Rick Bayless Barbecue Sauce

I think it's really hard to find a reasonably priced bottled barbecue sauce that doesn't have a bunch of unnecessary junk in it like high fructose corn syrup. I've made my own in the past a few times but wasn't ever super impressed with any of the recipes I tried. So I was beyond delighted to see this recipe in the Rick and Lanie cookbook.

Hickory House Barbecue Sauce
Copyright 2004, Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures

2 garlic cloves
1 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp vinegar (cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar)
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp barbecue spice (recipe below) or chili powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Salt

Peel garlic and crush through galic press into a small saucepan. Add all the remaining ingredients and 3/4 cup water. Simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Taste and season with salt if you think necessary. The sauce is ready to use. It can be stored, refrigerated in a sealed jar, for up to a month.

Barbecue Spice

2 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup plain ground chile or paprika
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
1 tsp dried thyme
4 tsp salt

Peel garlic and crush through garlic press into a small bowl. add remaining ingredients. Stir, making sure to thoroughly mix in garlic. If not using right away, store in small jar in refrigerator up to 1 month.

*****

Wowee, wow, wow!! This is definitely some of the best barbecue sauce I have ever had!! It had just a hint of spice from the chile powder and was a great consistency--not too thick, not too thin. Once again, Rick Bayless totally rocked it!

Barbecue spice mix:


Finished barbecue sauce (after I'd taken what I needed for the baked beans):

Rick Bayless Grilled Roadside Whole Chicken

I had something else planned for dinner tonight, but I realized we'd be eating dinner around the boys' bedtime if I went with it. We have somewhere to go at 3:30, and I'm guessing we won't be home until 5:00-ish. The cooking time on the other whole chicken recipe I was going to make was 65 minutes, and I figured it would be 15-20 prep time. So I needed a new plan. I figured I'd check my friend Jen B's blog for ideas. As I was waiting for her blog to load I thought of this method of grilling chicken, which made me think of this recipe. She made it one time when we went over for dinner, and it was super yummy. Plus you can't go wrong with a Rick Bayless recipe!

Rick Bayless Grilled Roadside Whole Chicken

Ingredients:
For the marinade:
1-1/2 tablespoons ground Ancho chile powder
1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican
A big pinch of ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, preferably Mexican
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press
3 tablespoons vinegar (apple cider vinegar gives a Mexican flavor)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp salt

1 large (3 lb) chicken (sometimes called a large frying chicken, or a small roasting chicken)
About 1 cup roasted Tomatillo Salsa, for serving

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together all the marinade ingredients.
Heat one side of a gas grill to medium. 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.

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 marinade. 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 marinade, 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. 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. Pass the salsa separately.

*****

The only thing I'm missing is orange juice. I can't decide if I'll use something else in its place or maybe stop somewhere real fast on our way home from our friend's house. I'm not entirely sure what we'll have for a side. I was going to make orzo with the other chicken recipe, but I don't think that would work as well with this. I might do skillet roasted potatoes, and I promised the boy we could have peas with dinner tonight. This should be a yummy dinner, and we should be able to eat right on time (assuming I don't lollygag at our friend's house!).

Skillet Roasted Potatoes with Chili and Cumin

These are the potatoes I'm making to go with the Tex Mex Burgers we're having tonight, another Cook's Illustrated recipe. I'm so glad I sent in my subscription form for that magazine--I can't wait until I start getting it on a regular basis!! It occurred to me that we have a side burner on our grill, so I wonder if I could do the potatoes outside, too, so I don't have to heat up the house by using the stove. I'm not sure if I can use my normal cookware out there though? I don't know...I'll have to do some investigating.

Cook's Illustrated Skillet Roasted Potatoes with Chili and Cumin

1.5 pounds small or medium Red Bliss potatoes, scrubbed and unpeeled
2 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne

If using small potatoes, halve each potato. If using medium potatoes, quarter each potato to create 3/4 to 1 inch chunks. Rinse cut potatoes in cold water and drain well; spread on clean kitchen towel and thoroughly pat dry.

Stir together salt, chili powder, paprika, cumin, and cayenne in small bowl. Set aside.

Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add potatoes cut side down in single layer; cook, without stirring, until golden brown (oil should sizzle but not smoke), 5-7 minutes. Using tongs, turn potatoes skin side down if using halved small potatoes or second cut side down if using quartered medium potatoes; cook, without stirring, until deep golden brown, 5-6 minutes longer. Stir potatoes, then redistribute in a single layer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until potatoes are tender, 6-9 minutes.

When potatoes are tender, sprinkle with spice mixture and toss or stir gently to combine. Cook seasoned potatoes over medium-low heat until spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds.

*****

These were some tasty potatoes. The texture of them was perfect--just crispy enough on the outside and perfectly tender on the inside. I think I'd cut back on the cayenne next time and maybe bump up the cumin a bit. The husband thought these smelled like BO, but they sure tasted yummy!

(There's a picture of them on the Tex-Mex Burger post below)

Barbecue Macaroni Salad

Another friend of mine had a baby recently, and I took them dinner Monday night. I wanted something easy because we were supposed to have our Bible Study group here at 6:30. I had bought a pork loin roast last week and hadn't run it through my Food Saver yet, so I figured I'd throw that in the crockpot for pulled pork sandwiches and kill two birds with one stone. Actually more than two birds since 1) I didn't have to Food Saver the pork, 2) it gave me dinner for my friend, and 3) it gave us a dinner that would be finished on time. I wanted something easy to go with it that I could make ahead of time and would make enough for us and to take to my friend. This macaroni salad recipe was in the Cook's Illustrated I bought on Saturday, and it sounded interesting and worth trying.


BBQ Macaroni Salad
From Cook's Illustrated Summer Grilling

1 lb elbow macaroni
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped fine
1 celery rib, chopped fine
4 scallions, sliced thin
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
salt & fresh ground pepper

Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and macaroni and cook until nearly tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in colander and rinse with cold water until cool, then drain once more, briefly, so that pasta is still moist; transfer to large bowl. Stir in bell pepper, celery, scallions, vinegar, hot sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper, and let sit until flavors are absorbed, about 2 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise and barbecue sauce and let sit until salad is no longer watery, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve. (The salad can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Check seasonings before serving.).

*****

I was a bit apprehensive about how this would turn out, but it was pretty tasty. I realized when posting this that I used a tablespoon of chili powder instead of a teaspoon, so mine had a bit more kick to it than it normally would have. I kind of liked it that way, though. I'd maybe cut back on it a little if I was taking it somewhere, but I think just a teaspoon might not be quite enough. I used organic whole wheat macaroni for the pasta and a yellow pepper instead of red. I would definitely make this again. It came together really fast and the taste was unique for a macaroni salad.