Smoked Chicken for Tacos con Pollo

You know those times when you go to the grocery store and thought you needed something when it turned out you didn't? If it was meat, it would sit in the freezer until it's freezer burn coat was whiter than a polar bear? No? Just me?

Well that's what used to happen. My Saffire's changed all that. There are so many different ways to cook food on it that I can't help but keep trying more and more.

Plus, my sweetheart isn't a fan of chicken, or any meat really, that has bones in it. Plus, she doesn't like dark meat poultry. Or any pork except ham or bacon. Thankfully, she met me and my Saffire ;)

I used my favorite charcoal, the Saffire North American all natural lump with a little bit of Saffire mesquite lump at the top of the load.

While the fire was getting good and hot, I took 4 chicken quarters that would have died a slow frozen death behind The Wall that is my freezer door #GOTreference and seasoned them with chili powder, leftover Mexican seasoning, salt, Adobo, cayenne pepper, and cracked black pepper.

After setting my heat deflector and putting the meat on, I decided Apple wood chips would go best today. Three handfuls of Apple chips with the chip feeder and I was good to go.

Notice that I'm not using the traditional Saffire heat deflector. I decided to flip my grid elevator upside down and use my pizza stone as a deflector instead. The distance between the deflector and the fire ring is a little bit greater, and I've found I can use fewer wood chips and still get a solid smoky flavor. There are multiple adjustments that you can make with a Saffire. The next time I smoke vegetables, I'll use the heat deflector because it will restrict the smokiness further. I'll probably do the same the next time I smoke a turkey.

I vented the chicken down completely after 2 and a half hours and pulled it off after 5. The temp ranged between 200 and 250 the whole time. It pulled well and made for some very tasty chicken tacos.