Try some of these Dutch oven chicken recipes:

Door Slammer Chicken

8 chicken breasts
2-8 oz bottles Russian dressing
1-12 oz jar apricot jam
1 pkg. instant onion soup mix

Mix well & pour over chicken in Dutch oven.  Bake 1 1/2 hrs.  If in oven it should be 350 degrees or use 10 briquettes on bottom & 15 on top of your dutch oven.

from Sue:  This is a very easy, delicious Dutch oven chicken recipe.

Dutch Chicken Bake

3 lbs frozen chicken breasts (skinless and boneless)
2 lbs frozen hash browns
1 29 oz can cream of mushroom soup
milk

Layer hash browns and chicken to fill a 12" oven 3/4 full. Mix can of soup and a can of milk together and pour over top of chicken and hash browns and cook for one hour or until chicken is cooked.

Baked Honey Chicken

2 chickens, cut-up
¼ cup butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp rosemary
1 T honey for each piece of chicken
1 cup chicken stock
flour

Sprinkle each piece of chicken with flour. Melt butter in Dutch oven and sauté chicken on both sides. Remove chicken and drain on paper towels.

Sauté the onions until golden brown.  Add chicken stock.  Place chicken in oven on onions, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary.  Drizzle each piece of chicken with honey. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F (10-12 coal under bottom of oven) for about 1 hour. Baste the chicken frequently.

Just Chicken in a Pot

3-4 lb whole frying chicken
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp pepper

Wash chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle cavity with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Put in Dutch oven and sprinkle with basil. Cover and bake for 4 to 6 hours or until tender.
Rusty

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Dutch Oven Chicken is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Dutch Oven Chicken is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Picture by Scott Feldstein at http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottfeldstein/

So you decided to grill or smoke a turkey this Thanksgiving, your buddy says to brine it first, and you’re asking yourself, “Huh?”  Here’s why your buddy is right about brining a turkey.

Turkey breast is a lean meat and tends to be drier than dark meat, and moisture loss happens when cooking any type of muscle fiber.  Soaking the turkey in a brine—a solution of salt and water—will help ensure a moister and juicier bird and can reduce this moisture loss during cooking.

Brining can also dissolve some of the proteins in muscle fibers, turning them from solid to liquid, thus increasing the moisture in the turkey.  Since white meat cooks faster than dark meat, brining pulls out the turkey's natural juices and the added water essentially steams the turkey breast while the dark meat finishes its cooking time.

The salt in the brine is the key ingredient that allows the bird to retain moisture, but many brine recipes contain other ingredients.  These are flavor enhancers that don’t increase the juicy texture of the meat.  So you can add dried herbs, such as thyme, oregano, or sage, to the brine or replace the water with another liquid, such as apple cider.

The turkey needs to be completely submerged in the brine, so coolers with ice packs are an easy solution.  You can also place the turkey in a clean trash bag, add the brine, and seal the bag so that the meat is covered, then place the bag in a bowl and refrigerate.

Rinse the brined turkey afterward to remove any surface salt. Properly brined meat shouldn't taste salty, just very juicy with a yummy flavor.

For a whole turkey, the brine concentration is 2 cups salt to 1 gallon water using Diamond Crystal kosher salt;  Morton's kosher salt is denser, so use 1-1/2 cups per gallon of liquid;  table salt is denser still, so use 1 cup per gallon.

Fill a pan with cold water, add the other ingredients you want in your brine, boil the mixture and allow to cool before adding the turkey.

You can actually buy turkey brining kits that gives you everything you need for brining a turkey:

If you prefer to make your own brine, here are some turkey brining recipes you may want to try if you want some additional flavor.

Herb Turkey Brine

• 1 gallon vegetable broth
• 1 cup sea salt
• 1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon dried sage
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried savory
• 1 gallon ice water

Citrus Turkey Brine

• 1 cup salt
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 1 orange, cut into wedges
• 1 medium onion, cut into wedges
• 3 cloves garlic
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 gallons cold water

Orange Turkey Brine

• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 orange, sliced
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1 1/2 gallons water

Cranberry Turkey Brine

• 2 cups kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons poultry seasoning
• 3 tablespoons onion powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 4 quarts vegetable broth
• 2 quarts water
• 3 cups cranberry juice

Savory Turkey Brine

• 2 gallons cold water
• 10 ounces Kikkoman Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons dried sage
• 2 tablespoons dried celery seed
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Apple Turkey Brine

• 2 quarts apple juice
• 1 gallon cold water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 5 pounds ice cubes

Cranberry-Citrus Turkey Brine

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen cranberry juice concentrate
• 1 gallon water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 1 orange, cut into wedges
• 1 red onion, cut into wedges
• 3 cloves garlic
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Brining a Turkey for a Delicious Moist Flavor is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Brining a Turkey for a Delicious Moist Flavor is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Rinse your chicken wings and blot dry.  Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Prepare the basting sauce by mixing the following:

• 1 1/2 cups Italian dressing
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp hot red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• coarse salt to taste

Divide the basting sauce in half.  One half will be used for basting during cooking and the other half will be poured over the wings when they are done.

Set up your grill for indirect grilling, which means to set up your propane or charcoal grill so that you're not cooking directly over the flame or coals.   If you have a multi-burner propane grill, start one or two burners, but cook over the burner that is not lit.  If you have a charcoal grill, start your charcoal, then move the coals to the outsides and cook in the middle (or whatever other method will work for your particular grill).

Prepare some wood chips for smoking by putting a handful into a foil packet and tearing three holes in the foil packet so smoke can escape and flavor the wings.  You can also use a smoker box if you have one, or you can toss them directly on the coals if using charcoal.

Clean and oil the grates and add the wings to the hot grates.  Keep the wings away from the heat.  Cover the grill so the smoke is contained.  Cook the wings until they are golden brown, which will take about 30-40 minutes.  About 15 minutes into the cooking, start brushing the wings with the basting sauce prepared above.   Then baste every 5-8 minutes after that.  Turn the wings occasionally to coat all sides.

In the last few minutes of cooking, move the wings so they are directly over the heat and cook uncovered.  Cook until crisp (but don't let them burn--it's easy to get a few that are cooked a little too much!).

When the wings are done, move them to a plate, pour the other half of the basting mixture over them and serve immediately.

These are simple to do and very tasty.    Enjoy!

Smoked Chicken Wings is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Smoked Chicken Wings is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Thanksgiving is almost here, and some of you may be wondering if you can grill your Thanksgiving Turkey.  Absolutely! Not only will grilling your turkey give it a fabulous flavor, but it will free up your oven for the other baking you need to do for Thanksgiving.  You may never cook a turkey in the oven again!

So here are some of the very best posts from around the web with great ideas to show you how to grill a turkey using different techniques.

How to Grill a Turkey on a Gas Grill

60% of Americans own a gas grill, so most of you are probably wondering how you would barbecue your turkey on a gas grill.  Whole Turkey on the Gas BBQ by the Chef at Granny’s Poultry gives some great instruction on the mechanics of using a gas grill for grilling a turkey.

Thanksgiving Turkey on the Grill from the boys at PigskinGourmet.com is a funny video that has some useful tips for grilling a turkey for Thanksgiving, as well as some other "interesting" holiday tips.

How to Grill Your Turkey on a Grill gives great tips for thawing, trussing, and grilling that Thanksgiving turkey on your backyard gas grill.

How to Grill a Turkey on a Charcoal Grill

Dave at BBQ My Way provides some instructions and a recipe for Grilling Turkey with a Weber kettle grill and includes a useful (and amusing) video on how he grills his turkey.

This Detroit Free Press article gives some very basic info on how to Grill your Thanksgiving turkey for golden skin and smoky, moist meat using a kettle grill.  Be sure to check out the great left sidebar that has planning ahead tips, plus recipes for wet and dry brining your turkey.

The folks at Butterball suggest some easy, step-by-step directions on how to cook a turkey under 18 pounds using the Outdoor Charcoal Grill Method and the Outdoor Gas Grill Method.

Brining a Turkey

The Smokin’ Buzzards have written a great post detailing Brined & Barbecue Smoked Turkey.  Scattered throughout are several of Juancho’s BBQ Tips with lots of useful advice.

Grilling your Thanksgiving dinosaur: live-blogging the bird tells you how to brine your turkey in a trash bag and grill a turkey with briquettes.  There's lots of photos and an awesome bonus section with cool science stuff about pneumatic cavities in turkeys and brachiosaurs!

Dry Brining a Turkey

In The California Cook: Our best turkey tweak yet, the LA Times food editor gives great tips on grilling a 15 lb. turkey with briquettes and explains why he changed from using a wet brine to a dry brining rub.

How to Smoke a Turkey

This Smoked Turkey tutorial gives very detailed instructions on smoking a turkey from start to finish with all the various steps involved.  Don’t miss the list of all the turkey information available on the site.

If you’re interested in a little more scientific presentation on Smoked Turkey, check out this article from the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia.  It gives all the details of brining and smoking a turkey, plus links to other interesting topics like canning, freezing, pickling, curing, and jams and jellies.

How To Smoke Turkey - Smoked Turkey Tips from Brad gives some great instructions using a water smoker and charcoal to smoke a turkey, but be sure to read the comment at the bottom praising an electric smoker as the smoker of choice.

To add a fantastic flavor to your smoked turkey, check out these wine barrel staves. These staves are oak wood from red wine barrels.   Toss a couple of staves on a hot bed of charcoal or on a gas grill, directly over one of the gas burners under the grill grate, and you'll have the extraordinary flavor of oak smoke with red wine.

How to Cook a Turkey on a Rotisserie

This blog gives instructions on how to Rotisserie Turkey using brining and a gas grill.  If you have a charcoal grill, here’s some instructions for Rotisserie Turkey, Dry brined with Orange and Spices.  You can compare wet and dry brining techniques and choose your favorite.

I hope you take the opportunity to cook your turkey on the grill this Thanksgiving. Remember, you may never cook your turkey in an oven again!

P.S. for some delicious grilling tips and recipes, including tips for grilling a turkey, see Weber's Charcoal Grilling: The Art of Cooking with Live Fire.

How to Grill a Turkey – Five Techniques to Use is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

How to Grill a Turkey – Five Techniques to Use is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

While the chicken was grilling, I started making the black bean salsa.  To make this salsa, I took a 14 oz can of black beans, 8 to 10 ounces of crushed pineapple, diced a couple of tomatoes, diced half of a red onion, a couple of garlic cloves, and some lime juice.

I strained the pineapple and then mixed the black beans with it, then added the diced tomatoes and onions.  Then I used a garlic press to crush the garlic and added that to the salsa, added the salt and pepper, and then added a couple tablespoons of lime juice and mixed it all up.  This ended up being a delicious salsa that went great with the chicken.  I also tried it with some chips, and that was delicious as well.

With the black beans, pineapple, and lime juice, this salsa is a little different from your typical salsa, but was a very tasty part of this meal.  Give it a try and let me know what you think (you don’t even have to do any grilling to make and try the salsa!).

I’ve also got a video here to show you what I to make this dish.  Hope you enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wHa5K9UICY

Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Salsa is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Salsa is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

If you like, remove the skin from the chicken.  Rinse the chicken well, and pat dry.  Grill the chicken quarters, cut side up in an uncovered grill over medium heat for about 40 to 50 minutes, turning once and brushing frequently with the sauce.  This recipe will make four servings.

Enjoy,

Zesty Barbecued Chicken is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Zesty Barbecued Chicken is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

For this outdoor oven, you need 4 three foot long metal stakes (you can use rebar), a tripod (just made of three straight sticks, chicken wire, aluminum foil, and charcoal briquets.

To make the oven, drive the four metal stakes into the ground to form a square (12-14 inches apart for chicken, 24-28 inches apart for turkey).

Cut four sections of chicken wire (24" high) about 10-12 holes wide.  Fasten the long sides of each piece together to make four tubelike cages out of the wire.  Slip a cage over each metal stake and fill each tube with briquets.  Add lighter flue and start each tube going with a match.

When the briquets are hot, wrap aluminum foil around the outside of the four stakes.  This will reflect the heat inside the foil, just like an oven.

As the briquets burn down, just add new ones in the top of the tube to keep it going.  You'll probably have to do this about every half hour.

Center the tripod over the stakes.  Prepare the chicken or turkey just as if you were cooking it in an oven.  Tie the wings to the body so they don't burn.  You can put an oven browning bag over the poultry and tie at the top with heavy string or wire.

Tie a piece of light-weight wire around the bird's legs.  Tie the other end around the top of the tripod so the bird will dangle down inside the outdoor oven.

It will take about 1 1/2 hours to roast a chicken, depending on it's size and how hot you can keep your outdoor oven.

If the bird starts to brown too much, just wrap it in foil and it will continue to cook in the outdoor oven without burning.

That's all there is too it!  Enjoy your new outdoor oven!

Outdoor Oven is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Outdoor Oven is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Place Dutch oven into hot coals. Put a small mound of oil in pot, coating the hens also. Season and brown hens on two sides, and sliced onions at the same time. Brown lightly, then carefully add the 2 cans of broth and a can of water. Add the potatoes (quartered & peeled), garlic cloves, onions, and carrots (peeled and cut thick). Cover and place 8 briquettes on lid for 20 minutes, check for doneness. You can thicken the gravy if you would like.

Jessica

Game Hens and Vegetables is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Game Hens and Vegetables is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Combine margarine or butter, horseradish, catsup, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce in a saucepan.  Bring to boil, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.

Remove skin from chicken, if desired, rinse chicken and pat dry.  Grill chicken quarters on uncovered grill on medium coals for 40-50 minutes or until no longer pink.  Turn once while cooking and baste frequently with sauce.

Zesty Barbecued Chicken is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Zesty Barbecued Chicken is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Mix soup, water, and minute rice together. Lay out two pieces of heavy-duty foil for each packet and pour half of soup mixture onto each foil packet. You can cut chicken into strips or put whole breast on top of soup and rice mix. Onions can be added for flavor and season to taste. Pull up edges of foil and roll them closed, then tuck ends under. Place foil packets in campfire coals for 15 minutes on each side.

Foil Chicken – Great Tasting Chicken Recipe Cooked in Foil is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Foil Chicken – Great Tasting Chicken Recipe Cooked in Foil is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

photo by Southernpixel Alby on Flickr

Smoking a turkey is a great way to cook your turkey at Thanksgiving time.  It gives your turkey a great flavor.  Here's an article that I found that tells how to smoke a turkey.  Hope you enjoy it!

Smoked turkey is a delicacy that many people love, but don't have often because it's expensive to buy. You may be surprised how easy it is to smoke a turkey.

For those who long for the wonderful taste of smoked turkey but forgo the luxury because of how much it costs in stores, take heart! It's surprising just how easy and economical it is to make your own smoked turkey at home. Not only will you enjoy this tempting morsel, but just think how much you'll impress your friends and family.

You don't need a smoker; any covered grill will give the same effect. Simply place the turkey breast on the cool side of the grill and use soaked wood chips.

It's important to allow yourself plenty of time to smoke the turkey until it is completely cooked. Smoking time depends on the size of the turkey, the distance from the heat, temperature of the coals, as well as the outside air temperature. You can roughly estimate about 20 to 30 minutes per pound of turkey, but it's important to use a meat thermometer to be sure your turkey is thoroughly cooked. The turkey is done when the food thermometer, placed in the inner thigh, reaches 180° F (be sure the thermometer is not touching the bone).

Important points about how to smoke a turkey:

Food safety is of primary concern when smoking turkey. Turkey breasts, drumsticks, wings and whole turkeys are all suited for smoking, although for safety's sake, stick with whole turkeys that weigh 12 pounds or less. A larger turkey remains in the "Danger Zone" - between 40° F and 140° F for too long.

Do not stuff a turkey destined for smoking. Because smoking takes place at a low temperature, it can take too long for the temperature of the stuffing to reach the required temperature of 165° F, not to mention that smoked stuffing has an undesirable flavor.

Here's a wonderful and easy recipe:

Chili-Spiced Smoked Turkey Breast

Combine the first 10 ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cool. Combine lime juice mixture and turkey in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours. Soak wood chips in water at least 30 minutes. Drain well.

Preheat gas grill to medium-hot (350° to 400°) using both burners. Turn left burner off. Place wood chips in a disposable foil pan or a foil packet pierced with holes on grill over right burner. Remove turkey from marinade; discard marinade. Place turkey, skin side up, on grill rack coated with cooking spray over left burner. Cover and cook 1 1/2 hours. Turn turkey over; cook 15 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 170°. Remove turkey from grill. Cover loosely with foil, and let stand at least 10 minutes before carving. Discard skin.
Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 3 ounces)

If you prefer an actual smoker, water smokers are available in electric, gas or charcoal model, and all work well. Charcoal smokers have two pans - one for charcoal and one for liquid which creates the moist, hot smoke needed for cooking. These are available wherever barbecue grills are found, but here's an economical secret: start going to garage sales. For some reason, smokers seem to be a popular item, possibly because a lot of folks don't know how to use them. However, as stated above, a smoker is not necessary to get the full, smoky flavor you desire. Unless you're really into smoking many different things (cooking, not inhaling!), it's an expense you can do without. Not only will you save money, you'll also save space.

But, if you do have a smoker, here's an easy how to smoke a turkey recipe:

Prepare smoker for a 6 to 8 hour smoke at about 230 degrees. In a saucepan melt butter. Add wine, honey and cinnamon. Heat on low temperature until mixture is smooth and thin. Using a turkey injector, inject half the mixture into the turkey in all meaty areas. Brush remaining mixture over turkey. You can reserve some of the baste to apply later, during the cooking process. Place turkey in smoker. When the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165 degrees the turkey is done. Remove from smoker and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Carve and serve.

About the Author
Rita Hutner is a copywriter for Catalogs.com. Catalogs.com is the Internet's leading source for print and online catalog shopping - and a growing hub of original content and "how to" information at http://www.catalogs.com/.

That's a pretty good description of how to smoke a turkey.  I hope that you'll give a try soon.  And it doesn't have to even be for Thanksgiving!

How to Grill a Turkey is another post you might enjoy.

P.S. If you would like to find out more tips for making your outdoor cooking great, please sign up for my newsletter below!

How to smoke a turkey is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

How to smoke a turkey is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic