Double Barbequed Chicken

Double Barbequed Chicken

So what's double barbeque chicken? In recent years since experiencing more southern barbeque, I have come to enjoy dry rubbed barbequed meats of all kinds including chicken. In general, I like to dry rub my favorite spice rubs onto the meat the night before and let the rub permeate the flesh long before it ever hits the heat.

Now don't get me wrong, I still love my barbeque sauces! There's nothing better than licking a sweet sticky barbeque sauce or honey barbeque glaze from your fingers in a messy carnivorous feast but I have come to appreciate dry barbeque as well. In this recipe I don't have to choose! I both dry rub the chicken the day before and slowly build up glazed layers of sticky barbeque sauce toward the end of the cooking time. The result here is phenomenally flavorful, especially when slowly cooked over indirect heat on a charcoal barbeque. I just love it and I hazard to say you will not eat a better barbequed chicken this summer; certainly not a more intensely flavored one.

I like to use my recipe fro Brown Sugar Balsamic BBQ Sauce (recipe below) but I also like my Bourbon Barbeque Sauce that I normally use on ribs. Get that recipe by clicking here.

Begin by rubbing some of my chicken dry rub all over the outside of all your chicken pieces. Cover and store in  fridge. The longer you leave the rub on the chicken the better. As little as a couple of hours is good but overnight is best for the flavor of the spices to permeate the meat.

Chicken Dry Rub

Makes about 2 cups dry rub.

• 3 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp powdered ginger
• 1 tbsp chipotle powder
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp ground thyme
• 2 tbsp ground sage or poultry seasoning
• 2 tbsp dry mustard powder
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp crushed or ground fennel seed

Mix together well and store any unused dry rub in an airtight container in a cool place or in the freezer.

If you are using your gas grill to barbeque, place the chicken piesces on one side of the grill and use the burner or burners on the opposite side so that it is not directly over heat. Regulate the gas to keep the temperature at about 300 - 325 degrees F for slow barbequed flavor. The same technique can also be used with a charcoal grill, just keep the charcoal on one side and the chicken pieces on the opposite side. 

{Smoking instructions (optional) If you like, you can add smoke flavor by soaking hardwood chips like mesquite, apple, cherry or hickory in warm water for about a half hour. A couple of handfuls will do. Wrap the soaked wood chips in a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil and poke only two holes in the foil, one at either end to allow the smoke to escape. I place the foil packets in a vegetable grill pan so that the packet is not sitting directly on the gas burner. The packet can be directly placed on the coals if you are using a charcoal barbeque.}

Cook the chicken until the internal temperature reaches about 150 -160 degrees F on a meat thermometer, then begin to brush the barbeque sauce on the chicken, turning it several times, every few minutes. I like to use my recipe for I like to get at least 3 or 4 layers of barbeque sauce on the chicken. When the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 170 degrees F it is done.

Brown Sugar & Balsamic Barbeque Sauce 

• 1 large red onion, diced
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large apple thinly sliced

Saute all together in a medium sized saucepan until the onions and apples have softened. Add:

• 8 large very ripe diced tomatoes with the skins removed ( or a 28-32 ounce can crushed tomatoes)

Saute together until the tomatoes begin  break down and get mushy (or until the sauce is reduced by 1/4 if using canned tomatoes), then add:

• 1 1/4 c ups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 tsp crushed chili paste (or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, more or less to taste of either if you want to better control the heat)
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 whole nutmeg, finely grated
• 2 tbsp fresh finely grated ginger
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Simmer all together over low heat for about a half hour or until the sauce reaches the consistency of a good barbeque sauce. I like mine a little thicker than most because it is easier to brush on whatever is being grilled.

Puree the sauce to make it extra smooth if you prefer. I always do.
Store in airtight container in the fridge if you are using it within a week or so or freeze it in airtight containers. Properly preserving it in mason jars will make it last all summer.