Pulled Chicken with Alabama White BBQ Sauce

We love pulled chicken at the Three Dogs BBQ house.  It is something different and just a bit healthier for you than pork or beef.  Usually, when we make pulled chicken, we also make an Alabama White BBQ sauce.  This is a mayo passed sauce that is sweet and sour and compliments chicken well.  I like this sauce so much that I also put it on pork as well.

For this cook, I prepared a batch of my standard poultry brine and chilled the brine overnight.  Then, the next day, I placed a whole roasting chicken in the brine and allowed it to go for a  24 hour swim.

The day before I also prepared my Alabama White BBQ Sauce.  Preparing the sauce the day before give the flavors a chance to mingle.  This sauce really does change even after an hour of sitting.  For our sauce, I use this recipe from MyRecipes.com.  It is the closest to what I have had in Alabama.  My only changes are to:

1.  Add a pinch of cayenne pepper.
2.  Remove the sugar and substitute half of the water with apple juice for the sweet component.

The next day, I lit my smoker and brought the smoker to 325 F.  While the smoker was heating, I removed the chicken from the brine and discarded the brine.  Then, I rinsed the bird well and patted dry.  For a rub, I used Oakridge Game Bird and Chicken Rub.

This rub is outstanding.  The coriander adds a flavor that just pairs well with chicken.  When I am ready to rub, be sure to gently pull the skin back and apply seasoning between the skin and meat.  I also season the cavity of the bird as well.  For the skin, rub the outside with olive oil, then apply my rub.

Just before placing the bird on the smoker, I added some pecan splits to the ash pan for smoke flavor. Then, I placed the chicken on the top rack of the smoker.  Here are some pictures after one and two hours.

Once the timer popped and the internal temperature was above 165 F, I removed from the smoker, placed in a pan, covered with foil, and let the bird rest for 30 minutes.

Then, Hope meticulously pulled the meat from the bone, mixing white and dark meat together.

Then, we served on some nice slider buns with some potato salad on the side.  I do not mix the sauce into the pulled chicken.  I just add a little dollop on top of my chicken.  This combination is outstanding.

I have read that you can grill your chicken and brush the Alabama White Sauce onto your chicken during the last 15-20 minutes of cooking.  I want to try this method the next time I make some.  A friend of mine also uses this sauce as a salad dressing and loves the flavor it brings to his greens.

So, give this combination a try.  Especially if you are tired of the usual sweet, traditional red BBQ sauce.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Experimenting with my Butts

I have to admit, I was caught a little flat footed at our first two competitions this year.  I did not know that the rules had changed for pork butt.  You never used to be able to separate your meat, then place it back on the smoker.  Now you can.  This opens up a world of possibilities.  So, off to the R&D labs.

Nothing changed withy the preparation.  Inject, rub, smoke.  Where things changed was at the 165 F point.  Here I separated my money muscle, sauced rubbed again, and placed in the cambro for later use.  I then put the remaining part of the butt back on the smoker to finishing cooking.  I did so unfoiled to promote maximum bark formation.  I then pulled this meat at 185 F, foiled, and put in the cambro to use with my money muscle.

When ready for use, I pulled the money muscle out of the cambro, sauced and rubbed again, then placed in a foil pan.  From the remains of the butt, I fashioned some burnt ends from the meatiest bark pieces.  Then I placed these in the pan with the money muscle and placed the meat back on the smoker for 20 minutes at 325 F to set the glaze.  I think it looks pretty good:

Everything was nice and tender.  I have some tinkering to do, but I was happy with the results at our first competition with the new method.

We received our best scores of the year.  Like I said, more tinkering needs to be done to dial this recipe in for good.  But, this is a good start.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Sides for your BBQ. Homemade Potato Salad

Every good BBQ meal needs to have good side dishes.  Sure, we can live on meat alone, but why do so when there are so many good side dishes.  Plus, you may need a little something else to cut some of the fattiness of your meaty meal.  Today, lets dive into one of my favorite BBQ sides, potato salad.

Mine is fashioned after my Mothers recipe.  It is pretty spot on, up until the moment I add plain yellow mustard.  My Mom makes a traditional Southern white potato salad.  I like the tang that the mustard brings to the table.  A good Southerner will tell you adding mustard is blasphemy.  I call it culinary license.

For this batch, I took one and a half pounds of small, red potatoes, rinsed well and placed into my dutch oven with enough water to cover and one tablespoon of salt.

I brought my potatoes to a boil, then reduced the heat and simmered while covered for 20 minutes, or until fork tender.  When cooked, I drained, rinsed with cold water, cut into quarters with the skin on, and placed in a bowl.  My Grandfather said that leaving the skins on was being lazy.  He might be right, but I like the texture the skins bring to the final product.  I'll leave that decision up to you.

To my potatoes, I add the following:

1/4 of a red onion, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
1/3 cup of sweet relish.  Alternatively, you could dice up 1/3 of a cup of sweet pickles or bread and butter chips and add an additional 1/4 of the juice from the jar.
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced
1/2-1 cup of mayonnaise.  I use Helmann's Light Mayo.  A half cup worked well for the 1.5 pounds of   potatoes.  Just start with 1/2 cup and add more until you get the creaminess that you desire.  Remember, you can always add, but you can't subtract.
One healthy squirt of plain yellow mustard.  Nothing scientific here.  I would say I added about 3 tbsp  worth of mustard.

Mix well, place in the refrigerator to chill, then serve.

Quick, easy, and tasty.  Substitute the potato with four cups of cooked elbow macaroni and you have my Macaroni Salad recipe as well.  Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Eye of Round: Pittsburgh Rare Style

Eye of round is a great, low fat cut of beef.  Perfect for someone on a diet.  You get the nice taste of beef without all of the fat.  Problem is, it can be problematic to cook.  With the minimal fat, it can be tough and dry.  How to over come that?  Pittsburgh Rare I say.

What is Pittsburgh Rare?  Well, it is a style for cooking a steak in Pittsburgh that is a notch below rare.  There is even some Internet history about this cooking style.  If you read it on the Internet it has to be true, right?  Anyway, on to my method.

First, I took my eye of round and tenderized on all sides.

Then, I seasoned liberally on all sides of the roast with Oakridge Santa Maria Steak Seasoning and allowed the meat to sit on the counter so the rub would form a crust and the meat would come to room temperature.

While the beef was getting happy, I thick cut some tomatoes and marinaded them in some olive oil, granulated garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, sea salt, and pepper.  

Then, I went out to my grill and started a scorching hot fire.  My temperature was around 450 F.  I place the beef on direct heat over the coals and just kept turning.

Once I thought the meat was starting to get done, I placed my tomatoes on direct heat to sear off one side, then I flipped them over and placed fresh mozzarella slices on top.  Then I moved them to indirect heat to melt the cheese.

I pulled the roast when the internal temperature was at 130 F.  I wanted to pull at 125 F, but I lost track of time.

Unfortunately, I lost my pictures of the final product.  But, you will have to take my word.  The eye of round turn out a nice rare inside and was tender and juicy.  The tomatoes were perfect with just the right amount of crispy brown on top.  Next time I make this, I promise I will get some better pictures of the plated product.  

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill