Probably the most abused food on any barbeque pit is the poor old
chicken. I don't know how many times good manners have been challenged
by being served a blackened fowl that is still raw in the middle.
There is no escape, so you pick around the edges, then beat a hasty
retreat, hopefully, unobserved. Generally, there are two mistakes
that lead to this travesty. First, the bird is cooked over a fire
that is much too hot. If you remember that frying chicken takes about
45 minutes, and that the oil is ideally at 360 to 375F, then you begin
to see that barbecuing, a less efficient cooking method, should take
longer. And longer has to mean at a lower temperature level, or you
wind up with the well-known charcoal effect. Secondly, many people
feel that the clucker just has to be basted, and so they buy a bottle
of commercial tomato-based sauce. Here comes the second layer of charring!!
Just for grins, try out my method and see if the results aren't just
a little more pleasing. Rinse the chickens thoroughly inside and out,
discarding the neck and giblets. Stuff each chicken with one lemon,
one onion, 2 sprigs of rosemary, and two cloves of garlic. Sprinkle
each bird with black pepper. Place the birds in a covered barbecue
pit, away from the direct heat and close the pit. Hold the temperature
in the pit at about 250 degrees F. for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. Baste
the birds occasionally with the cooking oil that has been seasoned
to your liking with the Tabasco Sauce. When the chickens are a nice
rich brown color, and the drumstick wiggles freely, they're done.
*Whole chickens hold their juices better and come out much more moist.
Larger birds have more fat and are better candidates for this method
of cooking. If you're doing halved cluckers, then baste more frequently,
and watch the cooking time. It should be about an hour less. NOTES
: Red Caldwell is a freelance cook and food writer based in San Marcos,
Texas. He is a fifteen-year veteran of competitive cooking--chili
cook offs, barbecue, and mountain oysters. His cookbook, Pit, Pot,
and Skillet, has just been released by Corona Publishing of San Antonio,
Texas.
