The Ultimate Barbeque'd Chicken

By RoketJSquerl

You begin by brining the chicken. A step I usually skip. Never again. It makes the chicken so flavorful and moist. It really complements the sauce, so it becomes almost one flavor the chicken and the barbecue sauce as opposed to chicken...and sauce. And speaking of sauces. What can I say about a sauce that has you begin by wrapping bacon around thyme? I repeat, bacon around thyme. The sauce was amazing, rich and thick, and sweet and smokey and everything you want a barbecue sauce to be.

Ingredients

• Brine:
• 2 quarts water
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a large knife
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 6 chicken legs and thighs, still connected, bone in, skin on, about 10 ounces each
• The Ultimate Barbecue Sauce:
• 1 slice bacon
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika if available
• Freshly ground black pepper

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

1. Trim the chicken thighs of skin and excess fat if needed. Place them in a bowl with the light soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar. Mix well and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
2. Heat some oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the bowl, draining off excess marinade, and cook in the pan. Pan fry for about 2 minutes on each side until the chicken is nicely browned.
3. Add 5 tbsp water to te reserve marinade (whatever's left in the bowl) and pour over the chicken. Cover and simmer on low heat until cooked through, about 2 minutes.
4. Uncover, increase the heat and reduce the sauce to a glaze to coat the chicken (be careful not to burn the sauce). Remove chicken and slice. Pour remaining teriyaki sauce over the chicken and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

This dish is best served on top of rice so that the teriyaki sauce permeates into and flavours the plain rice. Yum.