Tribute to Cuchulain Libby AKA 'Hound'

We marinated a 6# chicken
for three days this year in an exotic citrus brine and then roasted it for
a little over two hours at 350°. I called it done when the fleshy part of the
thigh reached 165°. We cooked it on a vertical bird rack in the convection
oven. It is one of the tenderest, tastiest birds we've ever done. Side dishes
were early peas, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pecan pie. The
gravy was made from the chicken drippings with a little sherry, flour and
chicken stock. (I take back what I said about two hours not being enough
for a bird this size. I don't know how, but it was damn well falling off the
bone done. This one got a head start from room temp for 20 mins at 425°,
then finished at 350° in a convection oven.) Skin was well crisped, but
meat immediately beneath was extremely moist and succulent. No
stuffing was used. The bird was basted at the beginning and end with
a 50/50 honey/butter misture and S&P.

God Bless you and yours.
--
Howard and Nathalie Bricker

Hound's Citrus Brined Chicken

Prepare the brine:
1 gallon water
1 cup Kosher salt or 1/2 cup table salt
juice of 3 oranges
juice of three limes
juice of three lemons
rinds from same
1 sliced white onion
1 head of garlic, crushed
stems from a bunch of cilantro, chopped
serranos to taste, minimum of 4
rough ground cumin and coriander 2 Tbsp each
1/4 cup chili powder or any ground chile you prefer
(1/4 cup onion powder is optional)
(1/4cup garlic powder is optional)

Place the bird(s) and plenty of brine solution in a ziploc bag(s) and
leave refrigerated overnight prior to cooking. A cooler works fine also. I use a 5 gal beverage cooler for all but the biggest turkeys. Frozen soda bottles, or ice can be used to keep the cold. {8 lbs of ice= 1 gallon of water} An hour before cooking take the bird out and
thoroughly wash it down with cold water for at least 30 seconds. You
can place aromatics like garlic heads, apples, citrus in the cavity of
the bird for the cooking. I like also to place orange slices between
skin and meat. Smoke rear end of chicken toward the fire for 45
minutes/lb @ 225°F until the thigh is about 170°F. You can rotate as
necessary to avoid charring. Cooking this way will result in inedible
skin, but juicy chicken. If you like the crispy skin then place the
chicken near the firebox. This works for either chickens or turkeys.
If you eliminate the brine (salt and water) the rest of the recipe makes an excellent marinade for grilled chicken.

Recipe courtesy of the late Cuchulain Libby (AKA Hound)of San Antonio,TX.
The Hound was (and still is) renowned for his innovative outdoor cooking
style. This citrus brine recipe is just one outgrowth of his inventive mind.
The Hound was taken from us abruptly about two years ago at the tender age
of 52. He will be missed, but his recipies and style of cooking will live on
in the hearts and minds of his friends worldwide for many years to come.

Hound's instructions are reprinted verbatim. Deviations from Hound's instructions are purely my own and are neither recommended nor discouraged.
--

Brick (Keep the shiny side up)


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M&M wrote:
Tribute to Cuchulain Libby AKA 'Hound'

We marinated a 6# chicken
for three days this year in an exotic citrus brine and then roasted it for
a little over two hours at 350°. I called it done when the fleshy part of the
thigh reached 165°. We cooked it on a vertical bird rack in the convection
oven. It is one of the tenderest, tastiest birds we've ever done. Side dishes
were early peas, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pecan pie. The
gravy was made from the chicken drippings with a little sherry, flour and
chicken stock. (I take back what I said about two hours not being enough
for a bird this size. I don't know how, but it was damn well falling off the
bone done. This one got a head start from room temp for 20 mins at 425°,
then finished at 350° in a convection oven.) Skin was well crisped, but
meat immediately beneath was extremely moist and succulent. No
stuffing was used. The bird was basted at the beginning and end with
a 50/50 honey/butter misture and S&P.

God Bless you and yours.


Here is an old posting from Hound about how his brine came about,

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...&output=gplain

Miss ya Hound!
--
Piedmont, In northern South Carolina! Nestled between the Blue Ridge
Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean! Home to the Catawba Indian Nation!

BBQ USA - http://groups.msn.com/BBQUSA/_whatsnew.msnw

On 26-Nov-2004, Piedmont wrote:

M&M wrote:
Tribute to Cuchulain Libby AKA 'Hound'


snip a bunch here


Here is an old posting from Hound about how his brine came about,

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...&output=gplain

Miss ya Hound!
--
Piedmont, In northern South Carolina! Nestled between the Blue Ridge
Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean! Home to the Catawba Indian Nation!

BBQ USA - http://groups.msn.com/BBQUSA/_whatsnew.msnw

Thanks for that link Piedmont. I never got to meet the Hound face to face, but
I did correspond with him some and I sure like his brine. Now that I've finally
used up my batch of Hounds brine, I plan to mix a batch of TFM®'s and see
how that goes. Strangely, I don't see any other brines being as heavily touted
as those two. Frankly, I don't need a better brine, but a little variation might be
nice. Hound's old post said he kicked the bird up another notch by injecting
with butter/honey mix. I might try that next time, but I'm not at all sure it's
necessary. I've roasted two and spatchcock/grilled several more after Hound's
brine. If it gets any better, I don't care. May the Hound live forever in our hearts.
Just my 2¢.

--
Brick(DL5BF, WA7ERO, HS4ADI)


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"Brick" wrote in message
...

On 26-Nov-2004, Piedmont wrote:


(lots of mumbo jumbo snipped)

Thanks for that link Piedmont. I never got to meet the Hound face to face,
but
I did correspond with him some and I sure like his brine. Now that I've
finally
used up my batch of Hounds brine, I plan to mix a batch of TFM®'s and see
how that goes. Strangely, I don't see any other brines being as heavily
touted
as those two. Frankly, I don't need a better brine, but a little variation
might be
nice. Hound's old post said he kicked the bird up another notch by
injecting
with butter/honey mix. I might try that next time, but I'm not at all sure
it's
necessary. I've roasted two and spatchcock/grilled several more after
Hound's
brine. If it gets any better, I don't care. May the Hound live forever in
our hearts.
Just my 2¢.

--
Brick(DL5BF, WA7ERO, HS4ADI)


Brick, we didn't brine, but we did inject our birds with butter, honey &
garlic. Wow! Talk about a juicy bird! The flavor was excellent and the
bird literally almost fell apart after being on the WSM for about 4 hours.
We did two turkeys, there were 9 guests and no leftovers. TFM got rave
reviews from the attendees.

Turkey noodle soup will be on the stovetop today.

kili

I got a Vermont Castings grill with a rotisserie burner over a year
ago. The chickens always turn out fantastic on the rotisserie, crisp
skin and juicy inside. I thought why mess with success? Well, I've been
reading everyone's comments about Hounds brine and I finally decided to
try it. I brined a 5 pound bird 24 hours and put it on the rotisserie
without any seasoning other than what it had soaked up. Wow! A whole
new level of juiciness and the citrus flavour had worked it's way into
every bite. I'm convinced. That's the way I'm going to prepare my
chicken from now on. Thanks guys.

Cam

On 29-Nov-2004, "Cam" wrote:

I got a Vermont Castings grill with a rotisserie burner over a year
ago. The chickens always turn out fantastic on the rotisserie, crisp
skin and juicy inside. I thought why mess with success? Well, I've been
reading everyone's comments about Hounds brine and I finally decided to
try it. I brined a 5 pound bird 24 hours and put it on the rotisserie
without any seasoning other than what it had soaked up. Wow! A whole
new level of juiciness and the citrus flavour had worked it's way into
every bite. I'm convinced. That's the way I'm going to prepare my
chicken from now on. Thanks guys.

Cam

Marvelous isn't it? I've read the chemistry report about brining, but I still
marvel at how that salt does a job without making the bird salty. Mine
are absolutely delectable every time. Cook it by whatever method you
like and it will still be a nice variation from the unbrined bird. FWIW I
did my last one in a 'Presto' clear 13 gal bag with a twist tie. I put the
bird in there and covered with enough brine, then tied it off with as little air
remaining as I could. I put that whole thing in a rigid container large
enough to hold it and then into the fridge. I'm fortunate to have a little
frig chest that doubles as a drink frig and brining cooler. The rigid container
, bowl, bucket, etc., provides protection agains bag failure and the bag
makes it wasy to turn the bird periodically. I haven't done any large turkeys
so a 3 gal bucket was usually sifficient. This last one went in a large stainless
mixing bowl.

Just my 2¢.

--
Brick(DL5BF, WA7ERO, HS4ADI)


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