My family has been making this chicken since 1977! The recipe is taken from the June 1977 Bon Appetit Magazine. It really is finger lickin’ good!
My adaptions are omitting the 2 tsp salt in the sauce and decreasing the poaching time of the chicken. I also prefer boneless chicken thighs to the whole broiler-fryers that you have to cut up. Buying ready to cook chicken saves time and the dark meat is juicier, as long as you don’t overcook it. This is a 2 stage cooking process; poaching and barbecuing.
Chicken Preparation
16 boneless skinless chicken thighs or 2 chickens, cut up
- Place chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and either turn off the heat if using an electric stove, or turn your gas range to the lowest setting.
- Cover and let set 20 minutes. Drain and place chicken in a large bowl.
- When the chicken has cooled pour the BBQ sauce over it.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours. If you need to save space in your frig, you can use a gallon Ziplock bag instead of a bowl.
- Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk together or use a stick blender.
- Reserve 1 cup marinade for serving and pour the rest over the poached and drained chicken
- Grill chicken over hot coals until slightly browned. Really you only have to heat the chicken through on the grill. The degree of crispyness is a personal choice since the chicken is already cooked. I prefer the chicken heated through over a smokey fire, others prefer blackened chicken.
- Heat the reserved sauce and serve at the table.
- Additions to the menu could be fresh sweet corn, Illini Sweet is a Michigan favorite, a light cole slaw and marinated 3 bean salad. This is classic Midwest summer cooking. Bon Appetit!
Marinade Ingredients
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, not packed
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt, optional
Hot pepper sauce, the more the better; the original recipe is 2 dashes; I prefer 1 teaspoon
Marinade Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl
- Whisk together a few minutes with an immersion blender or a hand whisk
- Another option is to grill chicken as desired, raw or poached, and serve the bbq sauce on the side at the table. It’s a great overall bbq sauce!
- Voila!
You may ask who is Phyllis Diller? She is a very famous comediennne and actress of the mid-century who also raised a family. Many of her comedy routines centered around her husband, Fang. Poor guy. She is an older version of Joan Rivers, but glamorous only in a funny way.
Bon Appetit/June 1977
nina in the kitchen 