American Sweet And Sour Barbecue Chicken Recipes

GRILLED SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken, prepare the brine by whisking together the water, salt, brown sugar and soy sauce in a large bowl until the sugar and salt are mostly dissolved.
• Cut each chicken breast into 2-inch strips (so about two strips per chicken breasts, depending on the size of the chicken breasts) and submerge all the chicken pieces fully in the brine mixture. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least two hours (or up to four hours). Any longer than four hours and the chicken may be too salty.
• For the sauce, whisk together all the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat. Let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly (can simmer longer for a thicker sauce), stirring occasionally. There may be a strong vinegar smell as the sauce simmers and the vinegar evaporates - that's completely normal (and the sauce will not taste overly vinegary).
• Preheat grill to medium heat (on my pellet grill, I preheat to 350 degrees for this recipe). Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the brine.
• Grill the chicken, turning once, until an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F (exact cooking time will depend on what type of grill you have; it takes about 15 minutes total on my pellet grill for thin cut chicken at this temperature). During the last two minutes of grilling brush the chicken liberally with the prepared sweet and sour sauce.
• Remove the chicken from the grill to a serving platter and drizzle with remaining sauce OR serve the sweet and sour sauce on the side.

SWEET AND SOUR MARINADE FOR GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Put all ingredients into a jar, close tightly, shake well.
• Use this to marinate chicken for 2-4 hours.
• Cook chicken on the grill.

OVEN-BARBECUED CHICKEN

Steps:

• If the chicken is frozen, place it in the refrigerator the night before you plan to use it or for at least 12 hours. Cut and discard fat from chicken with kitchen scissors or knife. Rinse chicken under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels.
• Heat the oven to 375°.
• Place the chicken, skin sides down, in a single layer in the ungreased pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes.
• While the chicken is baking, mix the chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, mustard, horseradish and pepper sauce in a small bowl. Remove chicken from oven, and turn pieces over with tongs. Pour sauce over chicken, spooning sauce over chicken pieces if necessary to coat them completely.
• Continue baking uncovered about 30 minutes longer or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when you cut into the center of the thickest pieces. Spoon remaining sauce over chicken before serving.

SPICY SWEET-AND-SOUR GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Stir together water and tomato paste in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan until smooth, then stir in remaining sauce ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring, then reduce heat and briskly simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced to 2 1/4 cups, 50 to 60 minutes. Stir frequently toward end of cooking to prevent sticking. Reserve 1 cup sauce for serving.
• Prepare grill for indirect-heat grilling over medium-hot charcoal (medium-high heat for gas grills; see Grilling Procedure ).
• Pat chicken dry (do not season with salt and pepper). Lightly oil grill rack and place chicken, skin side down, on area with no coals underneath (over turned-off burner if using gas). Grill, covered, turning once, until chicken registers 165°F, 22 to 25 minutes. (Chicken may appear pale; no cause for worry.)
• Brush generously all over with some of sauce, then move chicken directly over coals (turned-on burners if using gas). Grill chicken, covered, turning and moving to area with no coals or heat underneath if flare-ups occur, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes more. (Add more charcoal during grilling if necessary to maintain heat.)
• Serve chicken with reserved sauce.