"BBQ CHICKEN WITH ALABAMA WHITE SAUCE RECIPE

By RoketJSquerl

Ingredients

• Dry Rub:
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• White Sauce:
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp prepared horseradish
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• For Spritzing:
• 8 oz. apple juice
• Other Supplies
• Wood chips or chunks
• ThermaQ® Kit
• Thermapen® Mk4

Details

Adapted from blog2.thermoworks.com

Preparation

Step 1

INSTRUCTIONS

Split the Chicken:

Remove the backbone of the chicken by cutting on either side of it with kitchen shears.
Removing the backbone from a raw, whole chicken.

Split the chicken in half by cutting down the breastbone with a sharp chef’s knife.
Cutting a raw whole chicken in half. Cutting through the breast bone.

Make Dry Rub:

Combine salt, pepper, and cayenne until thoroughly mixed.
Mixing dry rub for BBQ chicken.

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and apply dry rub to all sides of the chicken.
Applying dry rub to chicken before smoking.

Dry Brine the Chicken:

Place the chicken onto a wire rack set over a rimmed metal baking sheet. Refrigerate the chicken, uncovered, overnight to dry brine.
Dry brining chicken before smoking.

Make the Sauce:

Process all sauce ingredients in a blender until the sauce is smooth, about 1 minute. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, and up to 2 days.
How to make Alabama white sauce.

Prepare Your Smoker:

Heat your smoker to maintain a temperature of about 275-300°F (135-149°F).
Secure an air probe to your cooker’s grill grate with a grate clip.
Set the alarm temperatures to track your smoker’s temperature on your ThermaQ.
High alarm: 305°F (152°C)
Low alarm: 270°F (132°C)
Setting temperature alarms on ThermaQ. Placing chicken on smoker.

Add wood chips of your choice, close the lid, and allow smoke to develop (about 20 minutes).
Barbecue expert Steven Raichlen recommends using hickory or pecan wood for this project.
Place your ThermaQ’s Smokehouse Penetration Probe (included in the ThermaQ Kit) into the deepest part of one of the chicken breasts, avoiding bone.
Set the chicken halves in the smoker and close the lid.
Set the alarm temperature to track the chicken’s temperature on your ThermaQ. We recommend a pull temperature of 157°F (69°C).
High alarm: 157°F (69°C)
Cook the Chicken:

Close the lid and set a TimeStick® for 30 minutes. Spritz the chicken with apple juice every 15-30 minutes while it cooks.
Setting timer for 30 minutes. Spritzing chicken with apple juice.

The chicken halves will take about 1-1/2 to 2 hours to cook.
Toward the end of the cook, baste the chicken with about 1 Tbsp. of the white sauce per chicken half.
Basting BBQ chicken with Alabama white sauce.

Once your ThermaQ‘s meat alarm sounds, spot-check the chicken halves in multiple areas with a Thermapen Mk4 to verify that 157°F (69°C) is the lowest temperature in the meat.
If a lower temperature is found, replace the chicken’s probe to read the lowest temperature and continue cooking until it reaches 157°F (69°C).
Checking internal temperature of BBQ chicken with Thermapen Mk4.

Remove the chicken from the grill once a lowest internal temperature of 157°F (69°C) is verified with a Thermapen. Brush again with the white sauce, cover with aluminum foil, and rest for 5-10 minutes.
During the rest the heat on the exterior of the chicken will continue traveling toward its thermal center, increasing the chicken’s internal temperature. This carryover cooking will yield a safe final doneness temperature of 165°F (74°C).