All I have to say Pablo.....

I did a short ~2.5 hour dry brine followed by a solid 5 hours drying on a rack in the fridge before smoking some thighs last night... I was a bit skeptical.... but I knew within 30 minutes of the chicken being on the grill that something completely different was going on! The meat and skin turned golden brown instantly, and I noticed that the skin was cracking and crazing so much earlier -- at the 30 min mark! -- and the most noticeable thing was that the thighs were PLUMPING up --- that pellicle really sealed the juices in! Even tho I wanted to, I never did spritz the chicken during the whole 3 hour cook -- just basted bbq on for the last half hour. Chicken turned out tasty and juicy, although the skin just didn't have the 'bite' I always strive for -- need to work more on that - more flipping? less flipping? hotter cook?. Pretty sure it picked up more smoke than previous cooks - will have to verify on the reheats (five beers while cooking ) - but I did sneak a sniff from the leftovers and it smells fantastic!

I am amazed that with all the smoking videos, recipes and blogs/forums I've watched and read over the last six months that no one has pointed out the importance of letting the chicken dry in the fridge for smoking.... they always rub it - start the smoker - throw it on..... Makes me believe there are a lot of people out there eating chicken with only a 'surface smoke' flavor and not knowing what they are missing. I will definitely be re-tuning my rub/dry brine/resting protocol for chicken now.

Thanks for pointing out the importance of the pellicle Pablo Without it, I would have been part of the blissfully ignorant masses!

Very good info RE: the pellicle. I know people that use the fan drying process when they make chicken wings, but didn't know it had a name.

I don't usually smoke chicken. I use a family marinade recipe that uses soy sauce, white whine, onion, garlic, ginger, and a touch of vegetable oil for grilling chicken. Works fantastically with the pellet grill for skin-on chicken since there are no flare ups.

I'll have to consider the pellicle when I'm smoking going forward and see if I like it.

I first heard the word............for fish.............35 years or so ago in tiny manual that came with my POS Little Chief Smoker. I don't even know what happened to that thing. I somehow ended up with a cylindrical Brinkman. Both so small. I remember I rigged the Brinkman to hold a hot plate with a small cast iron pan. I would mixed chips and chunks in there. Heck I used to smoke bonita with scrap oak and that stuff would get a serious pelicle. Man was that some good eating.

That cheese I smoked I tasted some of it...still needs time - it really mellows with age. I used hickory that I mixed with pecan. Wowser, not subtle at all, but really nice for snacking - still doesn't taste married. BUT every day, it gets more mellow.Next weekend it should be a world of difference.

Jusf wait a bit longer when the after pics get posted. Trust me, your wife likes the pics I send her.....

She liked the tongue.

Folks don’t always use the term, but drying chicken/chicken skin, has been a thing for a long time.

Recipes calling for a dry brine, and then leaving in the fridge, isn’t new...and the spices/salt also draw moisture out of the skin.

Foid writers, and social media has even championed a trend of using a blow dryer to dry out the skin before cooking, for a crisper skin...

You’re getting into the whole deal now... temp control, moisture control, brining...

She likes mine, it's Magic.

I think Kyle wins the “most unusual smoking project” award this month. Let’s see some follow-up pics and report!

I would have to agree with this.

Where does one even get a Cow head anyway?

I think it's from his religious ritual.

Haha he graduated from goat

Ask Kamala Harris.

I junked the tongue. From now on, I'm stopping with the pressure cooking. Was amazing after that, and smoking it just turned it into jerky.
The head turned out pretty damn good. Just pulled all the good bits off and crisped them up on the Blackstone. Tongue is on the right. Good flavor but dry. Head was tender and moist.

Wow, very interesting!

Would you do the whole head again? Or more trouble than it's worth?

Absolutely the head was worth it. Tongue is as well, as long you dont ruin it like I did. They are byproducts of the butchering process, so they were free. Worth the effort at that price.