There's a volunteer fire department near where we once lived that has an
annual chicken barbecue. They do around 1500 whole chickens and I
cannot recall the time when they didn't run out of chicken before it was
over. Besides a community showing its appreciation for what they do and
to help out with new equipment, the real reason folks go there is that
the chicken is so blasted good. Their sauce isn't rocket science, but
it's been honed and refined for several generations of firemen, now, to
the point where it has become an institution.

A friend, who is one of the volunteer firemen, gave me a copy of their
not-so-secret recipe and I thought I'd share it with you all.

1 Qt Water
1 Pt. apple cider vineger
1/2 cup salt
1/8 cup sugar
1 TSP. Black pepper
1 LB. Butter
1/2 OZ. Worcestershire Sauce


For most situations, spatchcock a whole chicken and grill it over medium
heat, basting with the sauce every few minutes. For most grills, you
never close the hood- cook with it open. Keep the sauce in a pan on the
grill and let it heat up (not boil) to help it stick. Treat it almost
like a game, seeing how much of the sauce you can get to stick onto the
chicken.

When I've done this at our house, I've also quartered the chicken and
marinated the pieces under vacuum, using the baste. The downside is
that I'm then uncomfortable reusing the marinade to baste the chicken-
at least during the last 15 minutes or so of cooking, due to
contamination. concern. One friend, who also uses this recipe, keeps
the baste in a gallon spray cannister, misting the chicken every few
minutes. If you do this, be sure to use finely ground black pepper so
it won't plug the nozzle.
--
Nonny

Nonnymus
A penny saved is obviously a
government oversight.

Nonnymus wrote:
> There's a volunteer fire department near where we once lived that has an
> annual chicken barbecue. They do around 1500 whole chickens and I
>
snip

>
> 1 Qt Water
> 1 Pt. apple cider vineger
> 1/2 cup salt
> 1/8 cup sugar
> 1 TSP. Black pepper
> 1 LB. Butter

one POUND of butter................ :-) my wife will like it


> 1/2 OZ. Worcestershire Sauce
>

> it won't plug the nozzle.

Nunya Bidnits wrote:
> "Nonnymus" > wrote in message
> ...
>> There's a volunteer fire department near where we once lived that has an
>> annual chicken barbecue. They do around 1500 whole chickens
> %<
>> 1 Qt Water
>> 1 Pt. apple cider vineger
>> 1/2 cup salt
>> 1/8 cup sugar
>> 1 TSP. Black pepper
>> 1 LB. Butter
>> 1/2 OZ. Worcestershire Sauce
>
> %<
>
> How many chickens would the fire department treat with the above quantity of
> marinade/mop/sauce? And just checking, but are you sure about the
> proportions in that recipe? 1/2 oz of Worcestershire in what amounts to
> close to a half gallon of mop seems a bit inconsequential.
>
> On a side note, the last two ingredients, butter and *Lea and Perrins*
> Worcestershire Sauce, make a baste that's hard to beat IMO.

The times I've used it, it seems to work for about 2-3 spatchcocked
chickens at a time. Remember, if you keep it in a spritzer bottle, a
warming in the microwave is fine for a subsequent use. I know that the
proportions seem odd, but it's the recipe they use. It also sounds salty
as the dickens, but the final chicken product is what counts. To be
honest, I've also tossed some paprika into mine to give the chicken a
better color, but the recipe I posted is the "pure" one used by the fire
department.

--
Nonny

Nonnymus
A penny saved is obviously a
government oversight.