Chicken-Que

Chicken-Que

¾ c. cider vinegar
½ c. canola or vegetable oil
¼ c. water
3 T. sugar
1 T. salt
2 – 3 tsp. Tabasco Sauce
A few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
Pinch of dry mustard

Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Brush on chicken as you place on grill with medium hot coals. Every 5 minutes, brush with sauce, turn and brush again. Do this until chicken is done.
Depending on size and type of pieces you are grilling, cooking time may have to be adjusted. If you leave the skin on, watch carefully as they will burn fairly easily. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts usually take about 20 – 25 minutes, and I usually start these still frozen.
Note: I cut this recipe in half for the amount of chicken I usually grill – 6-8 boneless breasts. You can make up the full recipe; pour half into a storage container to store half in the refrigerator for a week or so, until ready to grill chicken again. (Do not save the sauce that you have been dipping brush into while cooking chicken.)

This is what I grew up believing "Barbecued Chicken" is. The recipe came from a Kraft Foods little cooking pamphlet that Mom had picked up somewhere. My Dad was the Grill Meister at our house and I was his assistant, although I did not touch the grill, of course. One of my fondest memories is being out at the grill with Dad while he cooked. No matter what he was grilling, we always had "Nibbles," which were a hot dog or two that he would grill (when with chicken they would also be basted with the above sauce), break into pieces with his tongs and then after they cooled a bit, he would ask for my opinion on how they tasted. They always tasted delicious and I believe that was probably because they were grilled with love for his "assistant."

Another memory attached to this "Barbecued Chicken" is that when I went to work one day with Dad (he worked for the VA in DC), we went to Scholl's Cafeteria for lunch. This was a special treat, we did not eat out often in those days (mid 60's). I saw on the board one of the offerings was "Barbecued Chicken." "Yum!" I thought. (My mistake was looking at the listed offerings rather than at the steam trays with the actual food in them) Can you imagine my utmost disappointment when I was handed a plate with some chicken with a thick, gooey tomatoey sauce on it instead of the golden brown bird I was used to? Dad was so nice about it-did not make me eat it, even though that was certainly wasted money and it was what I ordered.

Hope this becomes a favorite of yours.

Gary reminded me of his first memory of this recipe. We grew up together in College Park; our parents were great friends. His dad wanted to try his hand at grilling chicken like my dad. Gary recalls the chicken his dad took off the grill should have been called "Charcoal Chicken." It was black and charred. (That's why I warned you to be careful if you leave the skin on!)