Alabama Backroads BBQ Chicken

Hot BBQ chicken straight from the oven

Desiring a new chicken recipe, I searched Tastespotting repeatedly. The first time I saw a picture of this recipe, I was astounded at how delectable it appeared. I clicked on the recipe and was turned off. White BBQ sauce? Made from mayo? Sick! I kept searching over a period of days and kept clicking on the same dang recipe because it looked so gorgeously scrumptious. Finally, enough was enough, I had to make it. And so I finally did. A bonus was that we already had nearly everything to make this dish.

The original recipe calls for two whole chickens.  That's a lot of BBQ chicken for two people no matter how you prepare it.  So I cut the recipe down to the equivalent of one whole chicken, using only leg quarters.  Remember I used the boobs for chicken sandwiches.  Some of the ingredient quantities I used were altered slightly as I didn't sweat the exactness of 1/3 cup divided by 2 being 1/6 cup with it's equivalent to 2 tbsp +2 tsp.  I called it 3 tbsp.  If you are a stickler for details, you might want to visit the link below.  I don't mind. When you go, you'll see a plethora of additional yummy stuff!  

Alabama Back Roads BBQ Chicken
adapted from Cook & Be Merry

4 chicken leg quarters (aka Marylands)
2 tbsp canola oil
Seasoning rub
Sauce

Seasoning Rub
3 tbsp light brown sugar – packed
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme

Sauce
1 c mayonnaise
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp prepared horseradish (purchased)
1 tbsp Creole or whole grain Grey Poupon Country Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

In a bowl, combine and mix the seasoning rub ingredients.

Coat all sides of the chicken with the oil and seasoning rub. Refrigerate overnight.

I drizzled the oil over the skin-side of the chicken and sort of flipped them around in oil before sprinkling all of the seasoning over both sides.

Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and reserve.

Sauce ingredients yet to be whisked. I forgot to collect an image of that part as I prepared it while grilling the chicken on day 2.

Prepare and warm cast iron grill pan over medium heat.

Arrange the marinated chicken, skin side down, onto the grill. Grill, uncovered, until the first side begins to brown (4 minutes), then turn and brown the other side (4 minutes).

I learned that 8 minutes on a side was too much on an indoor grill pan the hard way.

Once browned all over, transfer chicken quarters to a large baking sheet and pour sauce over chicken.

Finish cooking in a 400°F oven until done, about 45 minutes or until internal temperature is 160°F.

I'll admit that I wasn't exactly thrilled by the appearance of this finished dish, nor was I pleased by the texture of the skin (soft and goopy).  However, the flavors were astounding and the chicken so very tender and juicy.  Wow, what a recipe.

Looking back on it, I see that the chicken should have been charred and "glazed", which I guess means brushed with a bit of sauce, before baking.  Silly me, I charred the chicken but good and poured the entirety of the sauce over the chicken.

In the future, I'll cut the above sauce recipe in half (or a quarter of the original recipe) and generously brush it on after charring before popping it into the oven.  There was so much sauce that pouring all of it over the chicken was way too much moisture for the skin to handle.

Still, I was astounded by the taste of this dish, mayo and all. A repeat is certain to be seen here, with modification.

Cost:

• chicken leg quarters: $4
• everything else?  I'll SWAG at $2

Total: $6 or $1.50 for each of four servings, of which Rodney ate two of in one sitting.  I wasn't kidding when I said this chicken was good.  I look forward to having what's left for lunch!   

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