Southern dry rubbed chicken with bourbon barbecue sauce

May 25, 2021 cheffd

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Southern dry rubbed chicken on the grille

To celebrate memorial day weekend, we are offering regional specialties. Here we go to the southern states to explore the barbecue. If you don’t come from the south, you are probably used to a different approach to BBQ. In the Northeast, it is slathered in Barbecue sauce to add moisture, because, it is cooked at a higher temperature. True bbq is cooked low and slow. If you have a smoker, that is the best way to get the true flavor. We use a sweet and spicy rub, and allow the chicken to sit overnight to absorb the flavor. You could do the chickens whole. But, for ease of service and to cut down cooking time, we cut it into parts for this Southern dry rubbed chicken.

The cut I prefer is: 10 way. Start by cutting the chicken in half. I usually remove the backbone in this step and use it for stock. So, once you have split the bird lengthwise, cut off the wing from the breast. Then separate the leg from the breast. There is a fat line in the leg that shows where the drumstick and the thigh meet. Cut through that line to split the leg into 2 parts. Then cut the breast in half, cutting through the bone. If the chicken is small, you can skip this step and do an 8 way cut. repeat these steps with the other half of the chicken. You end up with:

2 wings
2 drumsticks
2 thighs
4 breast pieces

for a total of 10 pieces (8 if you don’t split the breast).

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Southern dry rubbed chicken needs a good sauce to accompany it.

To save time, we use an already prepared sauce. There is an art to making sauce. Everyone has their own “secret ingredients”. We make our own sauces. Contact us if you want step by step instruction or to inquire about availability. Basic ingredients include a few spices, onion, garlic, citrus, tomato, and sugar. Some like it hot. Others like it sweet. Some like a combination. In the Carolinas, they are famous for a vinegar based sauce. Each region has its specialties. You could even go tropical with something like a pineapple or mango barbecue sauce. To each his or her own. While we are generally fans of DIY, there is nothing wrong with using a quality chef designed sauce. Even a relatively benign sauce can be a good base to add flavors to.

Spice it up. Add in some fresh chilis. Just be careful what kind you use. jalapenos are hot. But, they are tame next to habaneros, serrano, and ghost peppers. Remember, some peppers, like ghosts, can be lethal. Know where your chili stands on the scoville scale. Peppers like Pepper X and Carolina reapers are restricted. They are components of pepper spray used by law enforcement (and we have laws against cruel and unusual punishment, so go figure). We use Thai chili here because it is stronger than jalapeno, but not anywhere near the more dangerous peppers. Heat is good. But, flavor is better. We need a good balance. Use what you have. if you have a well stocked fridge, spice rack, and pantry, you probably have some flavors that would go well.