Texas Style Barbecued Chicken Recipes

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS BACKYARD BARBEQUE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Make sure the whole chicken is rinsed under running water. Cut chicken into quarters, brush with vegetable oil and season with salt, pepper, thyme, and pepper flakes on both sides. Set aside.
• A clean grill is a happy grill. Make sure old ashes are discarded and grates are brushed clean. Add wood charcoal and ignite. When charcoal has burned to white ash, add chicken quarters skin side down. The process now is to render as much grease from the skin without burning the skin or causing the grease to flare-up on the fire and burn the skin. Take your time and be attentive to what is on the grill.
• At this point, add water soaked hickory chips (a small handful at a time) to the edge of the fire. This will start the smoking process. Seal in the smoke with a lid or the top of the grill. Remember to keep an eye on the chicken and turn when skin is rendered about 8 to 10 minutes. If the smoke dies down, add another handful of hickory chips.
• Grill and smoke chicken for about 15 additional minutes making sure the meat is cooking evenly on both sides. Then begin basting each piece of chicken with barbeque sauce. Don't be afraid to swipe on the barbeque sauce heavy and keep turning each piece to prevent burning in 1 area of the grill.
• Remove barbequed chicken from grill to a platter and serve family style with bowls of Country Greens-Cornbread Pan Stuffing and Peach-Jalapeno Chutney. You may find 1 whole chicken is just not enough to satisfy "A Big Texas Appetite."
• To prepare the collard greens, pick through the greens, discarding any large stems and brown or yellow leaves. Wash thoroughly to remove all grit. With a knife, cut the greens into bite-sized pieces.
• Place the ham hock, onion, chiles and pepper in a large pot over medium-high heat and add enough stock to cover by 1-inch. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
• Add the greens in 4 batches, stirring each batch down until wilted and submerged in the liquid. If needed, add more stock to keep the greens covered by 1-inch. Increase the heat, to medium and simmer, 40 to 60 minutes. The length of cooking time depends on the age of the greens; the older the greens, the longer it takes to tenderize them. The liquid (potlikker) should be reduced by 3/4. Remove the ham hock, pull the meat from bones and cut into medium dice. Add back to greens. Remove onion, chop fine and add back to greens. Season with pepper vinegar. Combine with the cornbread and keep warm!
• Cornbread:
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet and place in oven.
• Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, eggs and butter. Stir with a few rapid strokes until dry ingredients are just moistened.
• Pour batter into hot pan. Place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are light brown and bread is firm. Remove from oven and let cool. With a knife cut cornbread into 1-inch dice.;
• Peel and pit all peaches. Medium dice 3 peaches, place in a bowl and set aside.
• Puree the remaining peaches in a blender. Pour mixture into a medium saucepan with ginger, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Bring pan to medium heat and reduce mixture, stirring occasionally, until thick for about 5 to 6 minutes. Pour diced peaches into saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until mixture is hot. Remove and set aside.

TEXAS BBQ CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, paprika, salt, dry mustard, chili powder, vinegar, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, vegetable juice cocktail, ketchup, water and garlic. Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken breasts.
• Bake uncovered, for 35 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove chicken breasts, shred with a fork, and return to the sauce. Bake in the oven for an additional 10 minutes so the chicken can soak up more flavor. Serve on a bed of rice with freshly ground black pepper.

TEXAS-STYLE BARBECUED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a medium-sized saucepan over moderate heat, heat oil 1 minute. Add onion and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft-about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes more. Add ketchup, bourbon, stock, molasses, vinegar, mustard, lemon zest and juice, and hot red pepper sauce and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes; set aside or cool, store in a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Gently pull the skin back from the chicken to expose the flesh but do not tear or remove it.
• Place in a large self-sealing plastic bag, add half of the sauce, seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Refrigerate remaining sauce until ready to use. Preheat the grill.
• Remove chicken from bag, reserving sauce. Smooth chicken skin back into place and arrange chicken, skin side down, 12.5 cm (5 inches) above a drip pan over glowing coals. Cover the grill, leaving the vents halfway open (or adjusting for the wind and outdoor temperature).
• Cook chicken, turning once, until both sides are browned-15 to 20 minutes. Brush chicken generously with sauce and continue grilling and basting, turning once, until the meat near the thigh bone is no longer pink when cut-25 to 30 minutes more.

FAVORITE BARBECUED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Grill skin side down, uncovered, on a greased grill rack over medium heat for 20 minutes. , Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, make barbecue sauce by heating oil over medium heat. Add onion; saute until tender. Stir in remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. , Turn chicken; brush with barbecue sauce. Grill 15-25 minutes longer, brushing frequently with sauce, until a thermometer reads 165° when inserted in the breast and 170°-175° in the thigh.

TEXAS BBQ MEDLEY

Steps:

• You'll need to brine the meat at least 24 hrs before your BBQ. First, spatchcock the chicken. Flip the chicken over so the backbone is facing you. Use a sturdy pair of kitchen or poultry scissors to cut down either side of the backbone, then discard. Turn the chicken over and push down firmly on the breastbone to flatten out the bird. Make a few slashes in each leg joint. (Watch a video showing how to spatchcock a chicken at bbcgoodfood.com/videos/spatchcock.)
• Put each cut of meat in a separate, large sealable bag. Sprinkle 1 tbsp salt into each bag and massage it all over the meat. Squeeze the air from the bags, seal tightly and put in the fridge for 24 hrs.
• Tip the remaining salt, fennel seeds and peppercorns into a mortar. Tear the bay into small pieces and add this too. Crush the ingredients with the pestle until finely ground. Add the cayenne, paprika, garlic salt and sugars, and mix well. Remove the meat from the bags and pat dry with kitchen paper. Cover each cut with the rub, making sure you get into every nook. Return to the fridge for at least 1-2 hrs while you prepare the barbecue, or up to 24 hrs.
• You'll need to start the barbecue 7-8 hrs before you want to eat. Heat the coals and leave them until ashen. Add your wood chips, if using. When the flames have died down and you're left with smoky cinders, push the coals and wood chips to one side of the BBQ pit, then replace the grill and add the beef and pork, placing them above the empty side of the pit - this will ensure the meat smokes but doesn't burn. Pull down the lid and cook the meat for 30-40 mins, turning every now and then, until a dark crust has formed around the meat. Don't be afraid to take it quite far, the crust should be almost black (but caramelised as opposed to burnt). Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
• Transfer the meat to roasting tins, wrap tightly with foil and cook in the oven for 5-6 hrs until really tender.
• When the meat has 1 - 1 1/ 2 hrs to go, reheat the BBQ and wait for the coals to turn ashen before adding more wood chips. When the flames have died down, push to one side as before. Put the chicken on the BBQ, bone-side down, above the empty side of the pit. Cook for 20-25 mins on each side or until cooked through - check by piercing a leg to see if the juices are clear, or use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature has reached 70C. Wrap tightly in foil and set aside to rest.
• After 5-6 hrs, the beef and pork should be really tender. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 mins. If you've made a BBQ sauce (see the Texas BBQ sauce recipe here), brush this over the meat for a glossy finish. Remove any string from the pork and shred the meat. Cut the chicken into portions and serve everything on a big platter with the sliced sweet onions, gherkins and sides.

TEXAS-STYLE BBQ SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 15-20 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

TEXAS BBQ CHICKEN...BAKED!

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F (175°C).
• Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, paprika, salt, dry mustard, chili powder, vinegar, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, vegetable juice cocktail, ketchup, water and garlic. Pour the sauce evenly over the chicken breasts.
• Bake uncovered, for 35 minutes in the preheated oven.
• Remove chicken breasts, shred with a fork (or not), and return to the sauce.
• Bake in the oven for an additional 10 minutes so the chicken can soak up more flavor.
• Serve on a bed of rice with freshly ground black pepper.