Smoked salt-and-pepper chicken thighs

Lay the thighs on a cutting board and season both sides generously with a 50-50 by volume mix of coarse black pepper and kosher salt. No trimming.

Load the thighs skin side up, not touching, and leave them, adding a log every 30 to 45 minutes.

Bring the smoker from about 175 up to 200 to 225 with pecan wood, keeping an open flame in the firebox.

After about an hour, temp the thighs; turn them skin side down on the grate next to the firebox and move the heat baffle so they get direct radiant heat.

Add wood, open the damper for maximum airflow and run the smoker at 325 to crisp the skin and render the fat, until the thighs reach 185 plus, ideally the 190s.

Pull after a little over 90 minutes in total.

variation: glaze in Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce thinned with apple cider vinegar to a runnier consistency, then return to the cooker to set the glaze.