As barbecue season approaches, we grow ever more excited about the prospect of firing up the grill. That being said, we cast a sympathetic eye to those among the population who don’t have access to an outdoor cooking space. This recipe utilizes our near-obsessive impulse to adapt all things culinary to full effect. Easy to find and more affordable chicken thighs stand in for ribs, and the low-and-slow oven cooking technique evokes the laid-back, lazy summer days spent with a cold drink in hand, working smoky magic on your backyard grill. The cooking technique—and the use of the chicken thighs—is adapted from Smitten Kitchen (Thanks Deb!), and the dry rub is a slight variation on an old stand-by from Saveur.
For anyone not familiar with dry rubs, they are a fantastic, quick way to impart maximum flavor to any meat when you don’t have the time or refrigerator space to marinate overnight. They also make much less mess and give the cooked meat a light, glorious, spice-laden crust. Expect to become almost cult-like in your devotion to them, and welcome to the boat. Since the dry rubs in each of these source recipes are fairly similar in content, it left a little room to play with the proportions of the ingredients. The coriander was eliminated, just because it’s one of those spices that seems only to exist as a concept within the pages of snooty cookbooks and that no one ever actually has on hand. *whistles innocently*
Wanting to impart a little more heat and smokiness to the flavor profile, we added in some chili powder to complement the already present cumin. If smoky is your thing, you could also use smoked paprika instead of the standard sweet or Hungarian stuff. To balance the added heat, we doubled the amount of brown sugar used in the rub. This recipe yields about twice the amount you’ll need for two pounds of chicken, which means that you can either double the amount of chicken, or seal the remaining rub in an airtight container so that you have it on hand the next time the barbecue gods unexpectedly call your name. According to Saveur, the rub will keep like this for about six months.
Laziness got the better of us (as it does on occasion) and we skipped the brining process for the chicken altogether. The thought of super-moist, uber-flavorful chicken thighs is enticing and all, but since the meat is being cooked in a foil packet, dryness isn’t really a concern here. The slow-cooking rendered them luscious and tender all on its own.
The sauce is where the real fun begins. Shying away from a sauce made almost entirely of reduced chicken drippings like the Smitten Kitchen recipe, we wanted to use the “pan” juices from the cooked chicken to make something more akin to a South Carolina mustard-based barbecue sauce. The juices are practically reduced to a syrup, then cider vinegar, mustard and brown sugar are added to produce a bright, tangy, lightly sweet sauce.
While we understand that this pared-down version of the sauce is a slight bastardization of the classic, we can only hope that our southern brethren can resist the impulse to take up arms against us for tampering with traditional perfection long enough to actually try it. It will have you rooting through the pantry and refrigerator looking for as many things as possible to spread it on.
While it makes the chicken thighs absolutely, um, finger-licking good, to borrow a phrase, it is equally fantastic on steak, ribs (duh), pork chops, pot roast, and even as a sandwich spread—seriously, adding this sauce to a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich makes the most fantastic start to any day. Ever. Give it a try. You’ll be so busy making yummy sounds, you won’t have time to be mad at us. While the oven technique is a great alternative, know that if you are among the fortunate souls who have access to a grill, this is a fantastic, easily assembled option for your next cookout. Enjoy, y’all.
Dry Rub adapted from Saveur.
Cooking technique inspired by Smitten Kitchen.
- For the Rub:
- 1 1⁄2 tbsp. kosher salt
- 3 tbsp. dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. paprika
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. mustard powder
- 1 1⁄2 tsp. black pepper
- 1⁄2 tsp. Chili powder
- 1⁄2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1⁄2 tsp. dried thyme
- For the chicken:
- 4 chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. Apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup yellow mustard
- Note: this will make twice as much dry rub and way more sauce than needed for 2 pounds of chicken. You could easily double the amount of chicken, or reserve the remaining dry rub for a future use (Saveur advises that it will last up to 6 months stored). The remaining sauce will keep in the fridge for about a week and goes great on EVERYTHING.
- To prepare the rub: mix all dry rub ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- To prepare the chicken: Heat oven to 300℉. Pat chicken pieces generously on all sides with rub. Place chicken thighs on a large piece of foil, skin side down, and tightly fold the foil around them to make a large packet.
- Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet, and place the packet of chicken on top of the cooling rack. Bake chicken for 90 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of each chicken reads 160℉.
- Heat broiler. Carefully open the packet of chicken and pour accumulated juices into a saucepan. Arrange chicken pieces on the opened foil packet and broil the tray until chicken is lightly crisped at edges. Place on serving platter.
- To make a sauce from the juices: Boil the accumulated juices in the saucepan over high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until it is greatly reduced and syrup-y in consistency. Add brown sugar, cider vinegar, and yellow mustard and stir to combine. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sauce is thick and coats a spoon, another 2-3 minutes. Spoon sauce generously over chicken and serve.
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