Smoked Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Smoked Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Recipe by Jeff Phillips

www.Smoking-Meat.com

Brine Time: 3 hours | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 3 hours | Smoker Temp: 230 F | Meat Finish Temp: 170 F | Recommended Wood: Mesquite

What You'll Need

• 5 lbs of chicken thighs, about 24 pieces (I like the boneless, skinless variety)
• Brine (recipe below)
• Yellow mustard or Olive Oil (optional)
• Jeff's Rub (purchase recipe here)
• Large buns (for the sandwich)
• Creamy coleslaw
• Jeff's barbecue sauce recipe (purchase recipe here)

 Making the Brine

• 1/2 gallon water
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 TBS Louisiana hot sauce

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Pour the salt into the water

Note: you might notice that the salt is not "white" like normal. I used some smoked salt that I had made up a while back which tends to be a light brown color.

Mix well until the salt is completely dissolved. Usually the water becomes clear when the salt is dissolved but since this is smoked salt, the water became a sort of pink color.

Brining the Chicken

24 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Note: I used the boneless, skinless chicken thighs which is fine but if you do not protect them a bit, the outside will dry out and get tough. I would say the regular thighs probably make a lot more sense that way the skin protects the meat while it smokes. When you're done, you simply remove the skin and you have nice tender chicken thighs for pulling.

Place the thighs into Ziploc bags inside of mixing bowls to prevent leakage. I was able to get 12 thighs into a 1-gallon Ziploc. I used 2 bags to contain the 24 thighs that I needed to brine.

Pour 1/2 of the brine (about 1 quart) over the chicken thighs and seal up the Ziploc bag. Be sure to press all of the air out of the bag as you seal it up.

Place the bowl(s) with the bags of thighs into the fridge to keep them nice and cold while they brine.

Preparing the Chicken Thighs for Smoking

Once the thighs have brined for 3 hours, remove them from the fridge and rinse them well under cold water. Drain well using a colander and place them into a mixing bowl or another Ziploc bag for seasoning.

Add some mustard to the chicken and make sure all of the chicken is well coated with the mustard

Add about 1/4 cup of rub (purchase my rub recipe) and make sure the chicken is well coated with the rub/mustard mixture.

Repeat the last step by adding in another 1/4 cup of rub and stirring it in well.

You should end up using 1/2 cup of rub on the chicken thighs

The chicken is now ready to smoke. 

Place them on Bradley racks for easy transport to and from the smoker.

Note: I use Bradley racks with almost everything I cook regardless of what smoker I use.They make it so easy to carry food to and from the smoker and it allows you to place the food directly onto the smoker grate with absolutely no hindrance to the flow of smoke. They make my cooking so much easier and you will see what I mean once you have a set of you own to use.

Smoking the Chicken Thighs

Set up your smoker for cooking at about 230 degrees. I highly recommend a robust wood like mesquite for that great smoke flavor that we all love and enjoy. You can also use hickory, pecan or a fruit wood of your choice.

Once the smoker is preheated and maintaining 230 degrees, place the chicken thighs directly on the smoker rack.

Let them smoke cook until they reach 170 degrees.

Why 170 degrees instead of the normal 165 that we usually cook chicken to?

The thighs definitely have more fat than the other parts of the chicken and can handle longer cook times. The brining also adds more moisture to the meat and reduces the chance of them drying out in the heat. By cooking them just a little longer they end up a lot more tender.

The chicken thighs are done cooking and can be brought in and cooled for a few minutes before pulling.

You will notice that I brushed a little sauce onto mine about 30 minutes before they were finished cooking. Just personal preference here.

How to protect the meat if you want to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Let the chicken thighs smoke for about 1.5 hours then place them into foil pans covered with foil. A little beer and/or apple juice in the bottom of the pan will create some steam and help to tenderize the meat.

Pulling the Chicken

Let the chicken cool for about 5 minutes once you bring it in then simply pull the meat from the bone (if not boneless) and tear it into small pieces.

Saucing up the Meat

With pulled pork, I prefer to drizzle the sauce on top of the meat but, with smoked pulled chicken, I think the sauce just pairs really well with the meat and I like to mix it all in together. I don't like to add too much but just enough so that it is moist through and through.

Making the Sandwich

Toast the buns then add a healthy portion of sauced pulled chicken on the bottom of the bun. Spoon on some slaw and top it with the other half of the bun. Add a pickle or two if you like and serve.

The Creamy Cole Slaw

I used a recipe from my book for the "Creamy Cole Slaw". I can't post it here since it's from the book. However, if you have a great cole slaw recipe that you love, that will work. Don't be tempted to skip the slaw -- it really makes the sandwich.

And, of course, if you have the book then you have the recipe;-)

Lemon Lovers' Asparagus Recipe at Cooking.com

Active Time:  10 Minutes
Total Time:  25 Minutes
Yield:  4 servings

Roast whole slices of lemon along with the asparagus for a beautiful look and sparkling, bright taste. Great with seafood, especially salmon or scallops.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS
2 bunches asparagus, tough ends trimmed
2 lemons, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano (1 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Toss asparagus, lemon slices, oil, oregano, salt and pepper on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, shaking the pan occasionally to toss, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 13 to 15 minutes.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies by AllRecipes.com

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Submitted By: PANTHERA Photo By: mominml Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 12 Minutes Ready In: 55 Minutes Servings: 42

"Chewy oatmeal cookies packed with walnuts and chocolate chips are easy to make, and your family will love the combination of flavors."


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter, softened 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 3 cups quick-cooking oats 1 cup chopped walnuts 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2.	In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3.	Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Abert's Towhee - Whatbird.com

Overview
Abert's Towhee: Large, stocky, shy sparrow. Distinct black face, pale gray bill, gray-brown upper parts, paler gray-brown underparts, and rust-brown vent. Tail is long and darker than upper parts with rust-brown undertail coverts. Short flights, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides. May be difficult to spot because it prefers to stay well-hidden under bushes.


Range and Habitat
Abert's Towhee: Found primarily in the Colorado and Gila River valleys in Arizona and parts of California, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. Generally prefers desert riparian and desert wash habitats. Preferred habitat includes dense vegetation, including thickets of willow, cottonwood, mesquite, and saltcedar; also found in cities or suburbs in exotic plantings.


INTERESTING FACTS
They are threatened by cowbird nest parasitism and habitat loss, although some have successfully colonized suburban environments in the Phoenix, Arizona area. They may also be seen on the campus of Arizona State University.  The Abert's Towhee has one of the smallest total distributions of any U.S. birds species, making it much sought after by birders who travel to the Southwest desert to observe it.  They are an inconspicuous bird because they forage in thick undergrowth and rarely fly any great distance.  A group of towhees are collectively known as a "tangle" and a "teapot" of towhees.


CONSERVATION STATUS
The Abert's Towhee has an extremely large range reaching up to 170,000 square kilometers. This bird can be primarily found in the United States and Mexico, preferring ecological systems that range from dry to subtropical, including savannas and shrublands. The global population of this bird is estimated to be around 230,000 individual birds. At the current time, it is not believed that the population trends of this species will soon approach the minimum level which would indicate a potential decline in population. As a result of the population trends, Abert's Towhee at this time has an evaluation level of Least Concern.

Easy Strawberry Cream Dessert Squares recipe from Pillsbury.com

Easy Strawberry Cream Dessert Squares

Easy Strawberry Cream Dessert Squares recipe from Pillsbury.com

Prep time - 25 minutes      total time - 4 hours

Ingredients

1

roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies

2

packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/4

cup sugar

1

cup strawberry topping (from an 11.75-oz jar)

2

eggs

1

container (16 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Fresh berries, if desired

• 1Heat oven to 350°F. Press cookie dough evenly into bottom only of ungreased 13x9-inch pan. (If dough is sticky, use floured fingers.)
• 2In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and 3/4 cup of the strawberry topping with electric mixer on medium-high speed about 1 minute or until well blended. Add eggs; beat about 2 minutes or until well blended and creamy. Spread evenly over crust in pan.
• 3Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until center is set. Cool 1 hour. Center will sink slightly as it cools.
• 4In medium bowl, mix whipped topping, food color and remaining 1/4 cup strawberry topping. Spread topping mixture over cooled cream cheese layer. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until set. To serve, cut into 6 rows by 3 rows. Garnish each serving with fresh berries. Cover and refrigerate any remaining dessert.

Grilled Roadside Whole Chicken Recipe at Cooking.com

Grilled Roadside Whole Chicken Recipe at Cooking.com

Slow-grilling in Mexico is done directly over a bed of hardwood charcoal that’s quite a distance from the chicken; we can achieve a similar result by heating only part of a gas grill or by banking live coals to the sides. A good number of Mexican chicken grillers are rotisserie jockeys, so if you're an aficionado of the rotisserie attachment for your grill, you are in good company.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS For the Marinade: 1 1/2 tablespoons ground ancho chile powder 1 teaspoon dried oregano A big pinch of ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup orange juice  1 teaspoon salt, plus a little more for  the onions 1 large (3-pound) chicken (what some butchers call a large frying chicken, others call a small roasting chicken) A little vegetable or olive oil for brushing the onions 2 large bunches green onions, preferably the ones with large (1-inch) white bulbs at the end (these "knob" onions are available at Mexican markets and many farmer’s markets), roots and wilted outer leaves removed About 1 cup Roasted Tomatillo salsa, for serving In a small bowl, mix together all the marinade ingredients.

DIRECTIONS

Heat one side of a gas grill to medium. If you have a grill with three burners, heat the outer two to medium, leaving the center one off. Or light a charcoal fire and let it burn until the charcoal is covered with white ash and about medium-hot; bank half the coals to one side of the grill, half to the other.

While the grill is heating, remove the giblets (if there are any) from the cavity of the chicken. Flip the chicken onto its breast. Using poultry shears, cut down both sides of the backbone from tail to neck; discard backbone. Or, if you don’t have shears, lay the bird on its back, insert a long heavy knife into the body cavity and press down hard with a rocking motion to cut down through both sides of the backbone. Open the bird out onto your work surface, breast side up. Make sure that the legs are turned inward. Using your fist or a mallet, wallop the bird on the breast, hard enough to dislodge the center bones and flatten out the breast. Twist the last joint of the wings up over the breast and then down behind the “shoulders,” tucking them in firmly to keep them in place during grilling.

Smear both sides of the chicken with the marinade. Lay in the center of the grill (it will not be over direct heat). Cook, without turning, basting from time to time with any remaining marinade, until the juices run clear when a thigh is pierced deeply with a fork (an instant-read thermometer should register about 160 degrees F when inserted at the thickest part of the thigh), about 45 minutes. If you’re cooking over charcoal, you’ll want to add more charcoal to the fire after half an hour or so—the internal temperature of the grill should stay at about 325 degrees F.

About 10 minutes before the chicken is ready, brush or spray the green onions with oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill directly over the fire, turning frequently, until tender and browned.

Remove the chicken to a cutting board. It will lose less juice if you cover it loosely with foil and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Cut the chicken into quarters (or smaller pieces). Transfer a portion to each of four dinner plates. Top with the grilled onions, and you’re ready to serve. Pass the salsa separately.