Smoked chicken is considered a special delicacy for a festive table or picnic in nature. After all, poultry meat is a low-fat and nutritious product with a lot of protein. Cooking this dish is not difficult, but not everyone knows how to smoke chicken properly. Our selection will help to understand this issue.

How to Pickle Smoked Chicken

To marinate chicken for any type of smoking, use the universal method. In any case, the poultry meat is soft and has exquisite taste.

For this you need:

  • 1.5-2 kilogram chicken;
  • 4 l of water;
  • 3 tbsp. l kitchen salt;
  • 5 large cloves of garlic;
  • 2 tbsp. l dried dill, basil, parsley and others to taste;
  • 0.5 tsp caraway seeds.

Step-by-step cooking instructions:

  1. Wash and dry the chicken.
  2. Prepare the marinade based on the above components. For saturation, it is recommended to boil the brine for 10 minutes over low heat.
  3. Pour the carcass with cooled liquid. Leave in the refrigerator or cellar for 2 days.
  4. Patinated meat should be blotted with paper towels. You can start the smoking process.

To speed up the smoking process, it is allowed to inject brine under the skin of the chicken with a syringe. Injections should be done at intervals of 5 cm.

For the hot smoking method, a special pickling method is used.

Components for marinade:

  • 1.5 liters of water;
  • 2 tbsp. l vinegar
  • 1 tsp salts;
  • 0.5 tsp granulated sugar;
  • 1 bay leaf;
  • ginger, allspice, ground coriander to taste;
  • 1 clove of garlic;
  • 3 berries or 1 sprig of juniper.

Pickling process:

  1. Boil water, add sugar and salt.
  2. After adding all the spices, boil for 2 minutes and remove from the stove.
  3. Prepare the chicken.
  4. Pour meat with cooled liquid. It is recommended to set oppression for better impregnation. Leave in the refrigerator for 4 days.
  5. Before smoking, hang the chicken for drying in a draft.

For cold-smoked chicken marinade is prepared from the components:

  • 1.5 kg of coarse salt;
  • 20 g of ascorbic acid;
  • 3 tbsp. l granulated sugar;
  • 1 tbsp. l black pepper peas;
  • 3 bay leaves;
  • 9 liters of water.

Step-by-step instruction:

  1. Grate chicken with salt and granulated sugar, cover with pepper and bay leaves.
  2. Place the meat in a pan and tightly close the lid. Refrigerate for 48 hours.
  3. From salt, sugar and ascorbic acid, prepare a brine.
  4. Pour the main ingredient with the cooled liquid. Leave to insist 10 days.
  5. Wash the pickled meat with water and dry in a cold place for 7 hours.
  6. Smoked well-dried chicken.

Hot chicken in the smokehouse

To get a delicious dish, you must follow the basic rules for cooking hot smoked chicken.

Essential Ingredients:

  • chicken;
  • 3 l of water;
  • 1 tbsp. Sahara;
  • 4 cloves of garlic;
  • 1/2 tbsp. vinegar
  • 3 bay leaves;
  • to taste spices and herbs.

Cooking:

  1. Pour granulated sugar and salt into boiling water.
  2. Add spices to the chilled marinade.
  3. Leave the chicken for 1 night in the marinade in a cool place.
  4. In the morning, ventilate the carcass stuffed with garlic by hanging in the fresh air.
  5. Light a fire in a smoke-cured smokehouse and heat the chamber so that the temperature is 250 degrees.
  6. Place the chicken belly down, cook for 4 hours.
  7. Smokehouse lid is recommended to be periodically opened and wiped so that deposits do not accumulate.
  8. The presence of a shiny golden crust on top indicates the readiness of the dish.

Cold smoked bird at home

To preserve the aromas of fresh smoked meats for a long time, it is recommended to wrap the carcass in a thin layer of dry parchment.

You will need the ingredients:

  • chicken;
  • 1 tbsp. l salts;
  • bay leaf, garlic, cinnamon, pepper to taste;
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar;
  • 0.5 tsp ascorbic acid.

Cooking:

  1. Mix all the ingredients in boiled water.
  2. Marinate chicken in brine for 2 days.
  3. When cold smoked, the carcass is recommended to be divided into 2 parts by cutting with a knife to the bone.
  4. Pickled chicken should be air dried.
  5. Place the meat in a cold smoked smokehouse.
  6. Leave to smoke for 1-3 days, periodically checking the readiness of the product.
  7. Smoked chicken should be hung in a well-ventilated area so that the meat is cooked.

The use of ascorbic acid is used to obtain a saturated shade of smoked product.

Using liquid smoke

There are ways to smoke chicken at home without special equipment. The carcass can be cooked on the grill or in the oven. In this case, liquid smoke is used.

Essential Ingredients:

  • chicken;
  • 1 tbsp. l olive oil;
  • 1 tbsp. l liquid smoke;
  • mayonnaise;
  • salt;
  • 0.5 lemons;
  • ground black pepper.

Cooking method:

  1. Wash the carcass under running water.
  2. Mix and marinate the meat. Leave to infuse in the refrigerator for 1 day.
  3. Set the temperature to 200 degrees.
  4. Cook the bird in the oven for an hour.

Important! Liquid smoke should not be used often, it is not the main component for cooking daily use.

Smoked chicken with vinegar

Due to the versatility and ease of preparation of vinegar-based marinade, this method has become quite popular. Now the chicken is cooked in such a marinade in the oven, on the grill and in a pan. Care should be taken when using vinegar, because the component contains acid, which can dry the meat, making it coarse and hard to taste.

For cooking, you need to take:

  • chicken;
  • 2 tbsp. l vinegar 9%;
  • 5 tbsp. l vegetable oil;
  • 5 cloves of garlic;
  • salt and red pepper.

Step-by-step instruction:

  1. In a glass dish mix the ingredients for the marinade.
  2. Pour the carcass with brine for 2-4 hours.
  3. Add the grated garlic.
  4. Smoke meat in a convenient way.

With citric acid and juniper

To get the original smoked poultry, juniper and citric acid are used.

For cooking, you must use the components:

  • chicken;
  • 0.5 tsp mixtures of peppers;
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar;
  • a pinch of citric acid;
  • 130 g of crushed garlic;
  • 5-10 juniper berries.

Step by step recipe:

  1. Stir all the ingredients.
  2. Grate the carcass.
  3. Leave in the refrigerator for 2 days.
  4. Ventilate in the fresh air.
  5. Cook in the smokehouse for 48 hours.
  6. Ventilate again.
  7. Store in the refrigerator for no more than 7 days.

Juniper can be used not only in the form of berries, it is allowed to use plant branches for aroma and richness of taste characteristics of a dish.