Excel 20 first smoke-- Hickory Smoked Chicken

Well... It has finally happened. The E20 got its first smoke and I must say right off the top that I am very pleased. There has been a bump or 2 getting here, but after a little perseverance, I am very excited about the unit and the way it performed and the possibility of sleep going forward. I wanted to do Hickory Smoked Chicken a la Big Bob Gibson and it turned out great. Some used the White Sauce, some used a store bought red sauce, some used both, and my wife just ate it without any sauce. I guess that means it was tasty however you like it.

I took a few pics to share...

I started about 15 coals in the chimney starter and added them to the top of this pile.




That seemed to get rolling nicely and I let the rig go through its paces a couple of hours to see what she would do.






Then I got the spatchcocked chicken. I rinsed the chicken, patted it dry, applied a little olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper.




A little over four hours later we had some great chicken. I think the simplicity of this dish let the complimentary flavors shine. Really it was just good chicken, some sublime hickory smoke, and a white sauce made by stirring 5 ingredients together and sitting it in the fridge. Sorry that I only got pictures of the sauce in the bottle... once it hit the chicken someone started eating it.





The chicken was gone with the exception of some dark meat and I made that into a little chicken salad the next day. Celery, mayo, salt, and pepper and I added some of the White BBQ sauce to mine too.

No fussing with fires and fuel either. I like tending the fire and talking to company, but sometimes I just want to relax or sleep and I think this rig will give me that opportunity. All in all it was a great day... I got to cook with my new rig(which I love), but more importantly, we had good food with great friends-- an awesome time! To me... thats what all this BBQ business is about.

You've made me hungry now!