Smoked Chicken with Tomatillo Salsa

So I have totally been guilty of posting lots and lots of desserts lately.  I would say that I am sorry, but you know I am not and I hope that is ok since you get to enjoy the treats.  I have soooo much to say and I cannot remember it all.  I definitely need to start using my Evernote app more because I am losing track of the plethora of sticky notes scattered around my house.  Seriously, at the rate I use sticky notes, I recommend you invest in their stock. On a serious note, from the deepest darkest caverns of my heart, THANK YOU so much for all your votes and support the last few weeks for the 2013 Annual Homies awards.  Not only did I win 2 of the categories, but my amazing friend Danielle from Against All Grain won the third.  We had a Paleo sweep which is huge.  You all helped me fulfill a dream of mine so thank you.

Second note I can remember is, there are some exciting new features coming to my website.  It is partially enabled right now and in the next month should be fully operational.  If you look up at the menu bar, you should see a tab that says Recipe Box, you can highlight it will your mouse and see the options.  Basically, any recipes, just like this one that have the save button get added to your custom account.  You can make shopping lists, meal plans, etc.  I am tirelessly working as well as two Cave Assistants to get all the recipes converted to this format.  I hope you love it but please be patient.

I just realized I have written two paragraphs and haven’t even mentioned this recipe, OOPS.  There is not much to say about it besides that it is DELICIOUS.  I can not believe I used to buy jarred tomatillo salsa.  Thank you to a local farmer who hooked me up with tons of fresh tomatillos, I got introduced to a world full of flavor and I love it.  I hope you can experience the same joy that I did when I created this.  The salsa paired with my delicious chicken from Primal Pastures sent my taste buds on a flavor roller coaster.  This recipe will definitely impress some guests and it is EASY.  That is all for now, can’t wait to read your comments.

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George Bryant

Smoked Chicken with Tomatillo Salsa

5 from 6 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

Chicken

• 1 5-6 pounds whole chicken, cleaned

Brine

• 8 cups of water
• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup black peppercorns
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme

Chicken Rub

• 1 tablespoon seaweed salt can use sea salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Tomatillo Salsa

• 1 pound fresh tomatillos husked and rinsed well
• 1 large red onion cut into chunks
• 3 cloves garlic peeled
• 1/2 packed cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 jalapeno seeds and all if you like heat
• 1 lime juiced
• pinch of sea salt

Method

 

Chicken Prep

1. Combine all your brine ingredients in a large 2 gallon zip lock bag and stir well
2. Place your whole cleaned chicken in the bag, remove as much air as possible and seal the bag (make sure its closed or you will have a bad leak)
3. Place this bag in a large bowl and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours but up to 48 hours
4. Remove from the refrigerator and pat dry an hour before you plan on cooking

Tomatillo Salsa

1. Combine your tomatillos, onions, and garlic, and jalapeño in a food processor or blender and pulse until you get a salsa consistency
2. Add in your cilantro, lime juice and sea salt and pulse until all incorporated
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve

Smoking

1. Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees fahrenheit
2. In a small bowl combine all of the above ingredients for the rub and mix well
3. Generously apply the rub to the outside and inside of the chicken (you will have some extra rub, store in a ziploc bag for another recipe)
4. If you have a leave in meat thermometer now is the time to put it in the breast of the bird and then place it on the smoker
5. You want to smoke the chicken at 225 degrees until the breast reaches 180 degrees and refrain from opening the smoker as much as possible
6. Once done, remove the chicken and let it rest for 10-15 minutes and then serve with the above tomatillo salsa

Oven

1. If you want to roast this same recipe in the oven, brine it and season it as stated above
2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and roast uncovered in a large roasting pan until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160 degrees in the breast
3. Remove it from the oven and let it rest for 10-15 minutes and serve with the above salsa

Crockpot

1. You do not need to brine the chicken for this step
2. You can season the bird as stated above and then place in the crockpot on low for 6 hours and it will be all done
3. If you want to smoke it, you can follow the instructions for using woodchips in the crockpot HERE.
4. You will just only cook it on low for 6 hours

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