Hope you cluckers are having a great holiday! I feel fortunate to be able to celebrate this holiday in the spirit of days gone by! We thawed out one of the Ameraucana's and smoked it! I know it was the one I butchered because I did not cut off the 'greaser' which is a little nub down by the tail that creates the oil birds will grab with their beak and spread on their feathers while they groom. I know Joe cut his off. Once the feathers were off, I could not tell which bird was which, so I am not sure who fed us tonight, but I must say...5 month old Ameraucana's are pretty fab! Kenny brined it for about 2 days in water, salt and brown sugar. Today, he rubbed it with spices and stuffed it with apples, lemon, onions and spices. It was slow cooked at about 200 degrees on the smoker with some hickory chips. Amazed! Very flavorful! Not gamey at all and we all agreed it was the best chicken we've ever eaten! Very tender as well! It was a little salty, so would definitely adjust the brine time, but otherwise PERFECT! Closing with some photos. Thankful for the circle of life! Hatching a baby from an egg, watching the mother nuture and protect it, seeing it grow into a beautiful bird, processing it into something we can eat and enjoying an organic, free ranged bird for a holiday meal (hopefully at a fraction of the cost, but I could not be sure of that!) Organic Turkeys from a local farm were going for $4.99/lb which for a 20 lb bird is ALOT of cash! Enjoy and cheers!
After the brining.
Stuffed with apples, lemons, onions and spices
The girls came up for some oatmeal....not sure they knew what was cooking in the smoker!
Oh WOW!
Beautiful!!!!
Genny enjoyed eating her baby. She said it was the best chicken ever! :)
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