Blasphemy

Of the five words that come to mind when I'm trying to sum up Texas, BBQ is the first. Texas is famous for it. It's unfortunate that I live 400 miles away from home because this July 4th, I DIDN'T GET ANY. That's right. Blasphemy. 


For the first time in a long time, I missed my redneck family (totes superficial, but oh well). As I wallowed in my misery, not able to see the fireworks in the distance because of the stupid trees in the back of my apartment complex and depressed because we aren't allowed to have a grill on our patio, I started looking for a recipe for oven barbecue chicken. Basically, more blasphemy.


I hopped on the Google* and searched. I clicked the first appealing link and began drooling and pathetically pining for what I saw. The Hungry Mouse is where credit is due for this recipe. I changed it up a tiny bit, because of the picky eater I live with and the ingredients I had on hand. Picky eaters hate cilantro, trust me.


First things first, gather your ingredients.

The recipe called for kosher salt, but I only had sea salt on hand. No big deal to swap, as kosher salt is kind of like larger grained table salt. You'll also need barbecue sauce of your choosing. I'm going to tell you one of my weaknesses - products with hilarious packaging or names that make me giggle. (Seriously, next time you're at Wal-Mart, go to the cereal aisle and look for Cocoa Cool, the store brand of Cocoa Puffs. I defy you not to laugh at it.) Sweet Baby Ray's fit the bill. It's also my new favorite barbecue sauce...because it's the boss (it says so right on the bottle). It's actually really freaking good. Tip: do NOT under any circumstance tell your picky eater if you chose spicy sauce. Unless it may potentially trigger an allergy and kill them. Maybe. Your call. You will also need spray canola oil, and obviously, chicken. 

Tip: Make sure that you marry somebody who can tell the difference between skinned and skinless chicken. Otherwise, you'll have to do what I did and try and describe it by text message. This is more challenging than it seems. He wound up getting chicken thighs, which came out great. The fattier the cut is, the more forgiving it will be in the oven.


Next, line a baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack on top.

Preheat your oven to 375° F (191° C). 

Rinse the chicken, pat dry, and sprinkle with salt. You can see the salt i.e. the glittery looking bits on the back piece. 

Okay, for the most difficult part (which is actually pretty simple because you'll be able to learn from my mistakes), we're going to sear the chicken. This will make the skin crispy as though it came from your prohibited balcony grill. Put a nonstick pan on the stove, right in between medium and high heat and coat it with some spray canola oil. This is where I learned what not to do for you. I had the heat on high at first, and while snapping pictures, our apartment filled with smoke. My fiance asked if he was going to die. Seriously. Also, be careful because the fat dripping from the chicken may splatter. It will probably purposely aim for your eyes. Picky eater/fiance left his button down shirt on the kitchen floor, so I put it on backwards to protect my arms. He shouldn't have left it there.

Place the chicken, skin side down, into the pan. Be sure not to overcrowd them. 

Let them cook for a few minutes, until the skin is a pretty golden brown color with a few blackened bits (which I was too impatient to wait for). The smoke from the oil will help give it an authentic barbecue flavor. If I could make this again, I would have let my chicken sear a little longer, but they still tasted great. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on some paper towels to drain.

I bought a basting brush specifically for this step. It made me feel awesome. Like an official food blogger. Your next step will be to coat both sides of the chicken with barbecue sauce and place them onto the cooling rack. 

When you're done, they should look similar to this:

Put them in the oven for 15 minutes. I'm going to admit that I bought this timer because it was freaking adorable and probably in the dollar section at Michael's. I'm also going to admit that this is the first time I've used it. (I've had it for almost two years).

After the 15 minutes are up, take the chicken from the oven. The sauce should have thickened a bit. Mine looked like this:

Add another coat of barbecue sauce with your fancy brush (or you can finger paint, whatevs). 

Mine looked like this:

Put the chicken back in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part (but not touching the bone) reads 165° F (74° C). I'm pretty sure that's the third time I've used my meat thermometer. Once was to take my temperature because I couldn't find a regular one. Beware, the tip is sharp.


While you wait you have an excellent opportunity to clean up the mess you made in the kitchen. Or instant message with Liz. Or drink a Red Bull. Or try to get your angry kitty/bff to like you again even though you just took him to the vet and fail miserably.

Wait a tiny bit for it to cool off, and put it on your favorite plate.

Enjoy. Preferably with a Dr. Dynamite like I did, because the name is funny. Or because your fiance is cheap. Either way.


Give a piece of the fat to your cat, as a peace offering. (This was basically the second bite of food he ate since he got home, I was so happy!)


Lastly, forgive me for using my tablet to take pictures because my digital camera battery was dead.


Take it easy,
♥Jennifer










Oven Baked Blasphemous BBQ Chicken

-Skinned chicken (approximately two pounds/almost a kilogram)
-Coarsely grained salt
-Spray canola oil
-Approximately one cup (8 fl oz.) of barbecue sauce (more or less depending on desired amount and size of chicken)

Serves 2

Preheat oven to 375°F (191°C)

Cover baking sheet with foil and place cooling rack on top.

Rinse chicken and pat dry.

Sprinkle with salt.

Put a nonstick pan on medium-high heat.

Spray with canola oil.

Sear chicken by placing it skin side down in the pan.

Let chicken cook for a few minutes until golden brown with a few blackened spots.

Remove from pan, and drain on paper towel.

Coat each side of the chicken with barbecue sauce, using a basting brush.

Place in oven for 15 minutes.

Remove and add another coat of barbecue sauce to each side of the chicken.

Put back in oven for 30-45 minutes until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken (without touching the bone) reads 165° F (74°C).

Let cool for a bit and enjoy!

*Big Bang Theory reference, couldn't help myself.