Tribute to Cuchulain Libby AKA 'Hound'

We marinated a 6# chicken
for three days this year in an exotic citrus brine and then roasted it for
a little over two hours at 350°. I called it done when the fleshy part of the
thigh reached 165°. We cooked it on a vertical bird rack in the convection
oven. It is one of the tenderest, tastiest birds we've ever done. Side dishes
were early peas, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pecan pie. The
gravy was made from the chicken drippings with a little sherry, flour and
chicken stock. (I take back what I said about two hours not being enough
for a bird this size. I don't know how, but it was damn well falling off the
bone done. This one got a head start from room temp for 20 mins at 425°,
then finished at 350° in a convection oven.) Skin was well crisped, but
meat immediately beneath was extremely moist and succulent. No
stuffing was used. The bird was basted at the beginning and end with
a 50/50 honey/butter misture and S&P.

God Bless you and yours.
--
Howard and Nathalie Bricker

Hound's Citrus Brined Chicken

Prepare the brine:
1 gallon water
1 cup Kosher salt or 1/2 cup table salt
juice of 3 oranges
juice of three limes
juice of three lemons
rinds from same
1 sliced white onion
1 head of garlic, crushed
stems from a bunch of cilantro, chopped
serranos to taste, minimum of 4
rough ground cumin and coriander 2 Tbsp each
1/4 cup chili powder or any ground chile you prefer
(1/4 cup onion powder is optional)
(1/4cup garlic powder is optional)

Place the bird(s) and plenty of brine solution in a ziploc bag(s) and
leave refrigerated overnight prior to cooking. A cooler works fine also. I use a 5 gal beverage cooler for all but the biggest turkeys. Frozen soda bottles, or ice can be used to keep the cold. {8 lbs of ice= 1 gallon of water} An hour before cooking take the bird out and
thoroughly wash it down with cold water for at least 30 seconds. You
can place aromatics like garlic heads, apples, citrus in the cavity of
the bird for the cooking. I like also to place orange slices between
skin and meat. Smoke rear end of chicken toward the fire for 45
minutes/lb @ 225°F until the thigh is about 170°F. You can rotate as
necessary to avoid charring. Cooking this way will result in inedible
skin, but juicy chicken. If you like the crispy skin then place the
chicken near the firebox. This works for either chickens or turkeys.
If you eliminate the brine (salt and water) the rest of the recipe makes an excellent marinade for grilled chicken.

Recipe courtesy of the late Cuchulain Libby (AKA Hound)of San Antonio,TX.
The Hound was (and still is) renowned for his innovative outdoor cooking
style. This citrus brine recipe is just one outgrowth of his inventive mind.
The Hound was taken from us abruptly about two years ago at the tender age
of 52. He will be missed, but his recipies and style of cooking will live on
in the hearts and minds of his friends worldwide for many years to come.

Hound's instructions are reprinted verbatim. Deviations from Hound's instructions are purely my own and are neither recommended nor discouraged.
--

Brick (Keep the shiny side up)


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M&M wrote:
> Tribute to Cuchulain Libby AKA 'Hound'
>
> We marinated a 6# chicken
> for three days this year in an exotic citrus brine and then roasted it for
> a little over two hours at 350°. I called it done when the fleshy part of the
> thigh reached 165°. We cooked it on a vertical bird rack in the convection
> oven. It is one of the tenderest, tastiest birds we've ever done. Side dishes
> were early peas, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pecan pie. The
> gravy was made from the chicken drippings with a little sherry, flour and
> chicken stock. (I take back what I said about two hours not being enough
> for a bird this size. I don't know how, but it was damn well falling off the
> bone done. This one got a head start from room temp for 20 mins at 425°,
> then finished at 350° in a convection oven.) Skin was well crisped, but
> meat immediately beneath was extremely moist and succulent. No
> stuffing was used. The bird was basted at the beginning and end with
> a 50/50 honey/butter misture and S&P.
>
> God Bless you and yours.


Here is an old posting from Hound about how his brine came about,

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...&output=gplain

Miss ya Hound!
--
Piedmont, In northern South Carolina! Nestled between the Blue Ridge
Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean! Home to the Catawba Indian Nation!

BBQ USA - http://groups.msn.com/BBQUSA/_whatsnew.msnw

On 26-Nov-2004, Piedmont > wrote:

> M&M wrote:
> > Tribute to Cuchulain Libby AKA 'Hound'
> >

<snip a bunch here>

>
> Here is an old posting from Hound about how his brine came about,
>
> http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...&output=gplain
>
> Miss ya Hound!
> --
> Piedmont, In northern South Carolina! Nestled between the Blue Ridge
> Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean! Home to the Catawba Indian Nation!
>
> BBQ USA - http://groups.msn.com/BBQUSA/_whatsnew.msnw

Thanks for that link Piedmont. I never got to meet the Hound face to face, but
I did correspond with him some and I sure like his brine. Now that I've finally
used up my batch of Hounds brine, I plan to mix a batch of TFM®'s and see
how that goes. Strangely, I don't see any other brines being as heavily touted
as those two. Frankly, I don't need a better brine, but a little variation might be
nice. Hound's old post said he kicked the bird up another notch by injecting
with butter/honey mix. I might try that next time, but I'm not at all sure it's
necessary. I've roasted two and spatchcock/grilled several more after Hound's
brine. If it gets any better, I don't care. May the Hound live forever in our hearts.
Just my 2¢.

--
Brick(DL5BF, WA7ERO, HS4ADI)


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"Brick" > wrote in message
...
>
> On 26-Nov-2004, Piedmont > wrote:
>

(lots of mumbo jumbo snipped)

> Thanks for that link Piedmont. I never got to meet the Hound face to face,
but
> I did correspond with him some and I sure like his brine. Now that I've
finally
> used up my batch of Hounds brine, I plan to mix a batch of TFM®'s and see
> how that goes. Strangely, I don't see any other brines being as heavily
touted
> as those two. Frankly, I don't need a better brine, but a little variation
might be
> nice. Hound's old post said he kicked the bird up another notch by
injecting
> with butter/honey mix. I might try that next time, but I'm not at all sure
it's
> necessary. I've roasted two and spatchcock/grilled several more after
Hound's
> brine. If it gets any better, I don't care. May the Hound live forever in
our hearts.
> Just my 2¢.
>
> --
> Brick(DL5BF, WA7ERO, HS4ADI)
>

Brick, we didn't brine, but we did inject our birds with butter, honey &
garlic. Wow! Talk about a juicy bird! The flavor was excellent and the
bird literally almost fell apart after being on the WSM for about 4 hours.
We did two turkeys, there were 9 guests and no leftovers. TFM got rave
reviews from the attendees.

Turkey noodle soup will be on the stovetop today.

kili

I got a Vermont Castings grill with a rotisserie burner over a year
ago. The chickens always turn out fantastic on the rotisserie, crisp
skin and juicy inside. I thought why mess with success? Well, I've been
reading everyone's comments about Hounds brine and I finally decided to
try it. I brined a 5 pound bird 24 hours and put it on the rotisserie
without any seasoning other than what it had soaked up. Wow! A whole
new level of juiciness and the citrus flavour had worked it's way into
every bite. I'm convinced. That's the way I'm going to prepare my
chicken from now on. Thanks guys.

Cam

On 29-Nov-2004, "Cam" > wrote:

> I got a Vermont Castings grill with a rotisserie burner over a year
> ago. The chickens always turn out fantastic on the rotisserie, crisp
> skin and juicy inside. I thought why mess with success? Well, I've been
> reading everyone's comments about Hounds brine and I finally decided to
> try it. I brined a 5 pound bird 24 hours and put it on the rotisserie
> without any seasoning other than what it had soaked up. Wow! A whole
> new level of juiciness and the citrus flavour had worked it's way into
> every bite. I'm convinced. That's the way I'm going to prepare my
> chicken from now on. Thanks guys.
>
> Cam

Marvelous isn't it? I've read the chemistry report about brining, but I still
marvel at how that salt does a job without making the bird salty. Mine
are absolutely delectable every time. Cook it by whatever method you
like and it will still be a nice variation from the unbrined bird. FWIW I
did my last one in a 'Presto' clear 13 gal bag with a twist tie. I put the
bird in there and covered with enough brine, then tied it off with as little air
remaining as I could. I put that whole thing in a rigid container large
enough to hold it and then into the fridge. I'm fortunate to have a little
frig chest that doubles as a drink frig and brining cooler. The rigid container
, bowl, bucket, etc., provides protection agains bag failure and the bag
makes it wasy to turn the bird periodically. I haven't done any large turkeys
so a 3 gal bucket was usually sifficient. This last one went in a large stainless
mixing bowl.

Just my 2¢.

--
Brick(DL5BF, WA7ERO, HS4ADI)


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hi, sorry I'm late, just decided to look up Cuchulain. I'm grateful that he showed you all his awesome side, and you all like him. I am his daughter. and i was wondering what other recipe's he had?

On Dec 29, 10:47*am, wrote:
> hi, sorry I'm late, just decided to look up Cuchulain. I'm grateful that he showed you all his awesome side, and you all like him. I am his daughter.. and i was wondering what other recipe's he had?


Oh! I almost got to meet you at Seaside beach. I assume you're the
same daughter?

He was my fire-daddy, my main mentor for using wood to make BBQ with.
Not many use raw wood, and he was an expert at it. There's no recipe
for fire tending, but he taught me his approach to it. He was very
very helpful when I was first starting out. Am sorry we were unable to
meet.

He was well liked and respected.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays during a season of rebirth,

Dale

On Sat, 29 Dec 2012 10:47:45 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

>hi, sorry I'm late, just decided to look up Cuchulain. I'm grateful that he showed you all his awesome side, and you all like him. I am his daughter. and i was wondering what other recipe's he had?

I'm not sure of any recipes, but he was a master of bbq. We never met
in person, but your dad was one of the regulars here and helped make
this a group with much wisdom. You can be proud of him!

> wrote in message
...
> hi, sorry I'm late, just decided to look up Cuchulain. I'm grateful that
> he showed you all his awesome side, and you all like him. I am his
> daughter. and i was wondering what other recipe's he had?
>

Hey nice to hear from you.
BTW what did you do with the BBQ Pit he came to Florida to pick up and
never finished paying me for?
Some Guy contacted me about that pit and was wanting to know about it.
Said he bought all 3 of Hounds pits.When I told him it wasn't paid for he
disappeared from this group.
I was gonna wait till after the funeral and ask to buy it back. BUTT it
was already gone.
I am old and broke now, it sure would be nice them bucks.
I do hope that you are doing well and will stay with us.
It is always great to have new faces.
Do you Barbecue too?
Big Jim

On 12/29/2012 12:47 PM, wrote:
> hi, sorry I'm late, just decided to look up Cuchulain. I'm grateful that he showed you all his awesome side, and you all like him. I am his daughter. and i was wondering what other recipe's he had?
>


He did have a Brine Recipe that he posted and has been used by many
around he

Hound's Citrus Brined Chicken

Prepare the brine:
1 gallon water
1 cup Kosher salt or 1/2 cup table salt
juice of 3 oranges
juice of three limes
juice of three lemons
rinds from same
1 sliced white onion
1 head of garlic, crushed
stems from a bunch of cilantro, chopped
serranos to taste, minimum of 4
rough ground cumin and coriander 2 Tbsp each
1/4 cup chili powder or any ground chile you prefer
(1/4 cup onion powder is optional)
(1/4cup garlic powder is optional)

Place the bird(s) and plenty of brine solution in a ziploc bag(s) and
leave refrigerated overnight prior to cooking. A cooler works fine also.
I use a 5 gal beverage cooler for all but the biggest turkeys. Frozen
soda bottles, or ice can be used to keep the cold. {8 lbs of ice= 1
gallon of water} An hour before cooking take the bird out and
thoroughly wash it down with cold water for at least 30 seconds. You
can place aromatics like garlic heads, apples, citrus in the cavity of
the bird for the cooking. I like also to place orange slices between
skin and meat. Smoke rear end of chicken toward the fire for 45
minutes/lb @ 225°F until the thigh is about 170°F. You can rotate as
necessary to avoid charring. Cooking this way will result in inedible
skin, but juicy chicken. If you like the crispy skin then place the
chicken near the firebox. This works for either chickens or turkeys.
If you eliminate the brine (salt and water) the rest of the recipe makes
an excellent marinade for grilled chicken.




--

wrote:

> hi, sorry I'm late, just decided to look up Cuchulain. I'm grateful that he showed you all his awesome side, and you all like him. I am his daughter. and i was wondering what other recipe's he had?
>


My favorite technique from him (and he was a technique guy, not so much a recipe
guy, because one good technique is worth a thousand recipes): marinating a packer
cut brisket right in the vacuum packing. Cut a small hole in the plastic and pour in
a can of Dr Pepper through a funnel.

Go ahead and use the whole can if you like, and, put some of your
favorite rub into the can beforehand. Seal it back up with duct tape and
let it hang out in the fridge overnight.

I use that technique to this day.

"Mort" > wrote in message ...
> wrote:
>
>> hi, sorry I'm late, just decided to look up Cuchulain. I'm grateful that
>> he showed you all his awesome side, and you all like him. I am his
>> daughter. and i was wondering what other recipe's he had?
>>
>
>
> My favorite technique from him (and he was a technique guy, not so much a
> recipe
> guy, because one good technique is worth a thousand recipes): marinating a
> packer
> cut brisket right in the vacuum packing. Cut a small hole in the plastic
> and pour in
> a can of Dr Pepper through a funnel.
>
> Go ahead and use the whole can if you like, and, put some of your
> favorite rub into the can beforehand. Seal it back up with duct tape and
> let it hang out in the fridge overnight.
>
> I use that technique to this day.

Billy "Belly" Maynard from Glen Rose, TX come up with that one, Hound just
borrowed it from him.
BeeJay

Well cant quite figger out how this deal works yet..even though I do recall Monroe of Course..when we used to have to snag these lively exchanges off the News Groups alt.stuff and always hate to interrupt the tail end of complicated exchanges but will say yet again...Considered the Hound one of my very favorite Pals. Must agree with BeeJay..Belly come out first with the Dr. Pooper thing..but as King Solomon was sometimes heard to say..There aint nuttin new under the Sun. Daddy Belly bound to have borrowed the trick off somebody else..lol. Deepest condolences to family and other friends on both of their transitional phases. Will say..dont use the Pooper strategy if you want a smoke ring. Messed Belly's plumb up one time. PS..Where is Fats? Thanks.