| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 (3 1/2-pound) “baby” chickens
- Olive Oil
- Salt and fresh ground pepper or Classic BBQ Rub, recipe follows
- Favorite BBQ sauce or Sassy Brown Sugar and Bourbon Sauce, recipe follows
- 2 tablespoons smoky paprika
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano, crushed
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup American-style chile sauce
- 1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar
- 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Classic BBQ Rub, see recipe
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Build charcoal fire or preheat gas grill. Using poultry shears or a chef’s knife, split chicken down the breast bone to cut the chicken in 1/2. Brush lightly with olive oil on all surfaces and sprinkle with salt and pepper or Classic BBQ Rub. Set aside.
- Using a rib holder, place the 4 chicken halves vertically skin-side facing out in each of the 4 slots. The chicken in the holder will resemble slices of toast in an old-fashioned toast holder. Place the rib/chicken holder in the center of the cooking grate over indirect medium low heat (making sure no heat is directly under the chicken.) Grill for 1 hour, or until chicken registers 185 degrees F in the thickest part of the thigh. After 30 minutes, check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer. Brush liberally with barbecue sauce during the final 15 to 20 minutes only. If the chicken is sauced too early, it will burn on the outside before the interior meat is cooked through.
- Combine paprika, salt, sugar, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, pepper, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt and oregano in bowl; mix well. For a smoother rub, puree ingredients in a spice grinder until well combined and all pieces are uniform (the rub will be very fine and tan in color). This step is important if adding to any homemade barbecue sauce.
- In a large saucepan on the stove, add tomatoes, sugar, molasses, bourbon, ketchup, chile sauce, vinegars, and Worcestershire sauce, stirring after each additional ingredient to combine. Add the classic spice rub and simmer until the flavors have blended and the sauce has thickened somewhat, about 30 minutes.
- Let the sauce cool for about 10 minutes or until it is warm but no longer “boiling” hot. Puree using an immersion or traditional blender. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt, about 1/2 teaspoon, and freshly ground pepper. Remember, the ribs will have plenty of spice rub on them, so don’t over-season the sauce. Add the cocoa powder and mix well to combine. Let sit 5 minutes and stir again to make sure cocoa powder is well distributed. Let cool and pour into a clean glass jar for storing. The sauce can be made in advance and kept for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Reviews
My family loves the dry rub recipe and so do our friends. We prefer to use the rub on beef and pork instead of chicken. Makes great tasting meat on the grill or in the oven. We’re not fans of wet BBQ so this is wonderful.
this is the best rub and sauce. i use it on ribs and boston butts. it is a little salty though. i would cut down on the salt.
I cooked this chicken for my family with some southern sides and they loved it! The sauce was a little too hot for them, but I thought that it was the perfect balance of heat and sweet! Thank you so much for this recipe! Will make more than one more time!
Tried this out tonight with some leg quarters and it turned out great. I did however brine the pieces for about 2 hrs before and it turned out very juicy. This is a keeper
I just finished making chicken breasts and thighs with this rub and sauce. I’m pleased that there is a lot more sauce; I will be using this sauce on anything that will sit still long enough for me to slather it with it.
this was great with chichen wings and steak
I think that this is the best dry rub I have ever used. I put it on the turkeys that I deep fried this Thanksgiving.
Enjoy,
Chuck Muchmore
Phoenix, AZ
A friend of mine made this chicken the same day we both saw it on Sara’s Secrets. It was the best barbequed chicken that I ever tasted. We couldn’t stop talking about the show and how wonderful the chicken came out. There are alot of spices in the rub but it’s worth it and the homemade barbeque sauce is to die for. After you taste this you just don’t want to have BBQ chicken any other way. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
I didn’t have molasses for the sauce, so I substituted with one tablespoon of maple syrup. Also, I used a cut up chicken that I brined and then grilled on charcoal. I don’t care for the overwhelming flavors typical of most barbecue sauces, but this had great depth of flavor without being too much. I will definitely make this again!