Chicken, Chicken, Duck

It’s BBQ season so I’ve been finding new, rediscovering old and revising recipes for summer evenings. Two I’ve recently made are Professor Baker’s Barbeque Sauce (great for chicken or ribs) and Beer Can Chicken. Professor Baker’s is a vinegar, non-tomato, based sauce that makes the skin very crispy and flavorful. Instead of the poultry seasoning called for in the original recipe, I used Cavender’s Greek Seasoning on this batch and it’s almost as good as the original. My mom used this recipe for years, but I recently found out it was/is a favorite at Cornell University.

Professor Baker’s Bar-B-Que Sauce

• 1 egg
• 1 Cup Vegetable Oil (can use olive oil)
• 2 Cup Vinegar (I’ve used white and apple cider)
• 3 Tbsp. Salt
• 1 Tbsp. Poultry Seasoning
• 1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
• 10 Chicken Breasts (We have used a few packages of chicken thighs and legs f you don’t want the white meat)

Whisk the egg and then add the oil, continuing to whisk until it is kind of thick. Add the remainder of the ingredients. Keep in a glass Ball or Mason jar until ready to use.

Put chicken into a large plastic bag, pour in some of the sauce and let it marinate for a few hours or up to 24 hours. Grill over indirect heat for 20-25 minutes if boneless, up to an hours with bones.  Brush with fresh sauce every 5-10 minutes, lightly at first and heavily near the end.

Tip:

• Marinade can be kept in a glass jar in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks. It’s great on grilled ribs and potatoes too
• To make a smaller batch, half most ingredients except keep 1egg and 2 Tbsp. Salt
• When marinating while grilling, use a separate container in case you want to save some marinade for another meal

For the “Beer Can Chicken” I used a SanPellegrino Aranciata (Orange) soda since we didn’t have beer. After the chicken was finished, I used some of the remaining soda as a last minute marinade on grilled sweet potatoes. This chicken is so easy and so good, much better than an oven roasted bird.

Beer Can Chicken

• 1 whole chicken (gizzard package removed)
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• Favorite chicken rub, I like Pappy’s Low Salt Seasoning
• 1 beer or Sanpellgrino Aranciata, 1/4 full

Heat grill, then turn off one section of grill. Dry the chicken, rub with oil and then sprinkle and rub in the spice rub. When next to the grill (to prevent spilling) insert the beer or soda can into the chicken cavity and stand the chicken upright on the grill, using the legs and can to balance. Cover and cook for 1 hour over indirect heat. Carefully remove can from cavity of chicken, we use tongs and a rubberized hot pad. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.

Tips:

• Use less liquid in the can to limit spillage when removing from chicken.
• We used the leftover orange sofa to marinate the sweet potatoes we grilled the last 10 minutes of cooking the chicken. Just pour a little on the potatoes after removing can from chicken cavity.

Grilled Duck Quarters

We are lucky to visit a lake in Indiana that is close to Maple Leaf Farms , provider of duck to top restaurants all over the world. We pick up a case of frozen rotisserie duck legs and thighs and serve a big crowd for dinner along with Sweet Corn Charlie corn and tomatoes. Truly an Indiana treat!

We marinated the duck legs with a mango sauce and grilled for 25 minutes from the frozen precooked packages.

With leftovers I thinly sliced the duck meat and served with a raspberry chipotle dip on Trader Joe’s Seeded Mango & Ginger Crisps