Saturday, May 26, 2007

Fool-Proof Classic BBQ Chicken

For my inaugural post, I though I should mention that all of the grilling I do is on a gas grill. I do not have any real experience in cooking over Charcoal, but may give it a go when my current gas grill dies. All of the recipes I post will thus be based upon a gas grill, but are easily adapted to charcoal.

Last night, I made my BBQ chicken. This recipe is really a conglomeration of several different recipes and procedures, but it turns out really well. The only place where this recipe can really go wrong is if you are over-zealous with the heat when trying to get the chicken completely cooked through, so be careful and your patience will be rewarded.

Fool-Proof Classic BBQ Chicken

1 Whole cut-up chicken (8 pcs.)

Rub:
1 1/2 t. Sweet Paprika
1 1/2 t. Kosher salt
1 1/2 t. Brown Sugar
1 t. Black Pepper
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion powder
1/4 t. celery seed.

2 C Wood chips or chunks

1 1/2 C. BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's)

  1. Dry the chicken and apply the rub, reserving 1T of the rub. Let set in the fridge for an hour.
  2. Soak wood chips (I prefer Hickory for chicken) for 30 minutes
  3. Use a smoke box, or a beggar's purse made out of aluminum foil and put the soaked wood chips in. Put this on one side of the grill and turn all burners of the grill on high, until smoke starts.
  4. Turn off one side of the grill.
  5. Clean and oil the grill grates
  6. Place chicken on the cool side of the grill, away from the heat. Cook for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken begins to brown.
  7. Mix the reserved rub into the BBQ sauce.
  8. Move the chicken as close to the hot side of the grill as possible, without actually being on the hot side of the grill. Slather the Chicken pieces with the BBQ sauce every 5 minutes for 20 minutes.
  9. Move the chicken over the hot part of the grill (I just turn the cold burner back on to Medium-Low) and continue slathering with BBQ sauce every 5 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches required temperature (White Meat ~160, Dark Meat ~170)
  10. Remove chicken from the heat and tent with foil for 10 minutes before serving.
Our six year old greets nearly every meal, whether we have had it or not, with a rousing "I don't like that." Last night, he could barely contain himself and did not say a word, except asking for napkins, until the thigh he was eating had been completely disassembled. He really loves this chicken.

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