BBQ Chicken & Ribs

Ingredients & Instructions

BRINE FOR CHICKEN

• 1 Gallon of warm water

• ¾ cup kosher salt

• ⅔ cup sugar

• 3 dried bay leaves

• 5 garlic cloves peeled and smashed

• 1 tbs whole black peppercorns

DRY RUB FOR CHICKEN AND/OR RIBS

• 4 tbsp dark brown sugar

• 4 tbsp paprika

• 2 tbsp coarse salt

• 1 tbsp ground black pepper

• 2 tsp garlic powder

• 2 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

ROASTED CHICKEN

• 1 dozen bone-in chicken thighs with skin

• Ingredients for Brine (see above)

BABY BACK RIBS

• 2-3 racks of Baby Back Ribs

• Apple cider vinegar

• Ingredients for Dry Rub (see above)

• Yellow mustard (optional)

To Make the Chicken Brine for Roasted Chicken:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large container and stir until the sugar and salt has dissolved

2. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature

3. Place chicken thighs in brine. Be sure that all chicken pieces are submerged.

4. Refrigerate for up to 4 hours (or overnight if doing a whole chicken)

Tip 1- Chicken needs to be brined to keep from drying out. Brined chicken will absorb some of the brine which helps keep it moist and also to season it all the way through.

Tip 2 - Use kosher salt and not table salt as table salt measures differently than kosher and if used, your chicken will be way too salty.

To Make the Dry Rub for the Chicken and/or Ribs:

1. Combine all spices and herbs in a bowl and mix very well.

2. To use: spread mixed dry rub in a rimmed baking sheet or a large bowl, whichever fits the meat you are using best. Add meat and generously rub it all over with the dry rub massaging the dry rub into the meat.

3. To store: For the best way to keep dry rubs fresh, use a zip-lock freezer bag and store it in the freezer. Get as much air out of the bag as you can before sealing it.

4. You can also store dry rub for up to 6-months in an air-tight jar in a cool dark place or in the refrigerator.

Dry rubs are an easy way to infuse a lot of flavor into the meat. Made with a combination of spices, herbs and sugar, it is used for coating and flavoring meats, creating that wonderful “bark.” When making a dry rub, you want to taste sweet, savory, and spicy notes of flavor.

Tip 1 - If grilling meat with dry rub on it, it is best to cook over indirect heat as direct heat will burn the dry rub versus caramelizing it.

Tip 2 - Meats like chicken breasts, brisket or pork are good to sit overnight in the refrigerator after being massaged with the dry rub. This gives the meat extra time to absorb the flavor of the spices.

To Make the Roasted Chicken:

1. Now that you've prepared your chicken with the brine soak, it's time to apply the dry rub.

2. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry.

3. Apply the dry rub to all sides with your hands, massaging it into the chicken.

4. Refrigerate for up to 2 hours to let the rub to soak in.

5. After completing the refrigeration time, prepare the grill for cooking (see below).

6. Add chicken thighs to the grill and smoke for up to 2 hours, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) for safe consumption. It’s always a good idea to get a final temperature check for each thigh because chicken thighs often vary quite a bit in size.

This recipe uses bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. Using bone-in thighs, along with a brine and slow cooking time is the best way to ensure the end result is the best, most succulent thighs possible.

Prepare Grill for Smoking for Ribs and/or Chicken:

1. Fill charcoal chimney with charcoal briquettes. Ignite the briquettes with a bit of burning paper.

2. Allow to burn until all briquettes are fully ash colored.

3. Remove briquettes from chimney and place into bottom of grill pan, spread out in even layer.

4. Once the charcoal heat has reached a temperature range of 285-300°F, place a couple of handfuls of wood chips, Patty uses apple, in a tinfoil tray and place on top of the coals. This creates the “smoke” for the meats

To Make the Baby Back Ribs:

1. Remove membrane from underside of ribs.

2. Soak ribs in apple cider vinegar for up to 2 hours. (just barely covering the ribs with the liquid)

3. Remove ribs from the cider vinegar and pat slightly dry with paper towels.

4. Apply a seasoning rub of your choice to the ribs to create that tasty bark (or see Dry Rub recipe above).

5. *Please note that you can skip the cider vinegar soak and instead slather on yellow mustard onto ribs before adding the dry rub. The vinegar in the mustard will work to tenderize the ribs.

6. Prepare grill in the same manner as above.

7. Set ribs on grill rack, bone side facing down.

8. Smoke for up to two hours. Again, if you skip the initial vinegar soaking, you can baste with vinegar/water mixture every 15 minutes during the second hour of cooking.

9. You can add a sauce of your choice during the last 15-30 minutes of cooking. If sauce is added earlier in the process, it can lend to burning because of the high sugar content of BBQ sauces. Patty doesn't use sauce.

10. When the meat's internal temperature reaches 195-200°F, the meat from the ribs will easily separate from the bone.

11. Remove from heat and let rest 15-30 minutes before carving.

Tip 1 - Soaking ribs in apple cider vinegar (do not use white vinegar) helps to tenderize the meat. Ribs can be tough and chewy if they are not cooked long enough but since Baby Back Ribs are leaner, they take less time to cook. While you could use the 2-2-1 method of smoking which entails 2 hours of smoking the ribs, followed by 2 hours of smoking with ribs wrapped in foil packets with liquid to produce steaming within the foil packet, and then finishing off uncovered for an hour, Patty likes to smoke ribs in the 275-300°F range the entire time with ribs uncovered.