My Grandma’s magical “Golden Barbecue Chicken”
Get ready for one of the most delicious, easiest, and fool-proofiest recipes ever! My late grandmother used to make this for her poker nights, where they would apparently eat chicken, drink Rolling Rock, and play cards until somebody went broke.
I always make this with chicken because that’s how I was taught, but the sauce is so good I bet it would taste good as a marinade or sauce for tofu or some delightful fake meat product, or even as a dipping or stir fry sauce for vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven warms up, put the chicken in a baking dish. I like to use a combination of breasts and thighs. The thigh meat is especially good with the sauce. Lightly salt and pepper the meat. In a small saucepan, put together the sauce:
- 2 Tbsp. butter or vegan buttery spread of your choice
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp. dijon or grainy mustard (any mustard but boring old yellow will work)
- 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp. sugar (my grandma originally called for equal parts of all the above ingredients but I have cut down the sugar slightly)
- 1/2 tsp. garlic salt (or fresh garlic and salt)
- a few shakes of hot sauce or crushed chili flakes
Mix everything together over low heat while the butter melts. (Note: if you’re using only breasts or a low fat vegan option like tofu or vegetables, add a little more butter or butter alternative. You need the extra fat to keep the sauce from burning up and your dish from drying out.) Once the sauce is ready, pour it over the chicken. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes with a loose piece of foil over the dish for the first 20 (don’t leave the foil on for any longer than that). After about 45 minutes the meat should be pretty much done. However! So important! Turn the heat up to 400 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes. This makes everything a little extra crispy in a really delightful way.
If you’re interested in recreating the meal in the photo above, I served this with quinoa and some steamed zucchini and onions with basil and pepper (both side dishes extremely healthy and easy to make). Be sure and spoon extra sauce over the quinoa and veggies.
Another great thing about this sauce is that the proportions so simple it’s really easy to make a little or a lot. Depending on how many people you are feeding (or how hungry you are) changing the amounts is a snap, and the recipe is very forgiving.
