Roadside Chicken Expiriment + Pics


 
J

Jimbo B

TVWBB Fan
I used a variation on the Roadside Chicken recipe that was posted.

I used about a stick of butter a cup or two of vinger and veg oil. A few tbls salt, pepper, white pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, and sugar. And a whole bunch of Worcestershire.

Marinated it in part of the mixture overnight (which I inadvertantly had whipped with a whisk causing it to emulsify into a thick salad dressing like consistency, frankly, a somewhat disturbing smelly gel).

Then I started half on the Weber Silver propane, and the other half on the WSM using the "turning your WSM into a charcoal grill" modification. Since the grill (even with all three burners on low) was running hotter, I eventually swapped all meat from grill to smoker about halfway through.

Everything cooked at a very low temp with a bit of cherry wood for ~1:15-1:30... Half the time on the grill the lid was open and the pieces would get to swim in the juice, the other half it hovered at 280-330F with all burners on low.

Here are some grilling & result pics. I think in the future I will probably cut back on the fats a bit and up the worcesterchire (maybe even marinating upwards of 36 hours with lower vinegar/salt content). It was still delicious, so thanks to the OP .


 
Jimbo

I looked at your pics right after I finished dinner ... and got hungry, again. Great looking chicken and excellent photography.

Paul
 
Thanks for the feedback. I highly reccomend anyone with a gasser give this a go. I did so much chicken it completely filled my Weber Silver and WSM, so switching half-way through let me crisp the skin with the grill but add flavor (and eventually, keep warm) the remaining chicken on the WSM. I may try a smaller batch on the gasser next time so I can control the flames a bit better, and dip them in the 'juice' more.
 
Jim -

Your pics show the chicken bone side up. Do you cook it like that the entire time? Or just to crisp the skin towards the end? I've only done bone side down.

I've cooked this both on gasser and on bullet. Love this recipe.

Jeff
 
It spent time on both sides to more quickly build up cooked layers of flavor after a dipping. It seemed reasonable that sometimes after a dunking in the mixture to put it bone-side-up to let the mixture cook into it/on it. It was somewhat frenetic switching between a WSM and Silver with about 15 pounds of chicken covered in fats that encouraged massive flare ups, so the chicken ended up on whatever side / location on the grill / etc that was most convenient and kept it from burning.

If I were to do a single piece and try to cook it perfectly, I think I would do a 50/50 (bone-up/bone-down) with as many dunks in the "juice" as humanly possible. After an hour or so, then do a higher-heat skin-crisping prior to eating. But that's just me.
 
Jimbo,

"...the pieces would get to swim in the juice..."

"...dip them in the 'juice' more..."

"...layers of flavor after a dipping..."

"...after a dunking in the mixture..."

"...with as many dunks in the "juice" as humanly possible..."



Could you explain what you're doing here??? All I've ever done is apply a baste with a basting brush or mop.

Thanks,

JimT
 
I assume he's doing what I sometimes do...have a side-burner with the marinade simmering, and instead of basting, taking the pieces off with tongs, and dunking the whole piece in the marinade, and slapping it back on.
 
Michael C. is correct. Basically just setup a "hot-tub" filled with the marinade/basting mixture and literally drop them in (fully submerged) and then return them to the heat. Thus all the talk of dipping and swimming (not that my legs and thighs did much swimming of their own). The same could be accomplished by brushing I suppose, but it doesn't saturate into all the nooks and whatnot and is difficult to fully coat all pieces quickly. The oil in the mixture really seems to latch onto the skin and exposed meat, which makes for a nice end product imho. I've had this roadside chicken and I believe it is made using an almost perpetual state of dipping and cooking which builds up the layers. Recreating this is easier with a "pick meat up, drop in bowl, return" method for many dips than it would be to just go nuts with a brush the whole time.
 
I'll have to try the dunking method. Sounds good.

So far, to keep from having to make so much marinade, I took the suggestion someone here made of putting the marinade in a clean Worcestershire bottle and shaking it over the chicken until it almost/sometimes drips. It has worked well for me.

Rita
 
I am looking forward to trying the Roadside Chicken recipe this weekend on my OTG. I understand that the need to marinate frequently is important, especially over direct heat. I have two questions - 1.) I don't have a Worcestershire bottle empty (note to self... keep next empty bottle), so is there an alternative for marinating? 2.) Do I need to run the vents full open? As this is my first time doing chicken on charcoal (I'm a recovering gasaholic) I don't want to risk burning. Should I keep a spot for indirect if need be?
I've have read all 8 pages of the original Roadside Chicken (Thank you Bryan, et al) so this might belong on that page. This kind of led into my bottle question though.
 
Donny, I did this two weekends ago on my 22.5 OTS and it was a snap. The whole cook was lid on and all vents 100% open. I went indirect for the first 45 min with 3/4 chimney of charcol split into baskets on both sides of the grill and chicken (8 legs, 8 thighs) in the middle. I basted with a good brush and turned about every 8-10 minutes. I then removed the grate resting it on my 18.5 and dumped the baskets to go direct and added a few fresh brickets. I then place the chicken back on, went direct for the next half hour basting and turning every 5 min and Everything sturned out great. Chicken done all the way through and nice crispy skin. I would have liked a touch more vinegar but i will figure that out later. So i guess to answer your question, I tend to start the chicken indirect and then go direct towards the end for a good skin texture. Also, if not doing the dunking method, just make sure what ever you are using gets alot of the sauce all over each piece. Good luck.
 
I would have liked a touch more vinegar...
Click to expand...
Try this: Use the same recipe you used before, follow the procedure you just explained--but--after you've switched to direct, baste two times with the baste you're using then mix into your baste about 1/3 of its volume of vinegar (the same as in the baste or a different one--a white balsamic might be nice) plus a pinch of salt, blend well, then use this mix for your last 3-4 bastes. See if that works for you.
 
That sounds really good. That way i am building the same solid flavor base and then adding that extra touch of vinegar. Thanks
 
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