Mies Oven Baked Chicken Legs

posted in: Chicken 0

After reading all the excitement being generated by Mies All Purpose Breading I purchased some Mies and chose Chicken Legs (my Grandchildren’s favorite) for my first recipe.  Decided to bake them in the oven rather than grilling cause I figured it would be easier.

Put 1½ cups of Mies in a ZipLock bag, rinsed legs in warm water, placed legs in ZipLock (5 at a time), and shaked/tossed about till legs were fully coated.  Placed legs on a cookie rack (sprayed rack with PAM) which sits on a cookie sheet.  Let chicken rest for 2-4 minutes.  SWMBO said it was like the old days when we used to use “Shake and Bake” and aw helped …

Googled oven baked chicken legs to see what temperature and for how long.  Got me dozens of opinions – 375º/45 min, 350º/1-1¼ hrs, 450º/50 min, etc.  Decided to preheat oven to 380º and bake legs for 40 minutes.  Took legs out, flipped each leg, rotated top to bottom with cookie sheets and baked for another 40 minutes.  SWMBO will not tolerate any pink in her chicken.

Here are the chicken legs after 80 minutes in a 380º oven and smelling good!!  Tongue Tongue Turns out they were cooked to perfection and everyone’s satisfaction.

The $$shot … Broke out the Wok and did a quick and dirty fried rice to serve with the Chicken Legs.

For years now I have not been eating the chicken skin for various reasons but I’m here to tell you that the skin was so deliciously crisp and it seemed like I couldn’t get enough of it.  Now I remember why I used to like the skin so much.  All in all, it turned out great, tasted delicious, and got rants and raves throughout.  Onward to other challenges and cuts of meat.

Smoked Tri-Tip … 140º vs 150ºF

posted in: Beef 0

First let me say that taking a Tri-Tip to an IT of 150º followed by a 45 minute FTC might be sacrilegious to many but SWMBO had a small issue when I pulled my last Tri-Tip with an IT of 140º followed by a 45 minute FTC.  I personally thought it was just right.  I know that there are many out there that pull it at 130º – Not that there’s anything wrong with that  Cheesy

Used the same procedures: Rub w/ EVOO and 50/50 Johnny’s Garlic Spread / Montreal Steak Seasoning, and overnight in the fridge.  Then OBS @ 225º, vent open, 7 Jim Beam bisquettes

Here is the tip last month with an IT of 140º and 45 minute FTC

Here is the tip today with an IT of 150º and 45 minute FTC

The $$shot

Personally I like the 140º a little better than the 150º but they were both excellent.  Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to make them happy  Grin The 150º was more to her liking …

Hickory Smoked Chicken using Vertical Chicken Roaster

posted in: Chicken 0

Needed a Guinea Pig chicken for my trial run at using Jans Dry Rub so I picked up a little 5 ¼ lb bird for my victim.  Notice the fresh mixed bag of rub and the Vertical Chicken Roaster being used for the test.  There’s a zillion variations of the Roaster and they are quite inexpensive.  Sure makes it easy to hang a bird upright …  Course, Jim Beam goes with everything  Grin Grin

Rubbed the young chicken with EVOO and a liberal amount of Jans Dry Rub.  Paid extra attention to applying the rub as much as possible under the skin and inside the cavity.  Trimmed off some of the fat from the bird but in hind sight maybe I should have left more of it on so that it would baste the bird.  Not that it came out dry but just a thought since the roaster catches the grease.

Here’s that beauty ready for the OBS.  PID @ 250ºF, vent wide open, and used 2 hours of Hickory

4 hours later the IT was only @ 154º in the thickest part of the breast.  As this was my first whole chicken I learned that I needed to put the bird in a lot sooner than I did in order to eat at a decent time.  Pulled the bird with an IT of 154º and finished her off in a 450º oven for 15 minutes.

Here is what the bird looked like when I pulled it from the OBS.  Using the Vertical Chicken Roaster sure did make cleanup simple.  All the grease was deposited at the bottom of the Roaster so there was nothing inside the OBS to clean except the water bowl.  I like that  Cheesy

The $$shot

Lessons Learned:

  • Jan’s Dry Rub was everything it was advertised to be and then some
  • Hickory adds another dimension to smoked chicken.  Only used Pecan and Apple before
  • Vertical Chicken Roaster really made clean up a cinch
  • Yummmmm … It was delicious

Jan’s Dry Rub recipe

posted in: Sauces, Rubs 1

Jan and Larry (known as KyNola on many BBQ/Smoking/Cooking Forums) live in Kentucky and here in Larry’s words is how Jan developed her Dry Rub …

My friend has a commercial BBQ restaurant and gave me some of his rub. He would not however give me his recipe so I put my wife on a mission to find something very similar on the internet and then we would tweak it to match his. Here is the best effort. It only has 14 ingredients and makes a bunch.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup + 4 tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 cup Lawry’s seasoned salt
  • 1/4 cup garlic salt
  • 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tsp celery salt
  • 1/4 cup onion salt
  • 1/2 cup paprika
  • 3 Tbsp chili powder
  • 2 Tbsp black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp lemon pepper
  • 2 tsp celery seed
  • 2 tsp dry ground sage
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/2 tsp dry ground thyme
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne

Directions:

  1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well blended. Store in a cool area away from light in air tight jar or sealable plastic bag.

I salute Jan, and everyone else who designs, creates, and perfects a Rub, Cure, Brine, Marinade, Sauce, etc.  I wouldn’t know the first place to start.  Without them, it would be a very bland around here  Grin Grin

Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters using Johnny’s Garlic Spread

posted in: Chicken 0

I was having smoking withdrawals so I decided to check out my local SaveMart for something to smoke.   Ran across some fresh Foster Farms Chicken Leg Quarters for $4.  Figured it was too good to pass up!

For my impromptu smoke I rubbed some EVOO and Johnny’s Garlic Spread.  Preheated OBS to 250º, vent wide open, and used 2 hours of 2-1 smoke using Special Blend/Apple mix.

3 hours later, I pulled the leg quarters when thigh IT hit 180º and rested in foil for 20 minutes while I fixed the rest of the meal.  OBS never did get back to 250º.  Hovered around 235-240º.  I need to get off my a** and install that second heating element.

Quick and dirty … Made a little Chicken & Garlic Rice-a-Roni and salad.  The $$shot …

I think I’m starting to become a ‘smoke eater’ cause the chicken turned out scrumptious but it was a little mild in the smoke department.  I know some smokers swear by hickory on just about everything but I have yet to use it much on anything.  How does hickory work on chicken?

1 101 102 103 104 105 106 107