Man oh man, I made me some chicken yesterday (and ribs, but didn't do
anything out of the ordinary with them).

I decided to try something new. I have a bottle of hot sauce I
brought back from my last business trip to Barbados. For those who
haven't had it, it's a mustard-based hot sauce. The ingredients list
says scotch bonnets, onions, mustard, vinegar, and salt. Pretty hot
it is. I love the stuff, I have about 70% of my fifth-sized bottle
left. I rubbed a whole chicken with kosher salt, then coated it
liberally with the hot sauce and put it in the fridge for about 2
hours while the ribs were on the smoker around 225-250.

I put the chicken in the smoker using the beer can method (bud light,
garlic, and shallots) at about 250-275 for 2 1/2 hours, fired with
Lump & well-seasoned applewood.. For the last 20 minutes I cranked it
up to about 300. For the last hour and a half of cooking, I sprayed
the ribs and the chicken with my usual mix of cider vinegar, apple
juice, and worcestershire. This seems to give me pretty good bark
without getting black. I overshot my target doneness by a bit, and
took it off at a little over 170 in the thigh. The bone pulled out of
the drumstick while I was attempting to carve it so it was plenty
tender though. The more I cook chicken, the more I decide there's no
real advantage to lower temps, seems just as good cooked at 275 or so
than it does at 225, only it goes a lot quicker.

I think I might be on to something. This is easily the best chicken
I've made, and chicken is one of my favorite things to cook.

"barooo" > wrote:
> Man oh man, I made me some chicken yesterday (and ribs, but didn't do
> anything out of the ordinary with them).
>
> I decided to try something new. I have a bottle of hot sauce I
> brought back from my last business trip to Barbados. For those who
> haven't had it, it's a mustard-based hot sauce. The ingredients list
> says scotch bonnets, onions, mustard, vinegar, and salt. Pretty hot
> it is. I love the stuff, I have about 70% of my fifth-sized bottle
> left.

It sounds like Lottie's True Bajan Yellow Hot Sauce.

"JL" > wrote in message >...

> It sounds like Lottie's True Bajan Yellow Hot Sauce.

Probably very much so. I haven't seen Lotties', but this kind of
sauce is pretty much ubiquitous in Barbados. I probably saw 20
different brands that looked more or less the same. Mine is called
"Delish Bajan Hot Sauce", with the tagline "delish in any dish!".

I had always used the stuff as a finishing sauce for chicken, or on
sammiches, but I think I'm probably going to be using it as a marinade
a lot more now.