Tangy Memphis BBQ Sauce & Oven Baked BBQ Chicken

By Addie

I love a great BBQ sauce, and I love grilled chicken, however, the two things do not always belong together in my world. I am in the minority this time of year, because it is much more comfortable for me to roast chicken in the oven than it is to deal with anything outdoors in the Phoenix heat. I am blessed with a kitchen where turning on the oven doesn't really heat up the house very much. We grill much more in the spring and fall than we do in the summertime. I had a lot of chicken waiting to be cooked and I couldn't resist experimenting with another barbecue sauce. Memphis barbecue sauce is thinner and tangier than typical barbecue sauces. I really liked the tang vs the spice in this version. It was a fun change from our usual and definitely a sauce that I will make again. Every ingredient for this sauce is likely to already be in your refrigerator or pantry. The sauce came together in the time it took me to rinse and prep the chicken. An hour cook time, but less than 5 minutes of actual work made this my kind of meal.

Ingredients

• Sauce Ingredients:
• 2 - 4 lbs bone in chicken
• .....................................
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

Step 1

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan, over medium low heat. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Simmer 10 minutes and then remove from the heat. Divide the sauce and set aside 1 cup for dipping sauce*.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken skin side down on a large slightly rimmed baking sheet. Brush the chicken with the barbecue sauce and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the pieces over and coat with barbecue sauce. Place the chicken back in the oven, reduce the heat to 350 and bake for another 15 minutes. Coat the chicken again and bake another 5-15 minutes depending on the size of the pieces. Juices should run clear when poked with a sharp knife. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with extra sauce on the side for dipping. Enjoy!

NOTE:

Set this portion aside in a separate container, so that the brush from the uncooked chicken won't contaminate the reserved sauce.