Super Bowl Bar-B-Que

Hello Friends and Neighbors
Somewhere along the line I have picked up the name of Col. Dave. To go along with that, I have grown a mustache and a goatee. I am going to leave it on for the rest of the year if Betty doesn’t kill me first or it drives me nuts!! Everyone is talking about Bar-B-Q for the Super Bowl -- I wish I could get some to Payton; I know he loves it. He is from Louisiana, and his dad went to Ole Miss. Both of those are known for being REAL Bar-B-Q country.
To do pork and beef it takes hours of work and watching. So let’s do chicken The Lil’ Red Barn’s Quick and Easy way. Goodness gracious, it’s GOOD!!
I know that heat control is a problem with most of the small gas and charcoal grills. Most have the thermometers in the top of the grill where the temp is a lot cooler then on the grill. So if we are going to cheat, let’s go all the way and do it in our oven where all we have to do is to set the timer and watch the ball game!
First, buy some good thighs (I like them for their flavor and uniform size).
NOTE: I love Springer Mountain chicken!! It is all natural. If you can’t find it ask your grocer to get it. It is a good product at a good price. As a certified judge, I know.
I set my oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, open the package and wash , then squeeze dry.
Remove the skin and any extra fat. Lay out the skin. Make sure there is enough skin to cover the thigh around the sides and tuck under. Trim, then lay it on paper meat side down next to its skin. Sprinkle the bone side and the sides with dry rub lightly (recipe below). Turn it over and sprinkle the meat side lightly, then replace the skin and tuck it under.
I place them in a 2 inch deep cake pan lined with Heavy Duty aluminum foil. If I were to be doing only 4 or 6 thighs, I would line a pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, but fold it up about a half inch past chicken. For 4 thighs I would cut up one stick of butter, two sticks for 8 thighs. Always leave approximately half of space between the chicken and place the butter in the spaces .Then place them in the oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes with skin side up. Be careful not to knock the skin off. Cook for 45 minutes then baste with its own juice. Now leave for 30 minutes with meat side down. Remove from pan and place on cooling rack. I would place a sheet of heavy foil with the edges turned up down on the shelf below for dripping. Leave there for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken and dip in glaze. Place back in oven for 15 minutes. Plate and serve.

Rub for Chicken
Enough for 8 thighs
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons salt
2 Tablespoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For the Glaze
1 cup of your favorite red BBQ sauce (not sweet)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Maple syrup
1/4 cup Brown sugar
NOTE: you can make it as sweet or hot as you like!!
Add hickory flavor liquid smoke by the teaspoon to suit your tastes. You need to have it sitting on a cold stove with the vent-hood running. Let someone open the smoke and add a teaspoon full, stir and walk away with the bottle and spoon. This way, you will get a true taste. Smell is 90% of what we think we taste.
Happy Super Bowl Eating!!!
Dave

Happy New Year!

Hello bloggers!

I want to apologize for not covering Christmas and New Years. Betty and I have both been sick. I had pneumonia and ran a temp from Nov 01 till Dec 23. I went through 3 rounds of antibiotics before my temp broke Dec 23. I am still coughing a lot but feel much better. We hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a happy New Year.

What I want to know is, are you interested in having a series of how to make real Pro Grade Bar-B-Q?

There are no places that put that much time and effort into Bar-B-Q to sell, that I know of. I feel that I am qualified to teach you what you need to know to be competitive and the talk of the town of everyone that eats your BBQ. We will start from scratch and go all the way to the table.

I feel that I am qualified to do this because I have been Bar-B-Qing for 67 years. Have owned BBQ restaurants , catered BBQ , I am pit master for My Lil’ Red Barn Bar-B-Q Cooking team, A certified Judge for Kansas City Bar-B-Q- Society and The Memphis Bar-B-Q Network. I judged this year from Memphis to Maryland and was selected to judge the World Championship event at the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, TN, which is the best of the best. We had 14 foreign teams there. If there are enough people interested in it I will be glad to do it. What I would like for you to do is to tell everyone that you know that would be interested in this to drop a note to foodsofthesouthland at comcast dot net. About everyone likes to do ribs and chicken so we will start with them then go to Boston butts and whole shoulders and beef briskets and finally, whole hogs. Let us know!