Last year, I won a fire pit at a golf tournament. No, winning the pit had nothing to do with me hitting a great round of golf. As a matter of fact, my group, with Steve K, was so slow that the awards ceremony was all but over by the time we got in.
We were just pulling up in our cart when the second to last number was called out. I looked at my ticket, raised my hand stepping off the cart and claimed the fire pit. The last prize, a grill, ended up going to Breck who works at the water ski school I work at in the summer. He already had a grill and I had no space for the pit, so we switched. I was so stoked because I didn’t have my own grill and you have to have a grill for the summer here.
Flash forward to this summer. Well, the grill turned out to be just slightly too big to fit on my deck so with nowhere to use it, it was just sitting in my living room. Terry works at water ski school and barbecues as often as possible for lunch, but his grill broke down so my grill got traded once more, this time with me ending up with a bottle of Patron.
Terry finally used the grill for the first time, cooking a nice rack of ribs, which led to a discussion of cooking meats with a lot of connective tissue longer, to let that tissue break down more. After last week’s article on smoking, and that conversation, I thought I would give you a recipe for smoked meat, and since I also just read an article in an old Cook’s magazine of a pulled chicken sandwich, I thought that would be perfect. In the article, they did do two things different that after trying, I liked, so I’ll include those steps.
The first thing is to cook the chicken until it reaches about 185 degrees inside. Poultry is usually cooked to 165 to 170 degrees, but this breaks down the connective tissue in the lower leg more. The second difference is that they pulse about half the meat lightly in a food processor. This lets the meat absorb the sauce and stay moist.
They included a barbecue sauce that I haven’t had a chance to try, but I will and will get back to you on that. For now, just use your favorite sauce and enjoy.
Grill set up
Use the grill set up as explained in last week’s column with two piles of coals on either side or one pile on one side with 2 to 3 pieces of wood (hickory or your favorite) soaked for at least an hour. Visit TheTahoeWeekly.com for the smoking column.
BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich
8 chicken legs (trim excess fat but leave skin on)
Salt and pepper
Chipotle powder
Garlic powder
Poultry seasoning
BBQ sauce for your choice
Hamburger rolls
Lightly, season the chicken with salt and pepper, and if you desire, a light amount of chipotle powder, garlic powder and poultry seasoning. Just use a little seasoning because you want mostly that natural, smoky flavor. Place the chicken on the grill with the skin side down between the piles of coal and over the catch pan. Place one piece of your wood on one pile of coals and close the lid and let cook about half an hour.
Turn, not flip, your chicken 90 degrees if using two piles, or 180 degrees if one pile of coals and place the other piece of wood on the other pile if again using two piles. Let cook another 30-40 minutes until chicken reaches about 185 degrees inside.
Once cooked, let the chicken cool enough so you can work with it. The meat will pull apart easily, especially the thighs. Pulse about half the meat lightly in a food processor. I did the lower leg meat just because the thighs looked better shredded and I thought if there was any tougher meat left it would be the lower leg. This step lets the meat absorb the sauce and stay moist.
If you don’t have a processor, simply chop it with a knife, fairly well. Only pulse the meat quickly, as you don’t want mush or cat food, simply small chunked. Mix the pulled meat and pulsed meat, mix in some sauce, reheat a little if needed and serve on a bun.
