Smoky Iberian Chicken Recipes

SMOKY IBERIAN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Mix brine ingredients and submerge chicken in the liquid. Allow about 30 minutes per pound for the brining.
• The smoked tomato recipe is number 117225 or number 181924. Use a mild wood, I like alder for this recipe.
• Combine all the tomatos in a bowl with the wine, garlic, cinnamon, saffron and pimenton. Mix well and cover until needed.
• Remove chicken from the brine, dry well and brown thoroughly in a heavy pan using some of the oil.
• Remove the chicken.
• Scrape the pan bottom, add some more oil if needed and dump in the onions and pepper strips, stirring to coat. Add oil as necessary but don't get it mushy from too much. It will end up as grease when the dish is finished.
• Caramelize the vegetables.
• Keeping heat up, add the tomato mixture. Reduce heat to simmer and cover.
• Simmer for about 30 minutes until the sauce has come together and reduced a bit.
• Return the chicken to the sauce, covering the pieces as much as possible. Place the mushroom strips over the chicken.
• Keeping heat very low, cover tightly and simmer until the chicken is fork-tender and the sauce is a consistency pleasing to you, anywhere from very thick to thin, it's your call. (If you are serving this with rice, thinner is better. If it's a stand-alone with oven roasted potatos or something like that, make it thick so the sauce clings to the meat.).

SMOKY SPANISH ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Whisk the paprika, cornstarch, 1 tablespoon salt, the cumin, coriander and cayenne in a small bowl. Pat the chickens very dry with paper towels. Season inside the cavities with some of the spice mixture and rub the rest all over the skin. Refrigerate, uncovered, 15 to 30 minutes to dry out the skin.
• About 30 minutes before roasting, bring the chickens to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Stuff the halved garlic heads into the chicken cavities. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings under the body. Toss the baguette slices and garlic cloves with the olive oil in a large roasting pan; season with salt and arrange in a single layer. Arrange the chickens breast-side up on top of the baguette slices; leave a bit of space between the chickens.
• Roast until the breasts and tops of the legs start browning, about 30 minutes. Rotate the pan and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue roasting until the skin is crisp and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F, 35 to 50 more minutes.
• Remove the chickens from the oven; let rest 15 minutes in the pan. Remove the twine and carve the chickens; serve with the roasted garlic and baguette.
• The garlic cloves will soften during roasting, so you can squeeze them out of their skins onto the toasted bread.

SIXTEEN SPICE SMOKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine all spices in a bowl. Rub the entire chicken with the spice rub, including the cavity, and set aside while you prepare the grill.
• Set up a charcoal grill for indirect grilling. Throw the soaked wood chips on the hot coals. Place the cover on the grill and adjust the vents holes on the top and bottom to obtain the desired temperature (in this case it should be about 350 degrees F).
• Place the chicken on the rack of the grill opposite the coals and smoke until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, using an instant-read thermometer, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove from the grill, tent loosely with foil, and let rest 10 minutes before carving.