Letters from an Aspiring Sous #27

Barbecue chicken + sauce

Apparently, John Adams would turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest, believing instead that July 2nd was the correct day to celebrate the country’s independence from Great Britain. That’s because July 2, 1776 was when the Second Continental Congress actually voted for independence. However, it took an additional two days to agree on edits to Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration of Independence, which wasn’t formally adopted until the fourth (although, the document wasn’t signed by a large majority of delegates until August 2nd).

To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever actually read the Declaration of Independence (until yesterday). It’s about three pages long — not too arduous a read once you overcome the archaic language and sentence structure of 18th Century English. Since I’ve already done the hard work, I’ll boil it down for you: it’s a list of twenty-seven grievances against King George III — oppression, abuse, tyranny, insurrection — that conclude in an absolution of any allegiance to the British Crown. It also includes that famous line etched into our collective memory since childhood (although, likely due to its use in MLK’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech):

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Now granted, Jefferson was likely referring to actual men, and more specifically to white men. If you recall, approximately ten percent of the country’s population was enslaved at the time and would remain so for the next hundred years. But it was an ideal, at least in hindsight — one that only begins with the Revolutionary War.

The Civil War won’t occur for another hundred years. We won’t see the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote, for nearly another 150 years. The Civil Rights Act, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin — that won’t happen for another 190 years. The Voting Rights Act won’t be signed into law for another 200 years. The list goes on. But if this past year is any indication, we still find ourselves — a loose collection of colonies — clawing towards a more universal version of that same ideal.

Whether you choose to celebrate Independence Day on July 4th or July 2nd — or on June 19th, a date that I’ve only recently learned about, commemorating the end of slavery in America (which became a federal holiday only last month) — I hope that a charcoal grill and barbecue chicken is a centerpiece of your celebration. And if it’s not, well then you haven’t tried Kurt Evan’s barbecue chicken yet.

Kurt Evans is a chef and activist from Philadelphia whose food and restaurants intend to bring people together to combat food insecurity and mass incarceration. He started the End Mass Incarceration dinner series, as well as runs Down North Pizza, which exclusively employs the formerly incarcerated. His barbecue sauce calls for blackstrap molasses, a darker and richer variant of molasses not to be confused with the one that’s currently collecting dust in the back of your cupboard.

Molasses, coincidentally, was one of the ingredients of the infamous Triangular trade — rum, slaves and molasses. Molasses was imported from the Caribbean by New England colonists to make rum, some of which was then shipped back to West Africa. That same molasses was heavily levied by the British Crown, which in part led to boycotts and ultimately revolution.

Barbecue (celebration) chicken + sauce

Chicken and marinade

• 6 skin-on, bone-in chicken legs (about 4 lb.)

• Zest and juice of 2 lemons

• 2 1/2 teaspoons Morton kosher salt

Seasoning

• 1/4 cup smoked paprika

• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons chili powder

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

Barbecue sauce

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

• 3/4 cup ketchup

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 2 tablespoons unsulfured blackstrap molasses

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Step 1. Whisk paprika, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder and cayenne in a small bowl to combine and you’ve got your seasoning.

Step 2. Combine chicken and lemon zest and juice in a large bowl, and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and 4 tablespoons of seasoning and toss again to coat. Cover and let chill at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours. Marinate in the morning, grill in the afternoon.

Step 3. One of the great things about making your own barbecue sauce is that you know exactly what’s in it (and can determine how hot it is) — we used a habanero hot sauce from Trader Joe’s.

Preparing this sauce is super straightforward, assuming you have all of the ingredients (I encountered an empty bottle of ketchup in the fridge) and everything is measured out in advance (I had to enlist Alex at a moment’s notice). What can I say, it’s a fast moving sauce! Throw a timer on — you may think I’m a spendthrift for not using my iPhone or the timer on the actual stove but this Extra Big & Loud Timer is one of the most-used appliances in our kitchen. OK, back to the sauce.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook onion and garlic for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add brown sugar, stirring constantly, until sugar turns a shade darker, about 2 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of seasoning, stirring for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add ketchup, stirring until slightly darkened in color, about 2 minutes. Stir in vinegar, molasses, mustard, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and purée until smooth; a handheld immersion blender also works just fine.

Step 4. I’m not sure how to work this recipe without a grill, so if that’s not your jam… well, sorry for making you read this far. Prepare the grill for medium-high indirect heat. For charcoal, that means banking coals to one side; for gas, simply leave one to two burners off. Lightly oil the grate.

Grill chicken over direct heat for about 5 minutes, turning every minute, until browned on all sides. Move chicken to indirect heat and cover (positioning vent over chicken if your grill has one), and grill for 15-20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thighs registers 140–145F. Uncover and continue to grill, basting with sauce and turning occasionally, until thermometer registers 165F, about 10 minutes longer.