Methods & Ingredients of Smoked Chicken

Select your favorite product with a minimum 5 ingredients, list the ingredients, method of preparation and functionality of 4 ingredients mentioned in the recipe. Make sure to write 4-5 sentences per ingredient. Mention what will you change in the recipe to make it marketable as per the existing food trends.

Smoked Whole Chicken

Ingredients:

Whole Chicken

Brine:

Cold Water

Salt

Sugar (Brown or White)

Dry Rub:

Brown Sugar

Salt

Cayenne Pepper

Black Pepper

Method of Preparation:

Make the brine by adding ½ cup to ¾ cup of salt per 1 gallon of water. Stir the mixture to ensure the salt completely dissolves in the water. After the salt is dissolved, add an equal amount of sugar to the brine. Stir the brine to ensure all of the ingredients are completely dissolved. Place the whole chicken in the container of brine and allow to sit for 2 hours to overnight in the refrigerator.

If the salt and sugar do not dissolve, the solution can be heated to ensure the ingredients dissolve. Make sure the brine reaches room temperature again before adding the chicken.

Make the dry rub by combining all of the ingredients in a 8:3:1:1 ratio. For example, 8 tablespoons of brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of salt, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. After the chicken has finished brining, apply the dry rub to the chicken. Cover the entire chicken with the dry rub and massage the rub into the meat.

Smoke the chicken in either an electric or wood smoker. Use any flavor of wood for generating smoke. The chicken should be smoked around 2250-2500F for approximately an hour per pound of meat or until an internal temperature of 1650F is obtained. Allow the chicken to rest for approximately 15 minutes before carving for maximum juiciness.

Ingredient Functionality:

Salt:

The salt serves a very important function in the brine. The salt aides in the moisture uptake and retention by the chicken. The salt also helps increase the tenderness of the meat, which is accomplished by the denaturation of the protein structure. The salt is transported into the meat and breaks bonds between amino acid side chains. The ions bind to the amino acid side chains and increase the space between the fibers due to the electrostatic repulsion. This exposes binding sites for the water to bind. It also increases the interstitial space, allowing for more water to enter the meat. The salt also is used to increase the flavor of the meat, through its use in both the brine and dry rub.

Sugar:

The use of sugar in smoked chicken serves several functions, just as the salt. One important and noticeable function is the flavor provided by the sugar. The sugar helps to increase the flavor of the product and serves to help counteract the heat provided by the the two peppers in the dry rub. The sugar is also important for the final appearance of the smoked chicken. The sugar helps aide in the browning of the chicken. The sugar in involved in Maillard reactions, which are the interactions of sugars and amino acids to create a brown color. The sugar also undergoes caramelization, creating a brown color also. Flavors also also produced from the Maillard reactions and caramelization.

Cayenne Pepper:

Cayenne pepper also serves as a multifunctional ingredient in this recipe. The most noticeable function of cayenne pepper in this recipe is the flavor provided by the spice. Cayenne pepper has a very distinct flavor and aroma, which adds another dimension of the product. The cayenne pepper also provides heat to the chicken. The heat is provided by some of the compounds present in cayenne pepper. Cayenne pepper also offers nutritional benefit. Cayenne pepper contains numerous vitamins. It is also beneficial in increasing the digestion of foods that are tougher to digest, such as meat.

Black Pepper:

As in the previous ingredients, black pepper in another ingredient that has multiple functions in the recipe. Black pepper is incorporated into the recipe for added flavor. Black pepper provides a different type of spiciness and heat than the cayenne pepper. The black pepper offers a strong flavor and enhances the smoked chicken, through the compounds present in the ingredient. Black pepper provides heat without causing as much of a burn in the mouth as other peppers. Black pepper is also a cheap and accessible option for increasing the flavor of the chicken. Black pepper is used to add another flavor to the product without negatively impacting the health of the consumer. It increases digestibility and possibly offers cardiovascular benefits. Black pepper can also be used to control microbial growth, while increasing flavor.

Marketability:

I think the flavor of the product would be well accepted by the market. The product has a well-balanced flavor. The only change to the ingredients would be to reduce the amount of sodium in the smoked chicken. This would provide a healthier product to the market. Consumers currently desire a reasonably priced and quick source of protein. I would modify the recipe in the brining step. The production time could be drastically reduced by using vacuum tumbling instead of immersion in the brining of the chicken. Vacuum tumbling could increase the brine uptake and moisture retention. Vacuum tumbling would also decrease the time required to brine the product. This decreased time would lead to a decreased production cost. This would produce a cheaper product. These changes would appeal to the consumers who desire a quality source of protein at a reasonable price. The recipe could also be modified to produce parts instead of whole chickens. This would offer a smaller package option for consumers that do not need a large number of servings, as in a family setting.