Brined and Smoked Chicken

Ingredients

2 cups kosher salt
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 garlic head, split in half
1 1/2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons juniper berries
3 bay leaves
2 3-to-4-pound chickens
Melted butter for brushing

Instructions

In a pot large enough to hold both chickens, combine all of the brine ingredients with 2 gallons of water and stir. Add the birds to the pot, cover, and refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours. Remove the birds from the pot, discard the brine, and rinse the chickens thoroughly under cold water and pat dry. Coat the whole chicken with melted butter. Heat up a charcoal or gas grill, and cook using the methods described in the rib recipe above, maintaining the temperature of the grill at about 250 degrees for 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. (Published 2002)