Spaghetti Squash is extremely versatile as a side. One of the most common uses for Spaghetti Squash is with or without sauce as a substitute for pasta. Spaghetti squash contains many nutrients, including folic acid, potassium, vitamin A, and beta carotene. It is low in calories, averaging 42 calories per 1-cup (155 grams) serving. When cooked, the flesh falls away from the fruit in ribbons or strands like spaghetti. It can be baked, boiled, steamed, microwaved, and of course you know I’m going to see about smoking/grilling a Spaghetti Squash on my Traeger PTG with Pacific Pellet Gourmet BBQ Hickory Wood Pellets. The PTG was just big enough to accommodate a small Spaghetti Squash and a Chicken Half!
Marinaded a Foster Farms fresh Chicken Half with Mr Yoshida’s Traditional Teriyaki Marinade & Cooking Sauce for 5 hours in the refrigerator. Cut the small spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scraped out the seeds and pulp as you would with any squash or pumpkin. The seeds can be roasted, similar to pumpkin seeds but you’d probably need a few large squash to get enough seeds.
Preheated my Auber PID modified PTG with Hickory Gourmet BBQ Pellets to 350ºF. Due to the small cooking area of the portable wood pellet grill I prefer to use the Manual Mode when controlling the temperatures. For my unit and the existing ambient conditions I found that a 32% power setting gave me a stable 350ºF environment.
Took 2 hours and 10 minutes at 350ºF to Hickory smoke/cook the spaghetti squash and 1 hour and 40 minutes for the thickest part of the chicken breast to reach and internal temperature of 170ºF. The times are given for planning purposes only … always cook to the proper internal temperature. 170ºF at the breast should give you a reading of 180ºF+ at the leg and thigh. The dark chicken meat must be cooked to a higher temperature than the white breast meat.
When the Spaghetti Squash is cooked to perfection it is easily shredded with a fork. Use the Spaghetti Squash as a side or a substitute for pasta. Throw in a smoked Chicken breast and a green salad … Doesn’t get any better than this!!
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