4th of July Menu

Happy (Belated) 4th of July!  So Caitlin and I had some people over on the 4th so we could show off the patio we built and as an excuse to make a bunch of stuff in my smoker.  The smoker I got has pretty much turned into the best thing ever.  I've only used it 3 or 4 times, and already, it's just awesome!  So for our party I made a whole chicken and 2 racks of baby back ribs in the smoker.  Let me tell you, my spice rub, combined with that smoker, made those two things unbelievably delicious!  Here's what you'll need for each:

Whole Smoked Chicken

6 or 8 hours or so before you want to eat, take the chicken out of the fridge and brush it with about 1/4 cup each of apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar) and Olive oil.  Set it on a broiler pan or a large plate and shake or rub the entire surface with spice rub and set in an unheated oven until 4 hours before dinner time.  This is to allow the spices to soak in and flavor the skin and also to allow the chicken to warm up to room temperature.  A little tip is that a chicken at room temperature is better for roasting than a cold chicken.  Get your smoker going at about 275 degrees and set the chicken on the rack and let it go for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.  Check it with a meat thermometer, you want the internal temperature on the chicken to be at least 150 degrees in the smoker.  Turn on the grill to medium or your oven broiler and put the chicken under the high heat for 10 or 15 minutes to crisp

Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Take your rib(s) the day before you want to cook them up and remove the white membrane along the back with your fingers and a paper towel (it helps you hold onto the membrane).  Lay out a piece of heavy duty aluminum, enough to completely cover each rib rack.  Then brush with a half and half mixture of apple cider vinegar and olive oil and then rub on a coating of rub my patented spice rub and wrap tightly in foil and put in the fridge overnight for the spices to work their way into the ribs.

The next day, get the smoker going to about 250-275 degrees and cut the rib racks in half (so they'll fit in the smoker better) and place into the smoker.  Let it smoke for about 2 hours and then remove from the smoker and re-wrap in foil and let sit for about 20 or 30 minutes so the ribs will effectively braise.  Then, about 15 minutes before you want to eat, throw the ribs bone side down on a grill on medium heat and brush with your favorite barbeque sauce and let them crisp up.  Then right before serving, shake on another coating of rib rub and serve!