BBQ Chicken - My Way

Pretty much every time I see or hear someone is doing BBQ chicken its usually a bunch of misc chicken parts drowned in bottled BBQ sauce and grilled. Just not my kind of dish really. The idea for this recipe came from some recent inspirations from Rick Bayless, Bobby Flay and Grady Spears.  Not bad company I say. 

I like chicken breasts.  On the bone, skin-on chicken breasts. Its like a blank canvas. You can impart any flavors that you want with it. There is also more meat to work with (most of the time).  I brined the chicken for 4 hours and it made a huge difference.  I was concerned about them drying out in the smoker but no, these were very moist.  Leaving the skin on also helps hold in some moisture.

I had not used pecan wood much in the smoker. Actually, I can't remember the last time I used it.  I love the aroma that fills the neighborhood. It's like a manly aroma therapy. Sitting there smelling that smoke will get you very relaxed. Maybe that's just me.  I wasn't too worried about the temperature of the smoking chamber. I know it never gets over 350 when i use wood. I was more concerned with the smoke.  It seemed like it took forever to get the smoke level where i wanted it. You can't get good flavor from billowing white smoke.  You have to let the wood burn down a little to where you barely see the smoke.  They call it "Blue Smoke". Sometimes you just have to be patient.

I made a quick dry rub for the chicken, took them out of the brine, dried them, worked in the rub really well and let them sit out while the fire was burning down.  After they went into the smoker I re hydrated some ancho chiles and made my BBQ sauce so it could sit and let the flavors intermingle.  The chicken smoked for an hour before i checked on it. It looked pretty good so I went ahead and basted it with the BBQ sauce. I wanted the sauce to cook into the skin, absorb a little smoke and burn(caramelize) just a little.  After 30 minutes I pulled the chicken from the smoker and put it into a 350 degree oven to set the glaze. and firm up the skin.  Worked perfectly. The internal temperature was up to 185 but it it was oozing clear juices when I pulled the probe out so I knew it was gonna be moist.

You have to let this cool a little before you dig in to it. All that moisture will continue to steam on the inside.  You'll want to use your fingers to pull the chicken apart so let it sit and cool to save your fingertips.

On to the recipe....

Ingredients

6 Large Bone-In, Skin-On Chicken Breasts

Brine

1 Gallon of water
1 cup of ice
1 cup of kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns


Dry Rub

1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt


BBQ Sauce

5-6 dried ancho chile's (stem & seeds removed)
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chile powder
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Agave nectar
2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (optional)



Method

First you need to brine the chicken.  Add sugar, kosher salt, peppercorns and water to a large stock pot. Heat the water just enough to dissolve the sugar and salt. turn off the heat and add the ice to cool it down. Stir around until the ice melts and the water is cool.  Add the chicken to the water being sure that all the chicken is completely submerged. Put a plate or pan lid on top of the chicken to help keep it submerged.  Put the pot into the refrigerator and let it sit for 4 hours or more.

Get a good pecan wood fire going in your smoker and let it burn down until most of the white smoke subsides.  Remove the chicken from the brine, dry it off and set aside.  In mixing bowl combine the dry rub ingredients and mix with your hands to get rid of any lumps.  Coat the chicken liberally with the rub and set aside on a foil lined baking sheet.

Once the smoker is ready, place the chicken in the smoker, close it up and don't touch it for an hour. 
While the chicken is smoking, make your BBQ sauce. 

Put the ancho chiles in a medium sauce pan and cover with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Transfer the re hydrated chiles (not the water) to a blender with 1/2 cup of the cooking water.  Blend until smooth. You might need to scrape the lid and sides a few times and you might need to add in up to another 1/2 cup of the cooking water.  This needs to be very smooth and no chunks of chile pod left behind.  Pour the cooking water out of the pot and add in the ancho puree and remaining BBQ sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Let sit.

After the chicken smokes for an hour, generously baste the tops of the breasts with the BBQ sauce and close the smoker. Cook for another 1/2 hour.  Preheat your oven to 350(F).  After the 1/2 hour is up place the chicken on a foil lined baking sheet and place into the oven. Insert a temperature probe into the largest breast. Pull the chicken once the internal temperature is 170(F) degrees. Let cool for 15 minutes before you try to cut or dig into it. 

Serve with some of the BBQ sauce on the side and a big pile of napkins.

Sweet and Spicy Mesquite Smoked Baby Back Ribs

It was a perfect day to fire up the smoker. Not like last time where it was 105 degrees and tending the fire around a 250 degree smoke chamber was just a miserable experience. The weather was clear, sunny and in the low 80's. Fall has arrived in Texas.

My wood of choice for baby backs is mesquite.  I really like the flavor it gives when it mixes with my rub.  Hickory tends to be a little too strong with this mix but if you control the smoke it works well too.  There are two methods with this rub. The first one is you can leave all the excess rub on the ribs while they are smoking. This will form a very tasty but bold crust on the outside of the ribs.  Be sure to have plenty of napkins available too.  The second is to shake off and wipe off any remaining rub. You will still have a crust but it will be a very thin crust and the meat will take on a little more smoke.  I don't have a preference. I just depends on my mood that day.

Ingredients

1 full rack of baby back ribs,
   membrane removed from the back (crucial step here)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher/sea salt
1 teaspoon white sugar

Method

Prepare your smoking vessel. You want an even heat of 225-250.

If your smoker can't handle an intact full rack then cut the rack into manageable pieces. I cut mine in half. 

Mix the sugars and seasonings together in a bowl. Be sure to work out any lumps from the brown sugar.

Place the ribs in a deep pan and coat liberally with the rub on both sides.  Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Remove the pan from the fridge, remove the wrap and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.  You want to get the chill off the meat. 

Place the ribs in the smoker, bone side down. Leave as much room around them as you can to allow proper circulation.

Smoke the ribs at 225/250 for 3 hours.  Check the meat after 3 hours. If you the bones are loose and the rib starts to break when you pick it up then its done. If its not quite tender enough wrap with foil and continue cooking for another hour and up to 2 more hours.  The longer you cook it the more tender it will get but it will get to the point where it just falls apart and looses its texture. You want the meat to stay on the bone while you handle it but come off with just the smallest of tugs.  If you don't wrap them after 3 hours they will start to dry out.  You can use a mop sauce after the 3 hour mark to keep them moist and eliminate the foil.

Once they reach the desired tenderness remove them from the smoker and let them sit, at room temp for a few minutes before you serve them. I cut them into 2 rib portions.That gives you a good amount of meat per person and its easy to handle. 

*You can finish these in the over after they smoke for 3 hours. Just follow the same procedures.  Heat your oven to 250, wrap in foil and check them every 30 minutes. 

** You can of course do the whole process in the oven. Same temps and times.  Don't touch them for at least 3 hours and bake them on a rack over a sheet pan...but line it with foil to minimize the clean up.

Pulled Pork

This one came as a result of a trip through Memphis and Mississippi. We ended up in Clarksdale (Mississippi) because I wanted to see the Delta Blues Museum.  While that was interesting and I was glad I got to go, the real gem of the trip was the discovery of the best pork sandwich I had ever tried. 

I had heard about Abe's BBQ on one of the food or travel shows on tv and when I saw the sign just had to stop in and try it out.  I had never had real southern pulled pork and boy was I missing out. Abe's sits at the fabled "Crossroads" where Robert Johnson was said to have sold his soul to the Devil.  You'd probably never stop here unless some locals told you about it or, like me, saw it on tv.  If you are ever down that way give it a try.

I cook this half way in a smoker and finish in the oven. You can certainly do the whole thing in the oven but you won't get that good smokey flavor.

Ingredients

2 Bone-in Pork Shoulders
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika (sweet or hot...not smoked)
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chile powder (Gephardts is pretty good)
2 teaspoons of white sugar
1 tablespoon cayenne
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water

Prep

For pulled pork you want a bone in pork shoulder. Trim off any excess fat or pieces of hard fat.  Look around the bone end for traces of blood. There is a vein that you need to remove or the meat in that area will have an off taste.  Pat both pieces dry with a paper towel and place in a large baking dish.

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients. Rub the mixture on the pork shoulders, coating it all over. Keep a 1/4 cup of the rub for the mop sauce

To make the mop sauce, heat up a sauce pan and add in the water, vinegar and left over rub. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the rub is dissolved.  remove from the heat at set aside.

Mop Sauce

Cooking

If using a smoker, get it prepped and have the temperature at 250 degrees. You want to maintain close to that temperature the entire time.  A hickory/oak mix works well. The hickory gives great flavor and the oak burns hot and long. I use a digital probe to monitor the temperature of the smoker as well as the pork. Place the meat directly on the rack and smoke the shoulders until they reach an internal temperature of 145. They really wont take in the smoke after that point and your just burning up your wood.  Move the meat to a 225 degree oven and cook uncovered until the internal temperature reaches 190.   At this time, mop or spoon the sauce you made all over the shoulders. Continue cooking until the internal temp is 205-210.  At this point the internal fat has mostly rendered out and it will pull apart easily.  Remove from the oven and let sit for 20 minutes.

If you don't have a smoker, just follow the same procedure except start in the oven at 250 until the temperature reaches 145. Then reduce and finish the same way.

You should have something that look like this:

Once the pork has cooled enough to handle, start tearing it apart with your hands. Pull out the bone and any large pieces of fat that may not have rendered.  Toss the pulled (shredded) pork with the mop sauce or any BBQ sauce that you like. Don't use too much. You just want to keep the pork moist and give it a kick.  Makes excellent sandwiches, tacos, quesadillas, nachos, etc....Also great on eggs or just by itself.  The 2 shoulders are going to make enough for about 12 people or more. You can store the meat in the fridge for about a week.  Just heat up a skillet and toss it around to warm it up.