Alabama Barbecued Chicken and Jen's Homemade Chicken Stock

Here is another recipe for the Cook's Illustrated Summer grilling issue. Again, this recipe caught my attention because of the unusual cooking method and the concept of a white BBQ sauce. Hmmmm. I decided to follow the instructions for the ingredients on both the chicken and the sauce, but do my own thing for the cooking technique. The original instructions ask you to cut up a whole chicken, but I am not going to bother with that. Instead, I am just going to follow my grilled whole chicken technique that I have done in the past (i.e. cutting out the backbone and flattening it on the grill). I think it is just an easier way to do it. I am going to serve this chicken dish with a side salad and the BBQ Macaroni Salad that I posted earlier today. Yum! I love trying new things, so I am really excited to see how this meal all works out.

Alabama Barbecued Chicken
Adapted from: Cook's Illustrated, Summer Grilling Issue 2009

Ingredients:

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.

Jen's Notes:
I am going to make some chicken stock with the leftover backbone and carcass. Below is the link for my stock recipe:

Jen's Homemade Chicken Stock

I am out of homemade stock, so this batch is desperately needed.





The Result:
Both of these recipes were awesome! The chicken was extraordinary. The white BBQ sauce was a unique flavor that somehow still embodied what BBQ is all about. The chicken was smoky, slightly spicy, and completely succulent. Yum! I am salivating, just thinking about it! The BBQ Macaroni Salad was a perfect compliment. Certainly, not the mainstay that we are all used to, when we think of macaroni salad. Overall, these recipes were fan-freakin'-tastic!