Jeff's Smoked Chicken

There are not words for how excited I am to finally be able to post this! I have been anticipating this for, no kidding, six months! I've been waiting until we could have the neighbors over and JEff could make this for us. Well, we are having the neighbors over but in the interest of picky kids we're just doing burgers and dogs. However, we couldn't let the lovely weather go to waste, so Jeff did the chicken for the two of us on Memorial Day. It's actually very simple and exceedingly tasty!

I apologize for the giant photo, but couldn't figure out an easy way to shrink it, and was too lazy to try anything that wasn't easy!

Now, back to the good stuff! Make sure your chicken is completely defrosted. If they've been shoved in the freezer for a while, this may take a day or two in the fridge. Rinse your chicken well and pat it dry.

It's better if you brine your chicken, but if you don't it'll still be ok, it just won't be as juicy.

Fire up your grill with any sort of wood you'd like over the coals. Only have a gas grill? No problem, just get a smoker box! I've even seen smoking chips in a little tin that you can throw out when you're done. The grill needs to get to (and maintain) a temp of about 300 degrees

Now, just put your bird on the grill and let it cook for about 30 minutes per pound. The key here is low and slow.

Check on it periodically to make sure it doesn't catch fire and that the grill is maintaining the right temperature but doesn't go out. You may want to turn the bird about halfway through just to make sure the skin gets evenly crispy if you like that sort of thing! (I know I do!) If you're looking closely at that photo, the "stuff" you see on the skin is a bit of rosemary and thyme that Jeff added. It was a nice touch. The skin got extra brown because of just a tiny bit of oil

Once it's done, let it rest for at least five minutes. We like it just pulled off and served with your favorite sauce. My personal recommendation is white sauce. I had planned to make potato salad but ended up just having mac and cheese and Jeff also wanted a salad. Great, easy hang-out food!