Barbecue Chicken

Barbecue has become my latest fascination. Barbecue is an art, and there is much more to it than simply throwing meat on the grill. There are many important nuances to this cooking technique, most important of which is patience and attention to both the grill and meat. The Paupered Chef has an excellent synopsis of the theory, definition, and strategy of proper barbecue. In short, it's all about "low and slow", cooking your meat at very low heat, and slowly. What I've always considered barbecue -- slapping meat onto a hot grill -- is more accurately called grilling.

This recipe was my first venture with low and slow. I've combined the recipes from The Paupered Chef and Simply Recipes to come up with the recipe below. My only suggestion is to avoid using chicken breasts, as the white meat dries out easily. Feel free to use any store bought or homemade BBQ sauce.

Ingredients

• Several pounds of your favorite chicken parts (legs, thighs, and wings work best)

Magic rub

• 1/2 cup paprika
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons mustard powder
• 1/4 cup chile powder
• 1/4 cup ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup granulated garlic
• 2 tablespoons cayenne
  

BBQ sauce

• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon magic dust (recipe above)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Hot sauce (such as Tabasco) to taste

Instructions

1. Combine dry rub ingredients in a container and mix thoroughly. This makes two cups, much of which can be saved for another use.
2. Sprinkle rub pretty liberally all over the chicken. While you can proceed right away, see if you can plan ahead long enough to let the chicken sit, covered loosely in the refrigerator, for a few hours or even a day. The magic dust has salt in it, so there's no need to salt the chicken otherwise.
3. Prepare the barbecue sauce by putting all the ingredients into a small saucepan and bringing them to a boil. Turn down the heat so that it just bubbles a tiny bit and simmer it, whisking once in awhile, until it's dark and thickened, 10-15 minutes.
4. Prepare your grill. If using gas, turn on only one side of the grill (or turn down all the burners to low) and add chicken. In the case of charcoal, bank all the coals on one side of the grill and line up the chicken on the cool side. Cover the grill to build up some heat and cook until the chicken starts to turn golden and brown, 25-30 minutes.
5. Turn the chicken pieces over and paint them with with barbecue sauce. Cover the grill again and allow to cook for another 30 minutes. Repeat, turning the chicken pieces over, basting them with sauce, covering, and cooking for up to another 30 minutes. Try to cook skin-side down as much as possible.
   
6. Just as the sauce starts to turn syrupy and caramelized, the skin should be crisping up beautifully. If you want, you can finish with a sear on the hot side of the grill. To do this, put the pieces, skin side down, on the hot side of the grill. Allow them to sear and blacken slightly for a minute or two.
7. Remove. Paint with more barbecue sauce and serve.

Serves 4-6. Eat this.