My Hark Smoker and Pickled &Smoked Chicken Wheels

G'day from South Aussie guys, next to the beautiful Barossa Valley.



Just thought that I would say 'hi' and let you drool (hopefully that's all you'll be doing ) over my Pickled &Smoked Chicken Wheels. I usually knock these up for Chrissy as we usually have a Chicken & Champagne Christmas breakfast tradition here in my household, although my youngest son wants to change it to beer & bourbon ! Will have to take him up on that one year (his buy!)

Cheers...

Gash wrote:

Come on spit out the recipe

Yep, they sure are a crowd pleaser!....

I use Pineapple Flavoured Pumping Compound 525g from Master Butchers,
(I usually follow the mixing ratio as listed on the packet. I have used a stronger mix as well and enjoyed it).
It's really about your own taste. Add salt to help pickle and for taste. In a 10kg batch, I usually put in about 800g. If you like things saltier, then by all means, just up the salt quota and then mix with water.
Combine in a large food grade bucket, 1 litre of pickle to 1kg of chicken legs.
As I said, I tend to do 10kg of Chicken Wheels at a time, so that's 10kg chicken legs, to 10lt of pickle mix.
I wait for the special deals in the supermarket and do the Chicken Wheels for storage in the freezer for impromptu consumption (with a few good mates and some craft beer).
Cover the food grade bucket and refrigerate for 12hrs, then drain and smoke in the HARK. I use red gum sawdust, this gives that beautiful colour and combines well with the chicken/pickle mix.

Also, If you're into rabbiting, as I am, when I butt out the back and rear legs of the rabbit (these I bone out, tenderise and coat to make up Rabbit Schnittys), I make up the same pickle mix and soak the rabbit ribcage and front legs for a couple of hours and then HARK them. Most times people hardly use let alone eat the front half of the rabbit, (due to minimal meat) but I can almost guarantee that if you pickle and smoke them, people will scoff the lot and gnaw the bones clean, as if they've been left in a paddock for a year!

Give it a whirl, you wont be disappointed.
Cheers.