Learn To BBQ Chicken Like Black Eyed Pigz
First and foremost, chicken is a double edged sword. Dark meat stays tender and juicy, but takes longer to cook thoroughly than does the white meat portions which tend to dry out during a long, low and slow BBQ process. But there are ways to overcome this and I will address them as I move through this article.
Here’s what you need to BBQ your first whole chicken:
1 Whole Fryer 3 - 5lbs
Butter
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
Poultry Seasoning (optional)
Apple or Hickory Wood chips (available at most mega marts near the charcoal) I advise against mesquite due to the overpowering flavors it gives off.
Aluminum Foil
A Grill (gas or charcoal)
Up first, you need at least 1 whole chicken. These are relatively inexpensive, weigh in around 3 - 5lbs and you want a FRYER chicken, not a roaster if you have the choice. We’re going to prepare this chicken using the Spatchcock method, an unfortunate name for splitting your chicken by removing its backbone. Watch the following video to learn exactly how to Spatchcock your bird.
It’s really not all that difficult is it? Just get you a good pair of kitchen shears, and cut out that backbone.
On to the spices…
Chicken Rub Basic Recipe
I like to keep things simple with my chicken rub, I hate to overpower the natural flavors of the meat and from the smoke that we’ll apply during the cooking process. So mix up the following:
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1/2 Tablespoon Poultry Seasoning
Now, grab your chicken, breast side up with the legs near you and lift the skin off of the breast meat. Don’t peel it back, just lift it up so you can slide your fingers underneath it. Grab some butter or margarine and smear this into the meat, covering the entire breast as best you can. Use about half of your chicken rub and dust it underneath the skin so that it sticks to the butter you just applied.
What you’re doing here is adding some moisture to the breast meat and allowing the seasonings to penetrate into the chicken. The skin will generally not allow the seasonings to get all the way through and into the meat. And if you have someone in your group who simply will not eat chicken skin, they’ll have some bland chicken.
Use the rest of your chicken rub to lightly dust the entire outside of your chicken. Wrap it up in some plastic wrap and stick it back in the fridge while you head out and get your grill going.
At the Grill
Fire up your grill, whether it’s charcoal or gas, you want to get your grill hot. Not steak-searing hot, but around 325 - 375 degrees. In a gas grill, turn on one side of the burners to about Medium, leaving the other side turned off. This will facilitate the indirect cooking method we want to achieve. On your charcoal grill, pile your briquettes to one side and get them burned down to a white ash. It also helps if you have some hardwood chips handy, we are going to SMOKE this chicken. Soak your chips in a bowl of a water, about two - three good handfuls.
Once your grill is on, and hot, it’s time for the main event. Grab your chicken, unwrap it and place it on the cool side of your grill away from the heat. Position your bird so that the legs are facing the heat, since the dark meat takes longer to cook, this will help insure that the dark meat and the white meat finish at about the same time on the grill. Now, before you close down that lid, take your wood chips, wrapped in a few layers of aluminum foil and poke a few holes in the top with a fork to allow the smoke to escape and circulate in the grill. Place this foil pack directly on your burner or charcoal pile, then close the lid and walk away. Soon you’ll see some light blue smoke wafting out of the vents and gaps on your grill. This is a GOOD thing.
First off, the smoke smells amazing. Secondly, you want that to stay in the grill and penetrate the chicken as it cooks. When using these woods, your chicken will take on a dark golden brown patina, which is exactly what you want when you’re going for true BBQ chicken.
We’re going to leave that lid closed for at least 1 full hour before we check on things. I mean it! Don’t look, let it go.
At the one hour mark, open the lid and take a look. Your bird should be nicely dark from the smoke and the heat. You’re well on your way. Take your meat thermometer and stick in the the thickest part of the breast, near the thigh, careful not to hit the bone as your readings will not be right if you do. We’re looking for an internal temperature of 160 degrees. I know I know, they say 165, but trust me a minute.
After this first check, I would recommend checking every half hour. Add more charcoal if necessary to keep the heat up in your cooker. Once your bird reaches 160, remove it from the grill and wrap loosely in foil. Set it on the counter and let it rest for about 20 minutes. After it’s rested, you may begin slicing your chicken up for serving.
Personally, I always just pull the meat off the bones and serve it as pulled chicken. We sometimes drizzle a little sauce on it for sandwiches or we’ll eat it just as it is. It should be the moistest and juiciest chicken you’ve ever had.
I hope this helps you get the BBQ Bug. Let me know how it goes when you decide to try it. I’d love to hear back from you!
BBQ Is Exploding
Hey friends,
If you haven’t noticed, the art of BBQ is exploding everywhere you look. The Food Network, Discovery, Travel Channel, Style Channel, etc, are all hosting tons of BBQ themed shows and competitions. You can’t open a summer outdoors magazine without the writers touting the virtues of good TRUE old fashioned BBQ.
So why has it taken so long to become mainstream? I think there’s a few factors involved personally.
1. People are tired of packaged dinners from so called “Family Restaurants”. Your Applebees, Chili’s, TGIFridays and the like all claim to have these great new menu items that are only available at their establishments. I’m sorry, but a “Riblet” is not my idea of BBQ. It’s a cop out. They slice the ribs down so thin that they can’t help but be tender when you eat them. And then literally drowning them in sauce? Ick, what the hell are you trying to hide under all the goop?
As a side note, Burger King is now offering “Ribs” flame broiled no less. Need I say more? I’ll be back after I grab some Maalox if you don’t mind.
2. People want to get back in their own yards. In today’s high paced, nonstop world, the only chance you have to really even attempt relaxing is in your own backyard. Maybe you want to enjoy the fruits of all your labors and just chill out. Maybe while you’re at it you want to craft some top notch grub. Either way, you want some “you” time.
3. This one I find to be a driving force. MEN are taking over the grills, it’s almost like saying that Men are hairy. It’s guaranteed. We like cooking around open flames, we like MEAT hot off the grills and smokers, and if we can put something together that tastes better than any of our friends, family or neighbors, WE WIN! It’s our competitive nature. And honestly, who’s ever torn their ACL grilling up some chicken? It may be the only competitive competition left for those of us too old for real sports and who simply can’t stand golf.
No matter what your reason for getting into BBQ is, you need to know how to do it right. There’s grilling some meat and eating it, and then there’s BBQ. BBQ is NOT just some Kraft Sauce you pick up in the ketchup aisle at the store, it’s a cooking method, an art, and to many, a religion. With so many options available to you, you can create something that’s truly unique amongst your friends and family.
I hate to be long winded about such things, but just like good BBQ, it takes a while to make it right. You can’t have it NOW, you have to wait, watch, listen, and learn.
If you want to test the BBQ waters, read my next article. It’s all about chicken, the whole chicken and nothing but the chicken. It’s a great method and meat for ANY level griller, and it will truly be the BEST tasting BBQ Chicken you’ve ever laid tastebuds on.
Dreams have been dashed
Friends, I was approached by a media marketing company recently. They wanted to explore the idea of making a Television commercial featuring Black Eyed Pigz Cinnamon Chipotle BBQ Rub. Now, to say I was excited is an understatement. I spoke with their people and was under the impression that we needed to do some samples, some brainstorming, etc to get this project underway.
However, when I received their information packet, the first thing I noticed is that I had to invest $25,000 for the privilege of even TRYING to put this deal together. Folks, I know you don’t get something for nothing in this world, but I’m not a wealthy man. I get by. Never in talking with this representative did he bother to mention there was a substantial investment on my part to make this happen.
All I can say is that I”m glad I never sent off product samples so that it could be possibly broken down in some lab, copied and re-named for someone else’s benefit.
Alas, you won’t see Black Eyed Pigz on TV anytime soon, but you can still enjoy the site, the grub and especially the RUB!!!!!
Our Rub’s For Sale!!!!
That’s right friends, at long last my rub is available for sale so it can be YOUR rub too! A specially blended combination of cinnamon, chipotle and other spices that I’m not gonna tell you about, available for purchase in 1lb foil sealed pouches.
How much? $8, that’s how much! But the price goes up to $10 in July. This is our introductory special so you can grab some for your grub!
Perfect for use on Ribs, Pork, Beef Brisket and Chicken….but this ain’t a grillin’ spice! If you’re not BBQ’ing low and slow, you won’t get the full flavored experience of this BBQ Rub. It’s been created specifically for low and slow cooking!
Get yours now by clicking here: Buy Our Rub!
Reviews are comin’!
That’s right, I just received a bottle of homemade BBQ sauce from a member of the Smoking Meat Forums, and boy does it taste good already! I haven’t had a chance to cook up anything to try it on yet, but rest assured, as soon as I do, I’ll be back here to let you know all about it.
Any BBQ sauce that lists Pomegranate Molasses as an ingredient has to be good stuff!
Check back soon for updates, and if you have a product you’d like me to review, let me know and I’ll be more than happy to oblige!
Spring in SC
The weather has been heating up for the past few weeks here in South Carolina. We’ve had our garden planted since the end of March and have already harvested a lot of romaine lettuce and spinach. While we wait on the onions and broccoli to come in, we’ve planted our Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Bell peppers and Jalapeno Peppers.
Some of the best parts of living in South Carolina are also the simplest. Sure, we get blasted with pollen every Spring, a pollen so heavy that it causes allergies to go into overdrive, coats every surface with a snot-yellow dust and when the breeze blows, you can see clouds of it chasing down the road. Aside from that however, we get early blossoms on the trees and flowers, it’s green and comfortable from about Mid-March straight through until October every year.
We plant a garden, open the pool and start on our outdoor home projects. Most recently, I built a small platform near the pool to allow us to climb in and out safely. The plastic ladder that came with the pool was just too slippery and dangerous for everyone in my opinion and we decided it was time to make something much more attractive and sturdy. Still need to get the stairs built, but it’s otherwise ready to go.
My 3 year long deck project is finally coming to a close as well. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a fancy deck by any means, but, with everything else that we keep doing around the house, it’s the one project that gets put on the back burner every time. I do plan to have the railings finished by Summer this year.
We also get the start of Spring sports for the boys. My 10 and 7 year old boys are running track, and have both placed in the top 4 for the mile, and the 400 yard races so far. Our youngest son, who will be 6 in May is playing his third season of soccer and seems to really be taking to it alot this year. He’s finally becoming aggressive on the field and is understanding the game.
All 3 of them will be playing Pop Warner football this fall, the first season for the youngest, second season for the 7 year old and the 4th season for the 10 year old. We’ve been doing registration and such since March with the team, and somehow I’m the President of the organization this year. With 7 divisions of play, we’ll have nearly 150 children on our team for the 2010 season.
It’s always busy at our house, but it seems more so in the Spring. I guess after being couped up indoors for the winter, we can’t wait to get back outdoors and keep trying to improve our home, our lives and our souls.
Spam, and not the kind in the can
Wow, I just spent over an hour deleting spam comments that have been pouring in lately. Many of them in Russian, no less. But between erectile dysfunction meds, hair restoration, and “farm girls”, I think I’m spammed out.
I don’t get many comments from my readers as it is, and I believe that I will be disabling comments from here on out to insure that these jackasses can no longer take up space with their unwanted and unnecessary advertising on MY site.
You’re ALWAYS free to email me directly though, and I will be glad to post your message on the blog for everyone to enjoy, but I think comments need to go for now.
Drop me a line sometime, and until then, BBQ On!
Black Eyed Pigz Cinnamon Chipotle Rub for sale SOON!
That’s right! We’ve gone out and had our bbq rub specially blended and packaged for retail sale! You’ll be able to purchase it by the pound right here by June 1st!
In the meantime, we’re looking for taste testers to receive an 8oz package to try and report back to us with your thoughts! All you need to do is email us: bill (at) blackeyedpigz.com and put “BBQ Rub” in the subject line. 5 winners will be randomly chosen. Cut off date is June 1st!
Getting back in the saddle
Hey friends, I know it’s been a long time since I last update this page and I apologize. Between taking care of my dad after his bypass surgery and dealing with life, I’ve just been out of the loop.
But, rest assured! I have pics of some good eatin’ to share with you and will get them up here soon for you to enjoy. In the meantime, why don’t you send ME some of your favorite grill or smoker recipes and we’ll get those posted up for everyone to see? C’mon, it’ll be fun!
Update about updates
I need to get some photos off of the digital camera from last weekend. As it turned out, I had all day Sunday to cook for the week, and I went all out this time. The day’s worth of cooking included:
My very first Pork Bomb or FATTY as they’re known. I took 2lbs of breakfast sausage and rolled it out flat, filled it with scrambled eggs, american cheese and fried onions, then rolled it into a loaf. That loaf was then completely wrapped in a weave of bacon and smoked for about 3 hours. Can’t eat a bunch of it at once, but boy is it good!
The night before, I split open 3 whole chickens, removed the backbones and soaked them overnight in a beer brine, then they got smoked. I also had three chuck roasts that were smoked. 2 were soaked in bourbon overnight and 1 was soaked in beer and taco seasonings for fajitas later in the week.
I also smoked up about 5 lbs of chicken wing drummettes, and 5 HUGE chicken breasts.
I have photos of most of this and as I get time, I will get them all posted here in full detail for those who are interested. I’ve been a little busy with my dad since he came home from his triple bypass surgery this week.