Everyone gets a chicken!!!

When we were in Branson last year, we took the kids to Dixie Stampede.  Part of the huge dinner that is served there included a Cornish Game Hen.  The kids liked the show... but also thought it was great getting their own chicken to eat.

I finally got around to cooking some Cornish Game Hens on the PG1000.  I brined and rubbed them with the same recipe I used in WIfe Says NO BARBEQUE THIS WEEKEND.  Hens went in the brine for about 2 hours, they then were rinsed and dried uncovered in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.  I then cooked them on the PG1000 at 225 degrees for about 30 minutes then increased the temp to 350 degrees until the breast was about 165 degrees and the thighs were around 175 degrees.  I also basted them every 30 minutes with some Parkay.

They had a nice garlic herb flavor with a mild smoke flavor.  Definitely will be cooking these again.

Cleaned and headed to the brine

Rubbed with the wet rub

After about 1 1/2 hours on the PG1000 

Finished 

Served up with Kelli's Roasted Broccoli, and Potatoes Au Gratin from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Chicken Breasts and Spaghetti Squash

Better late than never... I started this blog post about 3 weeks ago and never finished it!

There were some chicken breasts in the fridge... so I cooked them.  I hope my wife wasn't planning on using them for an upcoming meal...  They were first brined for about 4 hours in a new product called "Grill" from Butcher BBQ.  Then rubbed and tossed on the indirect portion of the PG1000 at about 300 degrees.  I cooked them indirect until they reached about 150 degrees internal temp then I tossed them over on the direct grate to take them up to about 165 degrees.  turned out really moist and flavorful.  Needless to say,  I will be brining breasts in the future.

I had honestly never heard of spaghetti squash... Thanks to Suzanne for both informing me on the beauty of the spaghetti squash, and donating one for me to grill. I halved the squash and cleaned out the seeds.  Seasoned with a little salt and pepper and cooked indirect with the chicken at 300 degrees.  When the chicken was moved direct I moved the squash over as well.  I ended up cooking the squash about 20 minutes longer than the chicken until it was soft.   The "noodles" of the squash were excellent.  It had a vegetable/pasta type taste with a little more "crunch" than pasta.  It was quite tasty, and at 40 calories per cup you can't beat it! (Well 40 calories per cup BEFORE I added a bunch of butter!)

Breasts in the brine

Spaghetti Squash

Squash halved cleaned and ready to cook

Chicken and squash on the PG1000

Finished chicken

Squash coming off the grill, prior to scraping it into "noodles"

Spaghetti Squash "Noodles"

Dinner

Wife Says NO BARBECUE THIS WEEKEND!

So... after months of cooking and barbecue just about every weekend my wife's only request was "No barbeque-ey food this weekend."  The challenge was on.  Yes she still wanted, and expected, me to cook, just nothing with barbecue flavor. 

I decided to cook steaks one night with some grilled mushrooms... but that was too easy.  So I decided to come up with some kind of chicken dish.  I took this post by TN Q on the Cookshack Forum and tweaked it a little.  I cooked two chickens which had been cut into parts.  Each chicken was brined for about 5 hours, then the wet rub in the forum post was applied, and the skin was tacked in place with some toothpicks.  The chicken was then smoked on the PG1000 at 250 degrees.  The thighs, legs and wings were pulled at 170 degrees internal temp.  The breasts were quite thick and so after pulling the dark meat I increased the grill temp and finished them to an internal temp of 165 directly on the grill.  

This chicken turned out great.  It was very moist and flavorful.  The skin turned out quite edible though not crispy except on the breasts that were finished at a higher heat.  

Bottom line - The wife was pleased with a "no barbecue-ey" taste and she didn't have to cook!

One of the chickens getting ready to be brined

The brine mix

Chicken in the brine.  I put it in the pan as the bag was full... and I'm not into cleaning up messes in the fridge when the bags leak.

Chicken on the indirect side of the PG1000 at 250 degrees. 

The finished product!

We will be having this again!