Chicken meat: composition and benefits, harm of smoked chicken. Description of the properties and taste of smoked chicken with a photo, its calorie content and harm, as well as a recipe for its preparation at home

Hot smoked chicken is both an independent dish, and an appetizer, and an ingredient in salads or soups. Finding it in a store today is not a problem: many chains sell delicious smoked carcasses.

But the dish own cooking healthier and tastier: fresh, without carcinogenic liquid smoke and other "chemistry".

Also, you can use different recipes for hot smoked chicken and get a new one every time interesting dish. Such a delicacy will not get bored, unlike the store.

If you have a hot smoked smokehouse, the chicken will be cooked in it in just 40-60 minutes (butchered). Preparing a delicacy at home is easy.

Preparing chicken for hot smoking

The question of how to prepare chicken for hot smoking is relevant. There are no trifles here, since this stage depends on:

• will the chicken be salted;
• whether it smokes evenly;
• And how long will it take to be ready.

In order for the chicken to smoke evenly, it is important to cut it into pieces that are close in size. You can smoke wings, thighs / drumsticks, breast separately, whole poultry or cut in half.

Important: small pieces cook faster than large ones. For example, the wings are smoked for 40 minutes, and the whole chicken - 1.5-3 hours.

Preparing chicken for hot smoking:

1. Before smoking, the chicken is gutted.

2. Wash thoroughly.

3. Cut.

4. Pickled in brine or rubbed with spices.

If you smoke a whole chicken, it is better to use a special nozzle. With it, the smoke will be distributed throughout the smokehouse, and the bird will be smoked evenly both inside and out. In addition, the chicken attachment simplifies the preparation of the chicken for smoking and reduces the time it takes for the carcass to cook.

If you want to quickly smoke a bird, you will have to butcher it. Remove the spine and large bones: thymus and chest, and beat the resulting chicken halves between 2 cutting boards. This will soften your joints and bones. You can beat the chicken with a culinary mallet, hatchet or any heavy object. To prevent splashes from flying in different directions, half carcasses are first placed in a plastic bag.

Hot smoked chicken marinade

Before sending the chicken to the smokehouse, it must be salted or pickled in one way or another:

dry method;

wet method;

injection.

How you choose to marinate the chicken for hot smoking will determine the cooking time and the duration of the salting. If you do not want to wait a long time, it is better to syringe the carcass. If you are afraid that the chicken will salt unevenly - prepare the brine. Otherwise fit dry method.

With a dry salting method, it is enough to rub the bird thickly with salt (20 g per 1 kg of meat) and spices, place in a plastic bag and leave for 1.5-2 hours.

Best paired with chicken

• coriander;

• rosemary;

• black pepper;

  hops-suneli;

For the wet method, you need to prepare a brine. There are many options for marinades - choose any.

Popular Hot Smoked Chicken Marinade Recipes

Below are the main recipes. You can follow them or use your favorite smoked chicken brine as a base and experiment with seasonings. By adding to standard recipe spices to your liking, you will make familiar product unusual.

Simple marinade

All marinades are prepared at the rate of 1.5 liters of water per 1 kg of chicken. The simplest recipe is a salt solution. To prepare it, you need 1.5 cups table salt and 1.5 liters of water. You can add a little vinegar to taste.

Leave the chicken in the brine for at least 24 hours. Keep the bird in a cool place.

spicy marinade

For 1.5 l warm boiled water take the ingredients:

salt - 100 g;

• black pepper;

  Bay leaf.

Dissolve the salt in water, add seasonings and bring the mixture to a boil - the marinade is ready. When it cools down to room temperature, you can lay out the chicken and put a press on top. Leave the bird in this brine for 18-25 hours.

Spicy marinade

To make it extraordinary habitual taste hot-smoked chicken, poultry pickling brine can be slightly modified by adding cinnamon, a little sugar and fragrant herbs taste. Some sophisticated smokers recommend juniper berries or ground ginger, and salt is replaced with soy sauce.

At wet method keep the chicken in brine for at least 18 hours. In this case, you need to regularly turn over pieces or half carcasses if the bird is butchered.

When there is no time to wait, the bird is injected with marinade. Punctures need to be done every 3-5 cm. Since the brine is injected directly into the thickness chicken meat, marinating time is reduced to 1-2 hours.

How to smoke chicken in a hot smoked smokehouse

To smoke chicken in a hot-smoked smokehouse evenly, you need to follow a few rules.

1. Salted or pickled chicken must be air-dried for 1-2 hours before hot smoking. If this is not done, moisture will not allow smoke to penetrate into the carcass. A “shell” is formed on the surface of the chicken, otherwise it is called “hardening”. Because of it, inside the bird will remain raw, and on the outside it will be covered with a hard crust.

2. The chicken is placed on the grates of the smokehouse so that the smoke evenly envelops each piece. If possible, half carcasses or pieces are best hung.

3. To smoke a whole chicken, you will need a special attachment. Without it, it will be difficult to evenly smoke the carcass.

4. For hot smoking chicken, 1-2 handfuls of wood chips are enough. Wood chips should only cover the bottom of the smoker in a thin layer, otherwise the smoke will be too thick.

If you smoke chicken in a hot-smoked smokehouse according to these rules, it will cook evenly, it will turn out tender, without bitterness and an unpleasant aftertaste.

hot smoked chicken temperature

The temperature during hot smoking of chicken changes. You need to keep an eye on it during the cooking process.

If you took the whole carcass, during the first hour, maintain the temperature in the smoker at about 80 ºС, then lower it to 40 ºС and leave for another 1-2 hours.

Halves are cooked in about 1 hour. In the first 10 minutes, the fire should be maximum, and when smoke appears from the smoker, reduce the heat to a minimum. Now smoldering only needs to be maintained.

Wings are cooked at 60-80 ºС according to the same principle: first, maximum heating - then fire to a minimum.

How much to smoke hot smoked chicken in a smokehouse

At home, hot smoking chicken in a smokehouse lasts from 40 minutes to 1.5-3 hours. But this is only approximate data.

The time for hot smoking chicken varies depending on various factors:

• the size of the pieces (the whole chicken is smoked longer);
• salting duration;
• the age of the bird (the older it is, the meat is tougher and, accordingly, cooking will take longer.)

There is no exact answer to the question of how much to smoke hot-smoked chicken in a smokehouse. It is necessary to check the readiness of the bird from time to time.

A golden crust, dry and evenly colored, is a sign that the chicken is smoky.

But if you doubt readiness, pierce the carcass in the thickest place and see what the juice will flow out. If it is transparent, the chicken is ready.

Before serving, you need to remove the skin from the bird. She absorbed a lot of harmful substances, ashes, fumes, and you definitely shouldn’t use it. Don't forget to "ventilate" the freshly smoked chicken outdoors for a few hours as well.

Hot-smoked chicken cooked in a smokehouse is healthier than store-bought. You do not use liquid smoke, preservatives and flavor enhancers, and you are also confident in the quality and freshness of the bird. To homemade delicacy turned out to be tastier, use not frozen, but chilled poultry.

Try proven popular marinades, experiment and create your own recipes for hot smoked chicken in a smokehouse!

Homemade smoked meats are very tasty and fragrant. And most importantly, the meat is always fresh. You can smoke absolutely everything - from bacon and fish to everyone's favorite chicken and quail. In order not to make a mistake even for the first time, it is enough to study the technology of preparing products for smoking and their direct preparation.

Pickling

At home, usually smoked chicken is cooked hot. It is very fast, easy and requires a minimum of skills and knowledge. The main thing is to properly prepare the carcasses and get them out of the smoking cabinet in time. Poultry can be cooked in horizontal or vertical smokehouses, hot or cold. The technology for preparing carcasses usually depends on their type. If there is a horizontal cabinet and the chicken will be cooked on a wire rack, the carcasses are cut in half. In a vertical device, whole carcasses are usually cooked by hanging them upside down.

When preparing the bird for marinating, they clean it from the insides, cut off the neck, remove excess fat, since during smoking it will melt, drain onto the pan and give burning and bad smell. If the carcass is cut lengthwise into half, it can be tapped on the outside with a jackhammer to soften the tissues. This will marinate the meat better.

Marinade recipe for 1 carcass:

• 1 liter of water;
• a little more than half a glass of salt;
• 100 g of sugar;
• 30 ml of vinegar;
• spices (black pepper, coriander, bay leaf, etc.);
• 4 cloves of garlic.

Smoked chicken in the smokehouse it will turn out the tastier, the better it is marinated. To do this, bring 1 liter of water to a boil in a saucepan. Pour salt, sugar, spices, mix until dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the vinegar, allow the marinade to cool.

The prepared carcass is placed in a deep container, poured with marinade and left in the refrigerator. In time, the bird should be marinated for at least 12 hours. Next, the bird is dried. This is done so that the marinade and excess liquid leave the carcass, which will interfere with high-quality smoking. Usually the carcass is simply hung in a ventilated area for 2-3 hours.

If the carcass is whole, you can put a few cloves of garlic inside before laying it in the smokehouse. The carcass is tied with twine so that it keeps its shape under the influence high temperatures. This is the right way to cook meat for smoking in the country. If smoking is carried out in a special cabinet on a fire, the preparation of the product is similar.

Smoking chicken in a smokehouse

This is the most crucial moment. You need to prepare a smokehouse in advance: prepare wood chips and heat the cabinet. To smoke chicken deliciously, they prefer the wood of bird cherry, alder, cherry and oak. They are the most flavorful. Chips are soaked in water for an hour before laying in the oven. So it will not burn, but only smolder, giving the right smoke.

The smokehouse should be equipped with a drip tray into which the fat will drain, foil is usually placed on the tray so that the fat does not burn, and it is easier to clean the tray later.

To warm up the smokehouse, kindle the stove and allow the installation to heat up.

There is no single smoking recipe. You just need to keep the level of hot smoke in the smokehouse constant.

The maximum temperature to which the cabinet can be heated is 180°C. If it rises higher, the meat must be removed.

For the chicken to have appetizing crust, the skin on top can be rubbed with spices and herbs

How long should a bird be in the smokehouse? Cooking time for smoked chicken depends on the size of the carcass and the volume of the installation itself. On average, this will take from 1 to 3 hours. It is better not to open the cabinet door during smoking. The first time check the readiness of the carcass after 1 hour. After cooking, smoked chicken can only be consumed when it has cooled well. It doesn't taste as good when it's hot as it is when it's cold. Meat shelf life home smoked should not exceed 5 days.

Smoking chicken in a smokehouse has several nuances:

• if the carcasses are small and thin, so that during smoking they do not turn out to be dry, pieces of lard are placed inside;
• liquid smoke is not recommended, as in the process of heating to high temperatures it turns into a carcinogen;
• so that the meat marinates faster - in 1-2 hours, the marinade can be injected into the carcass with a syringe.

Now the answer to the question of how to smoke a chicken has been exhausted. It remains only to personally try to translate the acquired knowledge into practice and improve your skills. You should always remember about the quality of the purchased products, because half of the success of the new one depends on it. culinary masterpiece home performance.

Fragrant and tasty smoked chicken has long taken pride of place in the refrigerators of many residents of the CIS. Preference this species Hundreds of people give dishes, saving time on cooking and enjoying the pleasant and unique taste of smoked meats.

Eating smoked chicken is a matter of taste, but many gourmets are not even aware of the burden this product has on the body.

"Pros and cons"

There are many conflicting opinions about the negative and positive impact smoked meats on the human body. With all this, smoked products have taken a stable position in the sales market and are not going to leave the store shelves.

On the topic of the benefits and harms of smoked chicken, endless debates can be held, and at the same time, the public is unlikely to come to a common opinion. To understand exactly how smoked chicken affects human body, it is necessary to consider in detail the composition of meat and its properties.

The unique taste of smoked chicken attracts many gourmets. The popularity of this dish is mainly due to its most famous property - long storage. Of course they buy smoked chicken not only travelers and tourists, but also ordinary consumers, but only a few are aware of the benefits of smoked meat.

The composition of meat contains the following substances:

• Phosphorus;
• Potassium;
• Iron;
• Magnesium.

These elements are indispensable materials in the human body and help to avoid diseases such as heart attack, stroke and hypertension.

Chicken meat contains a huge proportion of easily digestible protein, while it has a low calorie content, being inherently dietary product, especially when refusing to use the peel.

Harm

Despite the large number of positive characteristics of smoked chicken meat, this product may well harm the body.

Firstly, any kind of smoked meat is contraindicated for people with diseases gastrointestinal tract. The use of such a product can lead to exacerbations of ulcers, gastritis and disrupt the acid-base balance of the gastrointestinal tract.

Secondly, besides natural smoking, there is another way to prepare this tasty meat- chemical treatment. That is, under the influence of chemicals, the meat acquires the same taste qualities and properties, as in natural smoking. The disadvantage of this processing is the presence in the meat a large number phenols and carcinogens that cause the formation of tumors. And if during natural processing these elements are contained in small quantities, then in chemically processed chicken, they are many times more. Also, don't forget about the chicken itself. Artificially bred birds are often reared with hormones and treated with antibiotics.

Third, do not forget that the frequent use of chicken meat, even natural smoked, as well as other smoked products can lead over time to the development of benign and malignant neoplasms.

Gourmet Health

Summing up and determining the positive and negative qualities of smoked poultry meat, all data can be reduced to several points.

The benefits and harms of smoked chicken for humans:

• Chicken meat consists of high quality protein, which is easily absorbed by the body;
• When processed by cold smoking, most of the trace elements and vitamins are preserved;
• Low calorie product low content cholesterol, especially if you use it without the skin.

The negative properties include only the choice of a low-quality product and the possibility of tumors. However, the harm that can be caused by smoked chicken meat refers only to the abuse of this dish.

Thus, the benefits and harms of high-quality smoked chicken for humans are incomparable in the absence of overuse this product. Write about how you feel about smoked chicken in

Smoked chicken although it is considered not very useful product, she is loved by many and already enough for a long time. It attracts with its appetizing appearance and unique aroma (see photo). For smoking, meaty carcasses are chosen, which are then treated with smoke. Thanks to proper processing, harmful substances cease to spread on the chicken, which allows you to store it enough long time(without a refrigerator, chicken will be allowed to eat within 2 days). Given this, it is often taken with them on picnics and travel.

The traditional method of smoking is the one for which special equipment is used. In such chambers, the chicken is for a long time, and during this period it is treated with wood smoke. Modern manufacturers, in order to reduce the processing time and save a lot, use liquid smoke. In this case, the carcasses are first served heat treatment, and then immersed in containers with liquid smoke and various preservatives.

Today on the shelves of shops you can find smoked chicken of 2 types:

• Cold smoked. In this case, the carcasses are kept over the smoke of a smoldering fire for several days. In this case, the temperature does not increase more than 30 degrees.
• Hot smoked. This option allows you to save a lot of time, as the carcasses are in special smokehouses. This processing allows you to get a more tender and fragrant chicken.

Use in cooking

Smoked chicken is wonderful an independent dish which can be served for dinner or festive table. In addition, it can be used in recipes for salads, snacks, etc. More of her original taste helps to improve the taste of the first, second and main courses. In general, smoked chicken is a great product for culinary experiments.

How to do at home?

To make the product not only tasty, but also not harmful to the body, it is best to cook it at home. This can be done as a whole or in parts. For smoking, it is best to choose young chickens, whose meat is more tender. Carcasses should be thoroughly washed, and then, choose one of the proposed options: boil for several minutes in salted water; soak in a saline solution for 3 days (1 tbsp of salt per 1 liter of water). You can also keep the chicken in the marinade for 12 hours. You also need to purchase a special smokehouse. Consider one of the options for hot smoked chicken. To do this, you need to take a chicken carcass, salt, pepper and your favorite spices.

The chicken must be thoroughly wiped with spices, and sent to a plastic sleeve for several hours. This is necessary so that the meat is thoroughly soaked. After that, the carcass should be hung out in fresh air so that it dries. Then send the chicken to the smoker and cook for 40 minutes. under intense fire. Before use, it is recommended to remove the skin from the carcass, as substances harmful to the body have formed in it.

Harm of smoked chicken and contraindications

Smoked chicken can bring harm because of its high calorie and fat content therefore, do not use the product in large quantities. Refuse the product is in the presence of individual intolerance to the product. At frequent use smoked chicken can provoke the appearance of obesity, as well as the accumulation of cholesterol and carcinogens in the body. All this in turn causes the formation of atherosclerosis and cancer. Smoked chicken is contraindicated for people with gastrointestinal problems. If you consume a product treated with liquid smoke, then toxins enter the body that can cause various diseases and problems.

Of course, in most cases this is just a matter of taste, but there are other reasons why it is sometimes worth giving preference to the smoked cooking option.

Of course, there are many conflicting opinions on the benefits and harms of smoked meats, however, despite negative feedback, smoked chicken has not ceased to be popular with buyers. It's all about her unique taste which cannot be achieved by other cooking methods. In addition, it has other advantages, which, unfortunately, are not inherent in baked and fried options. Take, for example, its remarkable conservation qualities. Thanks to cold smoking or long-term heat treatment, smoked chicken is stored much longer, while not losing its piquancy and delicate taste.

And if we talk about the benefits, then chicken meat, like no other, is good for our health. Phosphorus, protein, potassium and magnesium, which it contains in excess, are indispensable building materials for our body and help prevent diseases such as hypertension, stroke and heart attack. In addition, natural smoking gives finished product good bacterial effect, without adding cholesterol and additional trans fats, which cannot be avoided when frying.

A few words about calories

Chicken meat is one of the most valuable and nutritious foods for the human body. Since chicken meat has a low fat content, it can be safely called dietary. It is often recommended to athletes, as it contains vitamins A, B and PP. Smoked chicken meat is unusually rich in iron, so it is also recommended for people with low hemoglobin.

So, it is worth summarizing some of the positive aspects of smoking:

• rich taste;
• low fat and cholesterol;
• high protein content and preservation of vitamins;
• amino acids in their original natural form;
• nutritional value;

However, there is another side of the coin, which would be unfair to ignore. Smoked meat in any form is contraindicated for people with any disorders in digestive system. It is important to remember that smoking is carried out both naturally and chemically, which does not bring any benefit to the body.

Only natural smoking will bring real benefits, so when buying, you should pay attention to exactly how it was carried out.

Chemical smoking is not always at first glance distinguishable from natural, so you should be careful and buy such meat in trusted places. Otherwise, it can lead to serious health problems. After all, it is well known that chemical smoking increases the risk of developing tumors and contributes to obesity. Of course, this applies to regular use product. If you allow yourself to eat harmful smoked meat once a year and you have no health problems, then this will not lead to fatal consequences.

Choose Wisely

If this bird was not brought to you by your grandmother, then there is already a risk. Chickens raised “artificially” for smoking or grilling are often stuffed with antibiotics and hormones. For the birds themselves, this serves as protection against infection, but in our case, the consumption of this kind of meat can cause a decrease in immune system and disturbances in the microflora of the body. Often this manifests itself in the form of an allergic reaction.

Without a doubt, you do not need to go to any extremes. Such is life that we cannot fully insulate ourselves from harmful effects environment, but it is within our power to take steps to minimize the risk. Let's remember that natural smoking has its own irrefutable advantages, and it is better to avoid chemical processing of the product, in particular chicken meat.