Published July 1, 2011. From Cook's Illustrated.
Brining chicken pieces plumped the meat with extra moisture—a boon in a grill-smoked chicken recipe, in which the meat is prone to drying out. The key to our successful Grill-Smoked Chicken recipe was the charcoal grill setup. Mounding some lit coals on top of unlit briquettes on one side of the grill allowed the heat to trickle down and light the cold coals, extending the life of the fire. Stowing a pan of water under the chicken on the cool side of the grill provided humidity that stabilized the temperature of the grill and helped prevent the delicate breast meat in our grill-smoked chicken from drying out. A couple of wood chunks gave our grill-smoked chicken all the smokiness it needed.
Avoid mesquite wood chunks for this recipe: we find that the meat can turn bitter if they smolder too long. When using a charcoal grill, we prefer wood chunks to wood chips wheneer possible. If using a gas grill, you will need to use wood chips.
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