Barbecue Grilled Chicken With Bourbon Glaze Recipe

Ingredients

For the glaze

1/3 cup bourbon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon Dijon country-style mustard
1 roaster chicken, 6 to 7 pounds
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Method

To make the glaze: In a small bowl, combine all glaze ingredients. Set aside.

Rinse chicken and pat dry. With poultry shears or knife, split chicken lengthways along one side of backbone.

With breast side up, pull up on two sides of back and press down firmly on breast until bones begin to crack and chicken is reasonably flat. Thread two sturdy metal skewers crosswise through flattened chicken; skewers

should run perpendicular to thigh bones, through the breasts, and through the middle of the large wing joints.

Combine oil, garlic, salt, and pepper; brush evenly on both sides of chicken. Place chicken, skin side up, in centre of cooking grate. Grill 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours or until meat thermometer inserted into centre of thigh

meat (but not touching bone) reaches 180°F/82°C (170°F/77°C for breast) or until juices run clear and skin is well-browned, brushing occasionally with glaze during last 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before carving.

Makes 6 servings.

Barbecue Chicken Tenderness Tips

Cook chicken to the proper temperature, because undercooking the chicken will cause it to be tough and overcooking the chicken causes loss of moisture, making the chicken drier.

Let roasted chicken rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving to allow juices to be distributed throughout the meat. Standing the chicken up with bottom end up allows more juices to run into the drier breast area.

Cutting meat across the grain will produce slices with shorter fibers, resulting in more tender pieces.

When adding cooked chicken to dishes that have a long cooking time, it is best to use dark meat because it will stay moist longer than white meat.