HoQ Product Apple Butter BBQ Sauce, Five Star Competition BBQ Sauce, House Rub
Prep Time 1 hourhr
Cook Time 2 hourshrs
Brine Time 6 hourshrs
Servings 6
Author House of Q
Ingredients
8-12piecesbone in, skin on chicken pieces, trimmed
Brine
3Lwater
1Cupsea or kosher salt
1Cupdark brown sugar
4Cupsapple juice or cider
2-3 -lemons cut into wedges
1-2 -sweet onions cut into wedges
4-6 -cinnamon sticks toasted
6-8cupsice
Chicken Rub
1cupwhite sugar
3/4cupseasoned salt
3TBblack pepper
3TBchilli powder
3TBpaprika
2TBgranulated celery
2TBgranulated garlic
2TBgranulated onion
1TBground cinnamon
1TBallspice
Spritz - secret cooking step!
3/4cupmaple syrup
3/4cupapple juice
Root Beer BBQ Sauce:
This recipe is from the June issue in 2001 of Bon Appetit with the author Steven Raichlen.
1cuproot beer
1cupketchup
¼cupfresh lemon juice
¼cuporange juice
3TBWorcestershire sauce
1 1/2TBdark brown sugar
1TBlight molasses
1tsliquid smoke
½tsgrated lemon peel
½tsground ginger
½tsgarlic powder
½tsonion powder
Instructions
Make the Sauce
Start by making the sauce. Here is the instructions from the posted recipe on the Bon Appetit website.
Combine all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Cool slightly. Transfer to bowl. Cover and refrigerate. DO AHEAD - This can be made 2 weeks ahead; keep refrigerated.
Make the Rub
To make the rub, whisk the spices together to make sure they are evenly mixed. Alternately, use a colander to blend the spices. Put in an ait tight container and set aside for your cook day.
Make the Brine
To make the brine, cut up the lemons and onions and toast the cinnamon sticks so they are fragrant. Dissolve the sugar and salt in a small portion of the water. Once dissolved, add the remaining water, juice and then the lemons, onions and cinnamon sticks. Then add the chicken and ice. Refrigerate this big bucket of brine for 6+ hours. Overnight is fine.
Cook Plan
Prepare your charcoal cooker for indirect smoking setup with half to three-quarters of a chimney of coals lit and one full chimney of unlit coals in your pit. Place the lit chimney onto the unlit coals and add maple or alder wood chips to the coals. Settle the cook temperature in around 275-300 F.
Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Position on a cooking rack and shape skin and pieces for competition entry. (This is an extra step but if you are a BBQ competitor, you will know to pull the skin tight and make sure all the pieces are the same shape and size.) Sprinkle with the rub coating all edges. Let rest for 10 minutes or so before putting the rack on the prepared smoker.
Smoke the chicken for about an hour and check the internal temperature of the meat. Spritz with a spray bottle the mixture of apple juice and maple syrup. Close up the cooker and take note of the meat temperature. In another 15 minutes, open to cooker again, spritz and check the temperature again. The chicken is ready to be glazed when the meat reaches 140-145 F or so.
If the chicken is at the right temperature to glaze, remove the rack from the cooker. Brush with the Root Beer BBQ Sauce or use a "dip-n-roll" technique by dipping pieces into the warmed sauce. Place back on the rack and put the chicken back into the cooker to finish. The chicken is fully cooked when it has an internal temperature of 165 F and the sauce has set. Remove from the cooker and let rest for five to ten minutes.
If eating at home, cut up pieces and enjoy! If at a competition, delicately remove the breast meat from the bone and slice for your presentation tray. If using other cuts, portion them appropriately and place in you entry tray for the judges.
We hope your competition chicken turns out as good as ours did way back from 2005! Enjoy!