Low Country Mustard Based BBQ Sauce (Or Newberry County BBQ Sauce) with Grilled Chicken

From Low Country of South Carolina, inland from Charleston, famous for its mustard-based BBQ sauce.  Good for grilling chicken, pork & turkey. This recipe was handed down 30 years ago from Dr. Crooks, advisor at  Furman University.

1 Browder chicken, butterflied (remove spine and neck with sharp scissors, and flatten chicken)

1 cup of butter, melted
Juice of 1 lemon
5 tablespoons yellow picnic mustard, like French's
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcesterhire sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients in small saucepan over low heat until well blended. Baste chicken while on grill from time to time. Reserve a little to drizzle over chicken when ready to serve.

Yields 1 and 2/3 cups sauce.

Richard H. Crooks, M.D.
Greenville, SC 

Brick Chicken

One of the easiest ways to prepare a whole chicken for the grill is to butterfly.  Simply use poultry shears, or sharp scissors, to cut alongside both sides of the spine and remove it along with the neck.  Then your chicken can be flattened and ready to grill!  And the rest of the ingredients needed for this recipe are likely already on hand.

Serves 2 – 4

1 tbs fresh pressed garlic
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 C plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 tbs finely grated lemon zest
3 tbs finely chopped fresh herbs of your choice such as chives, parsley, rosemary, etc., divided
3-1/2 lb or so butterflied chicken, preferably organic and free range
1 tbs or so flour
1 C rich chicken stock or combination of stock and dry white wine
2 tbs lemon juice

Combine the garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper, olive oil and lemon zest, and half the herbs in a small bowl. With your fingers loosen the skin over the breast and thighs and work the garlic mixture as evenly as you can under the skin. Spread any remaining over the bone side of the bird. Place chicken on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate for up to 3 hours.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy 12 inch skillet over high heat. Either wrap two bricks with foil or set another heavy skillet aside. Add the chicken to the skillet skin side down and place bricks or the other skillet with a few soup cans in it on top.

Reduce heat to medium and cook until the skin is beautifully golden brown and crisp, 15 – 18 minutes. Remove the top weight, turn chicken over and pour out all but a couple of tablespoons of fat. Replace the weight on top and continue to cook for another 12 – 15 minutes or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 165 degrees.

Remove chicken to a cutting board and allow it to rest for 5 – 10 minutes before carving. Meanwhile pour off all but 2 tablespoon of fat in pan, add flour and stir to make a roux. Whisk in stock and lemon juice and whisk until sauce thickens. Stir in remaining herbs and serve chicken with the pan sauce.