Chicken gets spicy and smoky

By Metro Creative

Everyone should have a go-to whole chicken recipe in their culinary repertoire. While roasting a chicken certainly gets the job done, it’s hard to beat the flavor profile of a chicken cooked low and slow on a smoker. The chicken can be enjoyed right off the bone, and leftovers can be pulled or chopped to use in enchiladas, tacos, salads, and more.

Fire up the smoker or grill for this “Pecan-Smoked Spicy Chicken” from “Jon Bonnell’s Texas Favorites” (Gibbs Smith).

Pecan-Smoked Spicy Chicken

Serves 4

2 cups water

2½ teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1½ tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon honey

1 whole all-natural chicken, roughly 5 to 5½ pounds

2 tablespoons Texas Red Dirt Rub Southwestern Blend, or similar Southwestern seasonings

Combine the water, pepper, garlic powder, salt, and honey in a pot and heat over the stove until completely dissolved together; let cool in the fridge.

Place the chicken in a 2-gallon zip-top freezer bag and pour in the brine. Force out as much air as possible, then seal the bag. Allow the chicken to soak in the refrigerator overnight, turning several times to ensure the brine reaches the entire bird. Remove the chicken from the bag the following day, drain off all of the brine and pat the bird dry with paper towels. Rub the bird well with the Southwestern Blend, even the inside of the cavity. Truss the bird with kitchen twine, pulling the legs and wings in tight to ensure it cooks evenly. Place the bird in a smoker with pecan chips and cook at 250 F until done, about 2 hours.

Gas grill alternative: Turn one burner on high and leave one burner off. Place a foil package of pecan wood chips over the hot side until they begin to smoke. Place the bird on the cool side, pull down the lid and allow to smoke. Turn the bird once in a while to ensure even cooking, and refresh the chips as needed to maintain a smoky environment inside your gas grill.