I am entering a cookoff next week and one of the things I want to try is the chicken category. Basically it is a jointed chicken, split in half, with the breast, wing, thigh, and drumstick attached. Anyone have a good recipe? I appreciate any ideas. Thanks in advance! c+a+d
What kind of cook-off? BBQ? There's some great Provencal kinda stuff you can do with a chicken, but Bubba might not get it.
My team, "The Texas Barbeque Massacre," are in the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo cookoff next week. We have a big trailered pit and I also have a Weber for grilling. Each of us are cooking a split chicken and we will decide which one we want to submit for our team. Got anything I can try?
I am lazy so I make few rubs myself. I really like some of the rubs from dizzy pig barbecue. They have a rub called Ragin River that is very good. I am fond of jerk so I use their Jamaican Firewalk combined with Mrs. Dog's jerk marinade. They all have websites. I know a lot of people have used various dizzy pig rubs in various comps.
I don't have any sure fire recipes but I'd brine it first. That will usually get you some separation from the also rans.
The best advice I can give you, and something I've been doing again after being to lazy, is brining. I've been doing 3-4 splits like you're referring to in roughly 2 qts COLD water, 1/4-1/3 C kosher salt, 1/3-1/2 C combo of brown and reg sugar. Don't go more than 4-5 hours then proceed from there. Any other advice I'd have to bill you for.
I usually use chicken 1/4's, but this will work just as well with 1/2's. Coat chicken 1/2's liberally with your favorite dry rub (after brining) and cook directly over hot coals 8-10 minutes per side starting skin side down. Remove chicken from pit and place each 1/2 in the center of a large piece of heavy duty alum foil. Ladel 1/3-1/4 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce over each piece and seal in the foil. Place the wrapped chicken back in the pit, away from the coals and leave for 2-3 hours. The temperature in my pit usually stays around 350-400 for the first hour and then starts to cool down. I like to cut my BBQ sauce 50/50 with a good dark beer like Negra Modelo. This thinner sauce steams the chicken and is less likely to cook out completely or burn.
Pasadena? Well, I'm thinkin' a lavendar, marjoram, and thyme dry rub with a white wine caper sauce is right out.
I'd probably do a brick chicken type deal with it. I would make a paste of rosemary, garlic, lemon zest olive oil and S&P and rub that under the skin. Put S&P and olive oil on the outside. I would grill it with a rally heavy brick on top to flatten it a bit over oak. I would then make a garlic butter sauce to finish it off.
