Carnival BBQ Chicken

This past weekend I packed up the car, the dog and the kids and headed North for the Swanville Mid-Summer Carnival.  The carnival is a HUGE deal in my husband's family for kids AND adults.  All the littles get together and go on rides together and in the evening when the kids are fast asleep, the adults all get together for a little fun! It's wonderful to see everyone and to watch the kids have a blast with their built in BFF's... their cousins.
One of the best things about the carnival is the chicken they serve.  The lines for chicken dinners can get long, but everyone knows it is totally worth the wait.  The only problem I have with this is that I only get carnival chicken once a year.  AHHH!  That's just not enough.  About 8 years ago I was on a mission to recreate carnival BBQ chicken and while it doesn't taste EXACTLY like the chicken we wait in line for every year, it's pretty darn close!

Here's what you need to make this mouth watering BBQ chicken at home.

Carnival BBQ Chicken

*one package of cut-up bone in chicken (this recipe can make up to 8 pieces)

*veg oil

*3 tbls butter

*1/3 cup finely chopped onion

*3/4 cup ketchup

*1/2 cup water

*1/4 cup vinegar

*3 tbls worcestershire sauce

*2 tbls mustard

*salt & pepper

Rub chicken with a bit of veg oil and season with salt & pepper.  Set your grill to medium/high heat and grill each side over indirect heat for a bit until the skin crisps up a bit and gets some nice grill marks.  You don't want the chicken cooked through.  You just want the grill marks and flavor. Set the chicken on a plate to the side.  In the meantime, heat one tbls veg oil and 3 tbls butter in a skillet.  (if you have cast iron and want to use that, it skips the step if transferring it all to a baking dish later) Add onion and sauté until tender.  Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.  The sauce may look kinda thin, and that's ok. 

Doesn't this look FANTASTIC?!?!

Add chicken to your cast iron skillet (or transfer to a 9x13 baking dish) and  spoon (or pour) sauce over the chicken.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  This chicken is delicious served with homemade garlic fries (recipe on a previous HDHW post) or mashed potatoes with BBQ sauce spooned over it.
 

Here are a few highlights from our weekend:

Like I said... Built in BFF's.

Happy day, friends!