I’m learning a lot of BBQ vocabulary as I build my new smoker. I am a firm believer in “fake it til you make it”. So the other day when a BBQ aficionado asked “you seasoned that new smoker of yours, right”, I said “of course!” and then quickly pulled out my phone and jumped on Google to figure out what that meant. As far as I can tell, “seasoning” a smoker just involves smoking something to burn off any residue from manufacturing and to coat the inside with smoke. Well, considering the 3 alarm fire I had going in that thing a week ago, I don’t think I need to worry about residue of any kind. I do though need to generate some smoke, so sounds like a good excuse to cook something!
Since I wasn’t quite sure how it would turn out, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. Walmart actually had packages of what they call “chicken parts” for pretty cheap. Sounded so appetizing, I got two. I was pleasantly surprised that each package contained 2 breasts and 2 thighs, along with chicken backs. Yes, I said BACKS, the actual back of the chicken, spine and all. I think I can live without those, so I tossed them. I placed the other good pieces of chicken on the grill and an hour and a half later at about 300 degrees, I had some delicious chicken. Once the smoker was going, I didn’t have to do a thing to maintain temperature, it was really easy. The chicken really did turn out awesome, maybe even more so because I built this thing! I’m pretty happy with this project so far, on to some pork and a lot longer smoking times…
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