Tonight you’re getting two of my recycled recipes for the price of one! I cooked this yesterday and will be eating it again tonight.
Smoked Chicken
previously diaried July 2012
I do my smoked whole chicken on my old but sturdy gas grill
with wood chips in an iron box. The box and wood chips can be found at home improvement stores. I often use mesquite; this time I bought pecan for a less aggressive smoke flavor.
Start by brining the chicken. Brine can contain a variety of herbs and spices, but a good basic recipe is:
1 gallon water
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
Combine water, sugar and salt in a 2-gallon pot. Heat, stirring, until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add soy sauce and let cool. Immerse the bird and let stand for 3 to 4 hours. Meanwhile prepare your dry rub. I measure this by eyeball, so proportions are approximate.
1 tb Old Bay seasoning (or half paprika, half celery salt)
1/2 tb ground cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Even though I’m cheating with gas and wood chips, I’m still trying for a “low and slow” cooking process, so time between lighting the grill and eating is 3 hours or a little more.
box with wood chips on the grill close to the fire
When you’re ready to start, put in the chips, light the fire, and preheat the grill on high for maybe 15 minutes. While preheating, remove your chicken from the brine, dry with paper towels, and apply the dry rub. Once the wood chips have started to smolder turn the heat way down (back burner off, front burner almost to Low) and put in the chicken. I use a roasting rack. Leave the lid open a couple minutes to allow the grill to cool down.
chicken at the back of the grill, farther from direct heat
This is the only part of the process that needs watching: getting it down to a constant 200-225F. For the next 10 minutes keep an eye on the thermometer, open the lid if it's still too hot, and tweak the burner setting. Once it settles in below 225, leave it alone for a couple hours and enjoy the aroma. At my local markets chickens are 4-1/2 to 5 lbs, which for me is 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 hours. I've never calibrated that thermometer; YMMV.
When the bird is done, take it inside to stand for 15 minutes before carving.
Cranberry Beans with Olive Oil and Garlic
previously diaried May 2022 — from mayihavethatrecipe.com — for 6
2 cups dried cranberry beans ( about 1 lb)
6 garlic cloves, whole
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp red hot pepper flakes (or to taste)
1 tsp fresh thyme
3 cups water
3 bay leaves
½ tsp salt ( more or less to taste)
Soak beans overnight in a bowl with 3 times their volume of water, rinse and drain.
Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and tilt the pan so all the oil goes to one side of the pan and the garlic cooks evenly. Cook for about 2 minutes or until it starts to get a slight golden color (make sure it doesn't burn!)
Add the red hot pepper flakes and thyme and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the beans, stirring well so the beans get evenly coated with the oil and cook for 3 minutes.
Add 2 cups of water, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes, uncovered.
Turn down the heat and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes or until the beans are tender but not mushy. You should have some cooking liquid remaining in the pot. If the beans are not tender and there is little water left, keep adding water until thy soften. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed (take into consideration that, as the beans, cook the flavor and saltiness concentrates. Do not oversalt!)
Mash the garlic into the cooking liquid ( It should be very tender and mash easily. These are delicious eaten plain, served over rice or with crusty bread.
What are you having for dinner?
What’s for Dinner? is a Saturday evening get-together where friends share recipes, talk about good food and help others answer culinary questions. We also have a handy post with links from our archives here: Master Index 2014-2021
We welcome you to our virtual table every Saturday evening 4:30 PT/7:30 ET. If you would like to write a post for an upcoming date just send a message to ninkasi23!
