[3eme]

Hi all

I'm throwing a huge outdoor BBQ this summer (50+ people), and need a great BBQ sauce recipe for chicken, one that would be good for outdoor grilling.

Any ideas for me??

[amastrike]

Do you want BBQ as in smoky-sweet ketchup based? Or just any good grillin' sauce?

You can't go wrong with good ol' Cornell sauce:
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup oil
1 egg
couple tablespoons salt
tablespoon or so of poultry seasoning
pepper

Whisk, marinade, baste, enjoy.

[Snowflake]

The Best BBQ Sauce:

1 Tbsp Butter
2 – 3 cloves garlic (or 1 TBS minced from a jar
1 cup ketchup
¼ cup chili sauce
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 Tbsp Worcheshire sauce
2 tsp celery seed
½ - 1 tsp hot sauce (depending on your taste
Salt to taste

Melt butter in saucepan. Add garlic and sauté gently. (DO NOT burn!). Add ketchup, chili sauce, brown sugar. Stir until blended. Bring to a slow boil over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer gently, about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

[3eme]

These are great -- thanks very much. I am actually thinking of doing a couple of different ones and I like the sound of both of your suggestions.

This is my first time hosting a bbq -- so any other suggestions (side dishes, decorations, etc) would be welcome as well!

[redhorse5]

Carolina BBQ sauce

1 c Lemon juice
1 c White vinegar
4 tsp brown sugar
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
dash tobasco sauce
1 cup butter
2tb worchester sauce

melt everythng. You can do an overnight marinade in vlnegar as well.

Throw on grill. baste every 5 mins. cook till brown over low to moderate heat.
about 1.3 hours.

[2DogsFarm]

No special sauce recipe, but a tip:

Brine your chicken - whole or parts - before grilling.
In a container big enough to hold all the chicken underneath the brine, mix in equal parts sugar, salt & enough water to cover the chicken.
For a whole chicken I'd say 1/4 cup each sugar & salt.
You can fancy up the brine by using brown sugar or adding spices to the brine.
Let sit, refrigerated for at least 1 hour, overnight is too long.
Drain, pat dry and grill as usual.

Also:
Do not put on any BBQ sauce with sugar in it until the chicken is nearly done - maybe the last 15 minutes of cooking.
Then start basting with sauce or it will burn.

You can also brine pork chops or ribs before grilling.

For sides you cannot go wrong with American potato salad - with a mustard-based dressing.
I use 1/2 mayo & 1/2 plain yogurt for mine.
Coleslaw is good too and if you are doing the mayo-dressed potato salad then do an oil & vinegar dressed slaw for contrast.
You can buy shredded cabbage and use bottled dressing as a shortcut.

Broccoli salad is good too - again: you can get shredded broccoli packaged.
Dress with a mayo-sugar combination - thin with a little milk.
Stir in sunflower seeds, crispy bacon pieces and raisins just before serving

[3eme]

awesome tips, 2 Dogs

total bbq newbie here, so much appreciated

[SmartAlex]

You can't go wrong with good ol' Cornell sauce

My favorite as well.

[2DogsFarm]

Welcome!
You can thank my addiction to cooking shows and loving to cook (& eat).

My gas grill has subbed for the oven since it got warm enough to stand outside grilling

Are you grilling over charcoal or gas?
For a charcoal grill make a pyramid of briquets then light (I cheat & use fluid) and let the pyramid get gray all over & glowing in places before you knock it apart to spread the coals over the whole grate.

Another sides idea:
grilled veggies are awesome - onions, potatoes and sweet potatoes in thick slices, tomatoes cut in half, sliced eggplant and zucchini - grill until tender then dress with oil & vinegar or just serve plain.

You can even grill fruit - stonefruit works best and not totally ripe as grilling carmelizes so it gets sweeter.
Halved peaches & plums (stones removed) & sliced pineapple all grill well and then you can serve with vanilla ice cream : 9

[3eme]

Welcome!
You can thank my addiction to cooking shows and loving to cook (& eat).

My gas grill has subbed for the oven since it got warm enough to stand outside grilling

Are you grilling over charcoal or gas?
For a charcoal grill make a pyramid of briquets then light (I cheat & use fluid) and let the pyramid get gray all over & glowing in places before you knock it apart to spread the coals over the whole grate.

Another sides idea:
grilled veggies are awesome - onions, potatoes and sweet potatoes in thick slices, tomatoes cut in half, sliced eggplant and zucchini - grill until tender then dress with oil & vinegar or just serve plain.

You can even grill fruit - stonefruit works best and not totally ripe as grilling carmelizes so it gets sweeter.
Halved peaches & plums (stones removed) & sliced pineapple all grill well and then you can serve with vanilla ice cream : 9

The bbq will be with wood, not charcoal or gas. As for grilled veggies, I was thinking of that too. We actually planted a huge vegetable garden for that purpose this spring. Do you generally cook the veggies directly on the grill, or is that only appropriate for some things, like eggplant, zucchini, etc ? What about corn, would that go directly on the grill, or wrapped in foil?

The fruit thing, however, i did NOT think of. OMG What a cool idea.

[bluemooncowgirl]

Pasta Salad!!!


2 lbs pasta (any shape)
2 packets of bacon pieces
3 small cans black olives, drained
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and rough-chopped
1 package cherry tomatoes, cut in half (or roma tomatoes, or even regular tomatoes cut in small pieces)
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup ranch dressing
salt and pepper to tase

Cook pasta and drain. Dump into large bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and let chill overnight. You can adjust the dressing and mayo to taste, but it will sink into the pasta the longer the pasta sits.

YUMMY.

[Bacardi1]

I don't have a sauce recipe for you, but can give you one tip that - amazingly - I've just started using that changed my way of grilling chicken forever. And it's particularly good for feeding a lot of people.

"Spatchcock" your chicken. Instead of cooking chicken parts, buy whole chickens & simply cut the backbone out of each. Simply take kitchen shears & cut right down both sides of the backbone - not the breasts, the backbone. (Save the backbones in your freezer to make chicken stock at a later date.) Gently press on & flatten the birds, then grill, or marinate & grill, etc. When done, THEN cut the cooked birds into serving pieces.

Leaving the birds semi-whole like that keeps them extremely juicy & flavorful since there are less cut surfaces for the good stuff to ooze out of. Even when just kept warm for awhile, you won't end up with dry, cardboard chicken. Again, a real plus if you're making a lot of chicken for a lot of people.

[Miss J]

This is my go to sauce for chicken and ribs...

1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup soya sauce
LOTS of minced garlic

Let the sauce simmer on low for half an hour or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Add more or less honey depending on your sweetness level. I usually triple this recipe, I will eat it out of the pot while it's cooking lol it's sooo good

And like 2dogs said, brining is so worth the effort(chicken and pork) and only baste your meat on low the last fifteen minutes.

I am addicted to BBQ, my oven is rarely used as well. I will bundle up in my carhartt's in -30 weather just to BBQ!!

[2DogsFarm]

Wood fire - Cool!
Same as charcoal grilling w/briquets really I'd imagine.
After all, briquets are just standardized storebought lumps of charcoaled wood.
Get your fire glowing hot, then move wood around so you have a cooler space on the grill - no wood underneath - for indirect heat.
If things start to brown too fast you can move them to this space.

I grill all veggies directly on the grate - I like corn when it gets a little browned, but if you don't then wrap it in foil after cleaning off all the silk.

Bananas - I forgot bananas!
You can actually grill right in the peels - until they blacken - then spoon out the banana.
Or split the peel down one side and sprinkle brown sugar (and a little rum) on the banana - do not turn over, cook until peel blackens on the bottom side only.
Umm...Safety Warning:
Sprinkle rum while banana is OFF the grill or you will have a flareup that could burn you!

[Hinderella]

Grilled Corn salad:
5 ears of corn (shucked)
One large Sweet or Vidalia onion, cut into thick slices
One red bell pepper, diced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, diced
One can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
6 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra for grilling)
2 tablespoons vinegar
2-3 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon cumin
salt & pepper

Brush the corn and the onion with olive oil (or vegetable oil), salt & pepper. Grill until lightly charred, set aside to cool.
Dice your peppers and chop your cilantro.
Cut the corn off the cob, and coarsely chop the onion. Mix the corn, onion, peppers, beans & cilantro in a large bowl.
Whisk together the oil, vinegar & lime juice. Whisk in the cumin, salt & pepper. Pour over the corn mix.
Can be served room temp or chilled. Won't go bad in the sun
Make it a day ahead of time, it's even better.

Let me know if you want a recipe for white bean salad, good cole slaw dressing, or other salads...I'm the salad queen!

[3eme]

wow...so glad I asked the question!!! getting some excellent ideas here, keep 'em coming!!