January Yummies

Absolutely, the best part of doing all that canning in the summer and fall...potlucks in the winter. YUMMY.

Tonight we are going over to our friends house for our monthly (sort of) documentary night potluck. I am making bbq chicken with a sauce that has its base in the delicious homemade ketchup that Becca and Seth and I made this fall. I am also bringing a jar of dilly beans to snack on. I might even bring some brownies if I get off my duff, of course they won't have anything canned in them but they might taste good anyway.

Here's the recipe I made up for the bbq sauce...I was inspired after reading recipes online and then I just did my own thing. (Can't seem to follow recipes that well.) The sauce tastes good, bet it will be even better when it cooks into the chicken.

Ok, first I brined the chicken for a couple of hours in water (2 quarts, 2 T. salt--I used that delicious pink himalayan salt I love but I suspect any coarse salt would be good and 2 t. dried thyme).

I stuck that and the chicken (in this case drumsticks but any would do I am sure) in a gallon ziplock bag and put it in the fridge until I was ready to cook them. I did a couple of hours but even 15 minutes would surely help the chicken taste better and be juicier. If I was more of a garlic girl I would have smashed up a couple of garlic cloves (that is if the clove is the piece not the whole head of garlic) and put that in their too. I am not a big garlic fan so I saved my garlic for the sauce.

Then I made the sauce. I started with a pint of that delicious ketchup we made. It is not too sweet and full of savory goodness. If I had to use a commercial ketchup, I might cut down on the sugar and add more spices.

Then I added:

1/4 c. sugar (or brown sugar)

1 T. black strap molasses

1 T. salt (same kind as in the brine)

1 large garlic clove smashed

3 T sliced/diced fresh ginger

2 T balsamic vinegar--if I had had wine vinegar I might have chosen that

1 T olive oil

1 t. bacon grease leftover from a 14 yr old boy cooking his breakfast (optional)

1 t. dry mustard powder

1 t. paprika

1 t. thyme

and I meant to add a chopped onion but I forgot...so do what you want.

I cooked this mixture over medium heat for about 20 minutes to join the flavors together and then later when the chicken was all brined, I drained the chicken and put it in a 9 X 13 in pan, covered it with the sauce. Right now I am baking until it is all done...an hour maybe--it would depend on the size of the chicken pieces. So far, it smells delicious! I am going to assume it is as good as it smells but if it isn't I will tell you tomorrow. Ok, off to do the dishes before we leave.