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-CHICKEN-
Competition
chicken with whiskey honey glaze
When your friends come over for BBQ , they ’ re looking for a good time . They want to eat your tasty meats , drink your cold beer , and hang out . While they ’ re hoping your food will be succulent and delicious , they don ’ t really care if your smoked chicken thighs don ' t look identical .
On the competition circuit , though , the judges really do care . You lose valuable points if the six thighs you turn in differ in any way . Pack your thighs tightly into a roasting tray to keep them uniform as they cook in all the seasoned juices .
FEEDS 4 – 6
INGREDIENTS
8 – 12 skin-on , bone-in chicken thighs Chicken Rub ( see p . 203 ) generous knob of salted butter For the whiskey honey glaze 200g light soft brown sugar 125ml honey bourbon
125ml soy sauce 125ml ketchup 60ml honey 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp Frank ’ s RedHot sauce 1 tbsp cider vinegar 1 tsp Chicken Rub ( see p . 203 )
METHOD
Set up your BBQ to cook indirectly ( see p . 19 ) at a low heat , around 110 ° C .
Mix together all the ingredients for the whiskey honey glaze in a saucepan . Bring to the boil , then turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened , stirring often .
While the glaze is simmering , liberally season the chicken all over with the rub .
Just before cooking , roll the thighs so the skin wraps around each one as much as possible . Pack them tightly together in a roasting tin , then dab a knob of butter on top of each thigh and sprinkle over more of the rub .
Put the thighs on the BBQ and cook for around 1½ hours or until browned and looking beautiful . The internal temperature should hit around 75 ° C .
Remove the thighs from the tin and place them directly on the grill . Smoke for a further 1 hour or until the skin starts to crisp .
Reheat the glaze , if needed . Dunk each thigh in the glaze until evenly coated , shake off any excess and then return to the grill for another 10 – 15 minutes until sticky and delicious . Serve your identical-looking thighs to impressed friends .
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