Sticky Chicken

This one comes from my childhood and is my favorite quick, cheap and hearty comfort food recipes. It takes about 1.5 hrs start to finish and just hits the spot on really cold nights up here in da great white nort' doncha know...

SUPPLY LIST

MEAT
Enough cut up young frier chickens to feed yer mob. My rule of thumb is 1 lb. per person becasue I'm all about the leftovers. You can also just use breasts, thighs, legs whatever you want. Just get some damn chicken

DAIRY
Milk

SOUP
2 cans of Campbell's Cream of 'Something' Soup
Most folks use Cream of Mushroom, but my wife hates mushrooms vehemently so I use Cream of Onion, but you can use Cream of: Broccoli, Celery, Aspargus, Combat Boot, whatever..

PASTA
2 lb bag of Wide Egg Noodles

HERBS
Salt
Black Pepper
Paprika
Corriander Seeds
Fresh or Dried Parsley (fresh is better, but you'll need less.)

PREP
Slap the chicken in a baking dish, crush about half a tablespoon of Corriander seeds in your mortar & pestle or spice grinder (what? no mortar & pestle.. get one) and apply it to the chicken with your salt and pepper.

Now mix the 2 cans of your Cream of Something soup with one can of milk and pour it over the seasoned chicken, now sprinkle on some Paprika.

Chuck it in a 350 degree oven for about 1.5 hrs, basting every 30 minutes. Lil hint: When the juice runs clear when you stab a piece, it's done.

When the chicken has baked for about an hour get your kettle on the boil with lightly salted water. When she's rolling strong slowly add the noodles and cook according to the directions on the box/bag. When they're done cooking, strain them and immediatley add some parsley and toss.

When the chickens done, remove it from the oven and let it stand about 10 minutes, then remove the chicken onto your serving platter and pour the sauce over the noodles and stir. Mmmmmm mmmmmm...sticky chickeny goodness....

Dirty Bird BBQ Chicken

SUPPLY LIST

MEAT
As many cut up frier chickens as you wanna cook.

PRODUCE
1 Large Yellow Onion (per 2 lbs. of chicken)

HERBS & SPICES
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Rosemary
Thyme
Oregano

SAUCES
Your fave BBQ sauce.
( I personally like Sweet Baby Ray's )

BOOZE
1 bottle of beer per pound of chicken.

PREPERATION

Quarter your onion and throw it and the chicken into a big stock pot now add your beer and just enough water to cover. Now add your spices, for 2 lbs of chicken I use 2 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of pepper and 1/2 tablespoon of rosemary, thyme and oregano. Now cover and bring your heat up to medium until the water begins to steam, once it starts steaming bring the heat up to medium high and bring to a full rolling boil and continue for about 15 to 20 minutes. Again, you know your chicken is fully cooked when the juice runs clear when a piece is pierced. Now remove your stock pot from the heat, uncover and let stand until you can touch the sides of it with your bare hands.

The logic behind this: The reason I don't add the chicken to boiling water or remove the chicken from the water while its still piping hot is that the skin cooks and cools at a different rate than the meat. Now in BBQ chicken the skin is my fave part and it pisses me off when I lose some of it to the grill! So by gradually bringing it up to temp and let it cool slowly you help prevent skin curl or slippage.

Now gently pour your chicken into a collinder to strain and remove it to a large bowl or pan, place it in the fridge and let it dry. Now smother it in your BBQ sauce and go start the grill. If you use a propane grill, set it to medium/medium low then go back into the kitchen and place your left hand on your cutting board and break 2 fingers with a meat tenderizing mallet because you deserve it for not using charcoal. Those of you that are intelligent enough to know that charcoal is a superior cooking fuel start your grill and let the coals completely ash over and spread them out evenly. What we are looking for is a "Five Count Fire" that means you should be able to hold your hand about 4" above the grilling surface for a count of five. (ex: 1-mississippi, 2-mississippi, 3-mississippi, 4-mississippi, 5-mississippi---YEOWCH!) The cleaner your cooking surface is the less things are gonna stick, so make sure its nice and clean. Now lightly oil your grilling surface by soaking a rag or paper towel in canola oil (it has the highest flashpoint) and using your tongs rub it across the cooking surface. Be sure to have your bottom vents completely open and have a spray bottle full of water on hand in case of extreme flame ups.

Now slap your chicken on that fire and immediately close the cover and open the top vent to full. Let any left over onions pieces slip through the grill and hit the coals, this will add to the smoke and give a better flavor, close the cover and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes. Now open it, mop some more BBQ on the top, gently turn each piece over and mop it with more BBQ. Close the top and let cook 5 more minutes. Keep doing this until the chicken skin is crisped to your likeness. We like ours to be charred to perfection, glossy, black and cracklin' crisp.. mmm mmm mmmm...you dirty, dirty bird.....