Alabama Barbecued Chicken

Happy Saturday everyone! I for one am so glad that this past week is done...it was a tough week at my house, and I am ready to start anew! Today is off to a great start. I took the boys to a play date with some old friends. We used to all get together very often, but once we had kids it's pretty rare we all get to hang out. I think the last time we were all together was roughly a year ago because my friend April was still pregnant, and her son is going to be a year old later this month.

So, are you getting tired of recipes from Cook's Illustrated yet? Me neither!! I'm actually getting my meal plan for the next week together and need to get out the issues I have to figure out one more dinner for my plan.

This one is from the grilling issue. The white barbecue sauce sounded really intriguing. My friend Jen B. made this recently and really liked it. The only downside is it's insanely hot here today (seriously...like 110 outside or something ridiculous), so grilling is going to suck, but I'm pretty sure grilling the chicken this way, I don't have to stand out there with it or check on it very often even. Awesome because I am all about the a/c today!

Now, because I'm super lazy and Jen B. did all the work already, I'm just going to copy straight from her blog for the posting.

Alabama Barbecued Chicken

For chicken:
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs.)
2 cups of hickory wood chips
Canola oil for the grill
White Barbecue Sauce (see below)

For White Barbecue Sauce:
3/4 cup of mayo
2 Tablespoons of cider vinegar
2 teaspoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Directions:
If you have a grill with three burners, heat the outer two to medium, leaving the center one off. Or light a charcoal fire and let it burn until the charcoal is covered with white ash and about medium-hot; bank half the coals to one side of the grill, half to the other. Sprinkle wood chips, that have been soaked in water over the hot coals.

While the grill is heating, remove the giblets (if there are any) from the cavity of the chicken. Flip the chicken onto its breast. Using poultry shears, cut down both sides of the backbone from tail to neck; discard backbone. Or, if you don't have shears, lay the bird on its back, insert a long heavy knife into the body cavity and press down hard with a rocking motion to cut down through both sides of the backbone. Open the bird out onto your work surface, breast side up. Make sure that the legs are turned inward. Using your fist or a mallet, wallop the bird on the breast, hard enough to dislodge the center bones and flatten out the breast. Twist the last joint of the wings up over the breast and then down behind the "shoulders," tucking them in firmly to keep them in place during grilling.

Smear both sides of the chicken with the sauce. Lay in the center of the grill (it will not be over direct heat). Cook, without turning, basting from time to time with any remaining sauce, until the juices run clear when a thigh is pierced deeply with a fork (an instant-read thermometer should register about 160 degrees when inserted at the thickest part of the thigh), about 45 minutes. If you're cooking over charcoal, you'll want to add more charcoal to the fire after an hour or so - the internal temperature of the grill should stay at about 325 degrees. Remove the chicken to a cutting board. Baste one last time with the sauce. It will lose less juice if you cover it loosely with foil and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut the chicken into quarters (or smaller pieces). Transfer a portion to each of four dinner plates and you're ready to serve.

*****

I don't have wood chips to use, so I hope it turns out okay without them. I'm going to make Cruncy Peanut Slaw that we had a couple weeks ago in pork wraps, but it was just so darn tasty I want to eat it again on its own. I might grill some potatoes to have as well, we'll see how I'm feeling as dinnertime approaches.

*****

This chicken was REALLY good. I don't normally eat the skin from chicken, but I did with this. The sauce on its own tasted like glorified mayonnaise, but on the finished chicken it was fantastic! This is my favorite way to cook whole chickens now--not necessarily this sauce, but cutting out the backbone and flattening the chicken and grilling it. Yum!

I did end up making the peanut slaw, but I didn't have green onions. It was fine without the cilantro the first time I made it, but I think it really needs to have the green onions. Also it's best eaten the same day you make it...the leftovers weren't nearly as good as when it was fresh.