Five years ago last month, my little brother married his sweetheart. At the time, my parents were out of the country. They were living in Brussels, Belgium at the time. It fell to me, somehow, to throw a lunch for the family who was traveling to the wedding. I knew just what I should do, especially since I needed it to travel easily, serve many people,
not stain people's nice clothes and taste good for old and young alike. The bite of mustard, the deeper complexity of Worcestershire sauce. A bit of molasses. And chicken to keep it lean.
(I've made the same recipe with pork shoulder, but I really prefer the chicken results. Pick your favorite meat).
This was also long before anyone in my family needed gluten free food. I pulled out my favorite recipe for Yankee barbecue (because, after all, I am a Western girl, which falls into neither the Yanks nor the Southern Belles, but I think the Yanks will take us in a pinch), and invited my friend Mindy over to help me. It was June, and my sticky little apartment had no air conditioning. We opened all the windows, turned on a few fans, and once we finished prepping the ingredients, took a blanket outside to lay in the evening light.
We actually prepared this recipe in two parts, which is easy to do. The first day (a Friday), we roasted and pulled all the chicken, ending up with more than 20 pounds of cooked chicken. The second day, on Saturday morning, I made the sauce and added it to the shredded chicken.
Friday night was a multi-hour operation. Mindy and I splayed out on blankets on the front lawn, the sun melting over the western horizon, surrounded by the smells of chicken and onions into the desert air. We were reading, side by side, while the chicken cooked, every once in a while draping our tired heads over our crossed arms and letting the books flipped closed.
The recipe for this barbecue is almost a starting point, and any Yankee can throw their own touch on it. Just make sure you are tasting it as you go along, and doing the final seasoning after the sauce and chicken have been combined (the bland chicken will mellow out the sauce a little bit, but not completely).
The flavors of this dish in my kitchen now remind of that hot summer, with a little bit of rushing around, and the late afternoon watching my brother and his bride with hopeless grins on their faces. It was a success.
Last Year: Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken Recipe
Two Years Ago: Gluten Free Orange Bars Recipe
Yankee Brisket Pulled Barbecue
based on the recipe in
Finger Lickin' Rib Stickin' Great Tastin' Hot & Spicy Barbecue by Jane Butel
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2 pounds chicken breast or thighs
3 1/2 ounce bottle liquid smoke
2 cups chopped onions
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1 tablespoon dark molasses
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon liquid hot pepper sauce
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Cook and pull the chicken. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, and place it in a heavy pot. If you intend to cook the meat on a burner, add 1/2 cup water to the pot and cover tightly with a lid or aluminum foil. Cook on the lowest flame or heat setting possible. Check the meat periodically and add more water if necessary. If you are cooking the meat in the oven, you need not add water. Just cover tightly and place in the oven. For either method, cook approximately 1 hour per pound of meat, or until the meat is fork tender and falls apart. When the meat is done, remove it from the pot and allow it to cool. Trim any excess fat from the meat. Drain excess fat from the pan, reserving 3 tablespoons. For full "pulled" meat, pull meat into shreds with your hands or two forks. Return the meat to the pan, add the sauce, allowing 1/2 cup sauce per pound of meat, and cook, uncovered, over low heat until heated through.
Sauce. In a large pot, melt 3 tablespoons of the hardened fat over medium heat, add the onions and saute until tender. Add all the remaining ingredients and 1 cup of the pan juices or water. Stir well and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat. Add the pulled meat to the sauce and simmer very slowly, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring frequently. Add more pan juices, or water, if necessary, to keep the meat moist.
Remove from heat and serve on bread, flatbread, potatoes, polenta, veggies, or whatever you want.
