Three Chicken Delights

Git Ready Cher,

Let's Geaux Tailgating

This post goes out to my Cajun girlfriend Marguerite, who lives down in da bayou country and whose blog Cajun Delights I follow religiously. Her recipes and fun loving ‘Joie de Vivre’ is good for the soul.

 Barbecue Hot Wings, Southern Grilled Drumsticks, Rajin' Cajun Sticks

Now when I got to thinking 'bout a recipe for my good friend, I immediately thought of shrimp. But she has more shrimp recipes than the Mississippi has mud. Moreover, I certainly am not going to throw out a Cajun recipe, no’mam, aucun, ain’t gonna happen, no cooyon here. And to even think of telling her how to prepare a seafood recipe would be like me trying to tell dem coonass fellas how to catch a gator. She has some of the finest, best tasting real Cajun-country recipes you will ever want to sink ya teeth into, folks ya just gotta try 'em.

photo from her Tailgating Fun post 

So it's only fittin' that I share some delectable chicken recipes as I know Marguerite is already shaking out da pompons and ready for some fine tailgating. I know she follows her alma mater, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and dem dar LSU tigers too. College football is only about 25 days away folks.

Oh, and I borrowed a little clip from her site just to show you what ya’ll been missing, merci beaucoup cher. There’s not too many festivals and fais do dos that Marguerite doesn’t miss. Here's one she shot featuring Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas and like a good tailgate follower, I hear she can shake a few tail feathers too. Enjoy, or as she often says 'Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler'!

 

 

Southern Grilled Drummers

Dis here’s a southern sleeper, not much kick really, starts out a little sweet like Marguerite then comes around with jes a little slap – dat’s from me…

10 chicken drumsticks, about 3 pounds
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons crushed black peppercorns
Real good shake of cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 garlic pods, minced
1 teaspoon Colman’s Mustard Powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Wash drumsticks under running water and pat completely dry. I like to make several slits with a knife along the skin to aid the marinade. Place drumsticks in a sealable plastic bag, add remaining ingredients, seal tight removing as much air as possible and toss to mix and distribute mixture among the chicken. Refrigerate overnight or at least for 2 hours.
Grill over medium heat turning often until juices run clear and skin is nice and brown.
Indoors > Remove from marinade, place on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 425 degrees F. oven for 30 minutes or until juices are clear turning about halfway.

Rajin' Cajun Sticks
Refreshingly sweet and spicy – with Louisiana’s best known pepper sauce

3 pounds chicken wings
1 cup Tabasco hot sauce (more for Marguerite)
1 -12 ounce Coca-Cola
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more if you want it rajin'
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Wash the wings and pat dry. Cut off the tips and discard. Slice the skin at joints, bend popping the bone out of the socket and straighten out to form a stick.
In a wide saucepan, add ingredients except chicken and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, dip wings into sauce and let set a spell, about 15 minutes. Place wings in a sealable plastic bag and refrigerate until ready to grill.
Simmer sauce for about 40 minutes or until slightly thicken.
Grill wings about 30 minutes on medium low direct heat turning to brown evenly. Dip the wings in the sauce often while turning.
Indoors > Place chicken and sauce in a sided pan. Bake for about an 1 hour rotating the chicken every so often. Let the sauce cook down and the chicken brown evenly.


Barbecued Hot Wings
Grilled BBQ flavor made for dancing around on da tongue

20 chicken wings
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Tabasco

Wash wings and pat dry. Combine all ingredients in a sealable bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Grill on medium heat cooking until nice and brown. Brush with remaining sauce about half way while turning the wings.
Heat marinade and let simmer for about 5 minutes to serve as a dipping sauce if desired.
Indoors > Place the wings in a metal roasting pan with the sauce. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F or until the wings are nice and glazed. I use a turkey baster to glaze the sauce on the wings.

Note: When grilling chicken wings, use a grill basket if you have one as it works great for flipping over small chicken pieces.