u/Party_Suspect1242

Photo credit to my wonderful girlfriend.

Great experience! First time for all of us camping together and the only thing we forgot was a power bank which isn’t necessary anyways.
My gf ran the 7k which had a great turnout and she really enjoyed it! We also did some walking and trail hiking as well which was relaxing.
We loved the secluded/private feeling of the camp ground. It was a nice cool weekend and we made some great food on the fire as well as some breakfast burritos on our camp stove. We absolutely want to go here again!

Used my Dads smoker that he gave me. Never have used one before and I feel like it went well. I accidentally pulled it off the smoker by the leg so the presentation isn’t the best, but overall I’m happy with it.

Since It’s been requested, here was my process:

Wet brine:
1 g of water
2/3 c of salt
1/2 c honey
Thyme
Rosemary
Bay leaves
1 cut up onion
2 quartered lemons
Spoonful of minced garlic
Peppercorns

Boil with about 1/3 of the water for 1 minute and stir.

Add the rest of the water.

Let brine sit in a pot overnight in the fridge.

Spatchcock the chicken

Place the chicken in the brine for about 10 hours in the fridge.

Chicken prep:

Remove from the brine, pat dry, and remove excess liquid.

Put my favorite rub all over the chicken.

Let the chicken sit for about 1 hour to get close to room temp.

Smoker prep:

Realized that it’s not a pellet smoker, go and get wood chips.

Clean out the smoker thoroughly since it has spiders and webs and all sorts of fun stuff in it.

Put favorite wood chips in the pan and turn the smoker on high with vents open for about 30 minutes until the smoker gets to 250.

Smoking:

Put the chicken breast side down for about 30 minutes.

Flip over

Let cook for about 3 hours at 250.

Start the inside of the smoker on fire because you put too many wood chips in the pan because you didn’t know that you’re only supposed to put in a handful at a time.

Slightly panic and remove the wood chip pan and put the fire out.

After everything is back to normal:

Let the chicken cook and check them temp in the deepest part of the breast and the thigh. We want 165-175 degrees.

Let it rest covered for about 15 minutes.

Carve and enjoy!