Smoking chicken thighs is a messy and tiring process, but when you get it right, there are few things that beats the flavor of succulent and moist chicken with a little heat and a lotta sweet. I prefer to remove the bones - you can enjoy the entire thigh that way - but you can skip that step if you want to save yourself some time.
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The first thing you have to do is to trim the chicken - you want uniform looking pieces with about the same size. They will cook more evenly and will also look better when you serve. Start with cutting the skin off each thigh. Be careful not to tear the skin.
​After you cut off the skin, cut the thighs in uniform pieces, turn the thigh over and then cut away muscle  along the back of the thigh bone. This is where you can decide if you want to remove the thigh bone or not.

I like to either brine or inject my thighs. You can either use a very simple brine with water, salt and sugar or you can mix your own and try to get some flavor into the chicken thighs. When I inject I use chicken broth and Butcher BBQ Bird Booster and when I make a brine, I normally use water, salt, sugar and some of the Bird Booster. Let the chicken thighs rest in the brine for a couple of hours while you trim the skin.​

Scrape excess fat off the skin. I usually put the skin in the fridge or freezer for a while to make the fat more solid. Then I use a boning knife to cut the fat off first. After I gotten the thick layer of fat removed, I scrape off the rest with my chefs knife. Be careful so you don't tear the skin. You want the skin to be translucent. You want the skin to slightly smaller than the thigh but it should wrap around the skin fully covering the front and most of the back. Season the chicken slightly with your base rub. I like something with a little bit of heat under the skin and for the back of the thigh.

It is now time to reattach the skin to the thigh. I prefer to use meat glue because it will create a stronger bond with the thigh and the skin. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of meat glue inside the piece of skin and sprinkle some on the thigh as well. You don't have to worry about the thigh taking on a weird flavor. Meat glue is flavorless when you cook with it. Wrap the skin around the thigh and the wrap in plastic wrap to make sure that the glue binds effectively. Put in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
​Put your second rub on top of the skin - I prefer a cherry rub since it will give the thigh a very nice color.

Make sure that the smoker has reach about 250 degrees Fahrenheit. For chicken thighs I use apple or cherry wood chunks for smoke. Make sure that the dirty smoke has worn off and that your smoker has a clean, thin, blue smoke coming out of the chimney. Place the chicken thighs in a pan on top of slices of butter, I use about two tablespoons of butter per thigh. Smoke until you get the thighs up to 160 degrees. Baste frequently with butter. While the thighs are smoking, mix your glaze. I use one third of BBQ sauce, one third of Agave honey and one third apple juice. Sometimes I put in a couple of other things to add flavor - like a fruit jelly or seedless marmalade. When the thighs reaches  160 degree - dip them in the glaze and return to the smoker. Smoke until they reach 165 and the glaze gets a little bit caramelized. Take them off the smoker and then let them sit under some foil and rest. Let them rest for about 10 minutes. 

After the thighs are done resting - you should have some extremely moist chicken thighs with a wonderful bite-thru skin. A little smoke, a little heat and a lotta sweet - just like a chicken thigh should taste!!

​I prefer spare ribs and the best way is cooking them St Louis cut-style. It highlights the prime part of the rib bone and it has more taste. Start with large, meaty ribs. Make sure that the ribs have no shiners (ribs where the butcher has cut away too much meat so that the bones shines through).

​To trim ribs St Louis style, cut the rib between the rib bones and where the sternum and cartilage portion begins. Cut along the ribs, you are looking for a uniform, square slab of ribs. Remove the flap of meat on the back of the ribs. With a paper towel, peel the membrane off of the ribs. One of the most common mistakes people still do is leave the membrane on, which makes the rib tough.

​The next step is to rub the ribs. I prefer using three rubs. The first rub  will work as a good foundational rub and give great flavor. In this example I use Swimming in Smoke Booty Shake Hot - it gives the rub a great bite after the cook. The second rub I choose for coloring the rib. In this case I used Victory Lane Cherry Bomb BBQ rub. Cherry gives ribs and chicken a wonderful color. And don't worry, the ribs wont taste of cherry, most of the flavor disappears during the cook. The third rub is optimal - I like to use a finishing rub at the end of the cook. In this example, I used Victory Lane Gold Dust - very high sugar content - so it adds a great sweet flavor at the end. The third rub is optimal, we will produce enough sweetness in the end by using a glaze. 

After the rub is applied, lightly press the spices into the meat. Let the rub sit on the rub for 30-40 minutes, not longer. It will allow the salt to penetrate the meat and pull some of the water out (the rib will be seating). But don't let it sit too long.

​While the ribs are resting, prepare the smoker. I like to cook the ribs at 235 degrees F. I also recommend fruit chunks like apple and cherry. It will give the ribs a light smoke flavor. Let the dirty smoke burn out and when you have a clear blue, very thin smoke coming out of the smoker, you are ready to start cooking.
I smoke the ribs for about 2 hours without opening the lid. After two hours I look at them, What I am looking for is color - I want them to have a nice red/orange color.  Don't add more wood chunks - after about two hours the ribs will not take on more smoke flavor, so adding wood chunks is not beneficial at that stage.

​When the ribs have a nice color, it is time to wrap the ribs. It is important to conduct this step pretty fast so the ribs don't lose too much temperature.
Remove the ribs from the smoker. Use two large heavy-duty pieces of aluminium foil for each rib. Across the length of the foil, sprinkle brown sugar (about 1/2 cup) and agave nectar (you can use honey of you like that better). Place ribs meat down and then sprinkle brown sugar and agave nectar on the back of the ribs. Wrap the ribs very tightly with the foil, you want to make sure that there are no air pockets. These will cause the ribs to steam and not cook.
Return the ribs to the smoker for another 1 1/2 hours or so.

​Remove the ribs and check for doneness. The bones should be breaking through the meat on the backside and the ribs should have a significant bend but should not break when you lift them up. When they are done - baste them.
I like a mix of BBQ sauce, agave nectar and some apple juice. I mix 50/50 of sauce and nectar and then add some apple juice to thin out the glaze. I baste both sides and optionally this is where I add the finishing rub. You could either rewrap the ribs and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or put them back on the smoker. In this case they were slightly underdone so I put them back on the smoker to give them some more cooking time.

​When done, place the meat on a clean cutting board. Carefully slice evenly between each rib bone. What I am looking for in my ribs a light and not overpowering smoke flavor, meat that is tender but not falling off the bone (common mistake, fall of the bones are often way overcooked and less flavorful), and very sweet but balanced by the savory flavors of the rub.

Ingredients:
Large Beef Brisket Prime
Beef Stock
Soy Sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Yellow mustard
Big Swede BBQ Badass Beef Boost
Butcher BBQ Prime Brisket Injection
BBQ Sauce

Start with mixing the BBQ injection. Mix together a couple of cups of a good beef stock with a tablespoon of Soy Sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add 1 cup of the Butcher BBQ Prime Brisket injection and a 2 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ beef rub. Heat and stir until completely dissolved. Taste and add more injection if needed. It should be quite salty but very flavorful.

​Start trimming the brisket. I like to start with separating the flat and the point. The flat is the leaner part that I slice and the point if the much fattier one and it is great for burnt ends. Keep trimming by removing any excess of fat on the flat and the point.

​Rub both pieces with yellow mustard and start sprinkle the BBQ Rub of your choice. When cooking at home I use two layers: The first layer is Peppered Cow by Simply Marvelous (light) and the second layer is Beef Rub by The Slabs (generous). I like to gently massage the rub into the meat. Last step of the preparation process before the meat marinates over night is to inject the brisket. Inject the brisket throughout, (one injection per inch of brisket). Wrap in Cling Wrap and keep refrigerated over night.

​Fire up the smoker, I like to keep the temperature around 235 F (113 C). I prefer to use oak lump charcoal and then add apple and hickory wood chunks to the pit. If you want to more of a smoke flavor, feel free to use mesquite. BBQ is all about personal preference.

​Make sure that you have an aluminum pan underneath the meat when you start cooking to collect all the drippings. These drippings will be used later for flavoring the brisket slices and the burnt ends.

​Place the brisket on the smoker and smoke for 6 hours. Turn the brisket over - apply a light dust of BBQ rub and cook for another 2 hours or until the meats internal temperature hits 170 F. During the first two hours, add wood chunks for smoke flavor.

​Remove brisket from smoker. Lay the brisket (flat and point separately) on some heavy duty aluminum foil. Pour some of the drippings on the brisket and wrap tight. Return brisket to smoker and cook until internal temperature hits 200.

The remaining drippings should be put in a fridge. It will cause the fat to rise and harden. After 40 minutes you should be able to easily scrape all the fat from the drippings. Filter through a sieve. What you have left is liquid gold - the au jus will be packed with flavors and we will use it to enhance both the sliced brisket and the burnt ends.

When the temperature hits 200, remove brisket from foil  and pour accumulated juices into a cup. Put in fridge or cooler to separate fat (see above). Allow the meat to release its steam, otherwise the brisket might overcook during its resting phase.
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​Wrap the flat again in heavy duty foil, place the meat in an empty cooler and let it rest for another two hours or so. While we wait for the flat to rest, use the point to make burnt ends. Slice the point into 3/4 inch cubes and place into another aluminum pan. Toss with some more more BBQ spices, a BBQ sauce of liking and your separated drippings. Put back in smoker for another hours so and stir every 15 minutes (cover with foil).

When the flat is done resting, quickly heat some au jus (separated from the fat).
Slice the brisket perpendicular to the grain. Brush or dip each slice in the hot au jus.
Fan slices on a platter and place some burnt ends around the edges.
Serve and enjoy. This is a simple recipe but the flavors are rich, bold and extremely satisfying. If you want to be popular with the neighbors, try this recipe the next time you have a BBQ at home. And experiment with the flavors, use different kinds of wood, different sauces and different rubs. That is what is so fun with BBQ, it is easy to make this recipe your own. And don't forget, serve with a cold beer!!  ​