to rice, steam for 35 minutes.

But how to get a pot to steam reliably without sticking?

Here, allow me to show you.

Wait. I already did, like 50 times. With pictures. over 7 years.

Just buy a steamer and follow instructions. You can do a lot of other things with those steamers too.

Rabel said...

Beautiful chicken. What was her name?

Also, I've gone exclusively microwave boil-in-bag rice on the theory that pretty good 100% of the time is better than very good 25% plus pretty good 50% plus pretty bad 25% on the stove top. I've had two steamers. Both burned the bottom of the rice. We eat a lot of rice.

Rabel said...

Seeing my cooking comment come immediately after Chip's helps me understand how the Packers must feel tonight.

Rabel said...

The chicken picture also helps me understand the cheesers. Smoked.

I'll stop now.

Synova said...

Chip is an inspiration. :)

AllenS said...

The Packers were smoked more than that chicken, I'm afraid.