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smoke
flavoring of
poultry and
game birds
"Little Chief" Smoked
Chicken and Chicken
Parts
"Little Chief" Hickory
Flavored Turkey
"Easy Cure" Brine for
Chicken and Small Wild
Birds
(pheasant, quail, grouse,
chicken, dove, partridge,
squab, capon, etc.)
Smoking birds is fun. They are easy to prepare and their meat is rich and succulent to the
taste. Smoked birds can be eaten hot from the oven or they will make marvelous hors
d'oeuvres and snacks when eaten cold.
Smoked and cooked birds can be stored for several weeks in the refrigerator and are a good
companion in a picnic basket or hiker's pack. A covered bowl or smoked and cooked
chicken legs in the refrigerator will make you a hero with your family, and you'll find your
culinary reputation soaring when you serve your guests smoked pheasant or squab with
mild crackers and a dry white wine.
In this section, we'll get you started by reciting some basic smoke-flavoring suggestions for
chicken and turkey. We can later refer back to these when we deal more specifically with
the different types of wild bird.
Marinades and cooking procedures DO vary for domestic foul and wild birds, as the
domestics seem to have a higher fat content and milder taste.
DO USE the standard precautions of cleaning and handling when working with wild game.
Pluck or skin and wash and cool as quickly as you can. We don't mean to be a bore, but to
have a high quality finished product, we must have a high quality piece of meat to begin
with.
You will see, because our recipes follow this pattern, it is a good practice to marinade the
wild birds as the curing agents tend to tenderize the meat. The juices, herbs and spices
color and tone the taste of the bird. Domestic birds and the smaller wild birds have a more
delicate flavor and in most cases more subtle marinades or brines are used. Sometimes just
a simple smoke- flavoring is the best.
Simply section chicken as you desire, or leave whole, and place in you smoker with skin
side down. Smoke for 45 minutes. Try Hickory "Chips 'n Chunks" the firs time, but don't
overlook Alder or Apple flavor.
When smoking is completed, prepare in your favorite way, reducing your cooking time by
20%.
When your can, get a 10 to 12 pound fresh turkey. If you use a frozen one, it must be fully
thawed before putting it into the smoker. When smoking whole, open bird up as much as
you can to allow smoke flavor to circulate freely over entire body and through cavities.
Smoke with Hickory for 2 hours or until 2 panfuls are exhausted.
Remove the turkey from the smoker and cook in you favorite way. If you desire more
smoke flavor, simply increase smoking time and amount of flavor fuel used. Your turkey
will accept a great deal of flavor but be careful not to dry it too much.
Reduce your cooking time by 10% for each hour in the smoker. (up to 40%) Do not use
more than 4 panfuls of "Chips 'n Chunks" flavor fuel.
½ cup non-iodized salt
½ cup white sugar
1 qt. water
Page 23 of 34
Place birds in cool brine for 6 hours. Rinse and dry on paper
towels for 1 hour. Smoke with 2 panfuls of Hickory flavor
"Chips 'n Chunks" for 2 to 4 hours.
Remove from smoker, wrap in foil and cook until done in
the oven.
Birds may now be eaten cold or warm and served with a
light glaze sauce or gravy. Use your imagination.
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