Grilled Chicken with Apple Jack BBQ Sauce and Red Skin Potatoes

A Joke

As the coals from our barbecue burned down, our hosts passed out marshmallows and long roasting forks.

Just then, two fire trucks roared by, sirens blaring, lights flashing. They stopped at a house right down the block.

All twelve of us raced out of the back yard, down the street, where we found the owners of the blazing house standing by helplessly.

They glared at us with looks of disgust.

Suddenly, we realized why………we were all still holding our roasting forks with marshmallows on them…

The Recipe

1 to 2 lbs chicken – boneless or pieces

The Rub

1 / 2 cup dark brown sugar

3 tbsp kosher salt or smoked kosher salt

1 tbsp chili powder

1 / 2 tsp pepper

1 / 2 tsp Aleppo pepper

1 / 2 tsp dried jalapeno

1 / 2 tsp onion powder

1 / 2 tsp rubbed thyme

1 / 2 tsp paprika or smoked paprika

1 / 2 tsp cumin

1 / 2 tsp ground ginger

Mix all ingredients well.

Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Spoon the dry rub over the chicken pieces. Turn to coat and pat the rub in. Cover and set in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours.

The Sauce

1 cup ketchup

1 / 4 cup dark brown sugar

1 / 4 cup Apple Jack – The liquor. Not the cereal.

2 limes juiced

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp candied ginger - minced

1 tsp Aleppo pepper

1 tsp adobo spice

1 / 2 tsp garlic powder

1 / 2 tsp onion powder

1 / 4 tsp anise seeds - ground

Mix and heat all ingredients in a med saucepan over med heat.

Red Skin Potatoes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 pinch of kosher salt

1 turn of the pepper mill

for every 7 red skin potatoes

Wash the red skin potatoes and place in a large zip top bag. Add olive oil, salt and pepper. Shake to coat. The measurements are ballpark measurements. This does not have to be exact.

Fire up the grill!

The red skins are going to take the longest to cook, so they go on first. I leave them whole and put them on as is. They are large enough not to fall through the grate and easy enough to move with tongs.

Grill until you start to get some color and grill marks, then flip one quarter way and repeat. Continue repeating on the other sides, then move to a cooler part of the grill to finish baking.

Bring the chicken out and place it on the grill. You are looking for an internal temp of 165 degrees. Once that mark is reached, pull off the grill. The potatoes should be slightly soft. If they are still firm, leave them on for a few more minutes.

Brush the chicken with BBQ sauce and cover. Let rest for 10-15 min.

Serve with the extra BBQ sauce for dipping.

My Thoughts

Alton Browns Apple Pie recipe is by far the best apple pie I have ever had. Ever. Period. End of story. It only has one problem, though. The requirement of Apple Jack. I just do not drink enough Apple Jack or make enough apple pies to warrant keeping it on hand. This BBQ sauce just could be another good reason.

I like using smoked salt and paprika in my rubs. It gives the meat a kind of faux smoked flavor. Faux BBQ if you will. I do not care for them in my sauce, though. I like the clean flavors of the Apple Jack, lime and maple. Weird, I know.