Last weekend was Colorado State's homecoming, so I wanted to do something big for our tailgate. I had planned on smoking a pork butt, however time would not allow for it so I went with stuffed chicken thighs wrapped in bacon, 3 pounds of wings, and 3 pounds of sausage.
To prepare the chicken thighs, I marinated them in a mixture of liquid smoke, Famous Dave's Sweet and Sassy BBQ sauce, and water for about 15 hours. When I began to put together the thighs, I took them out and coated them with Arthur Bryant's Rib Rub, and placed the thigh on 2 slices of bacon. I dropped a slice of honey ham on the chicken and sprinkled shredded marble cheddar on the ham. I then rolled up the chicken into a tube shape, then wrapped the bacon around it and slid a toothpick to hold the bacon in place.
The wings were coated with Gates Spice Rib Rub and that was it. I placed the thighs and wing in my ECB with the electric attachment around midnight and decided to sleep for a bit and take them off at 3:00 a.m. Unfortunately I didn't wake up until 5, so was freaked out the chicken would be dried out. I took the wings out (ate one, and the meat was tender but the skin was a little tough) and placed them in a big bowl and covered them with Frank's Red Hot Hot Buffalo sauce. I took the thighs off and sampled one, and it tasted great. I covered them with some sauce and put them back on to caramelize the BBQ. I also put the sausage in the smoker for the next 3 hours.
The food was all amazing. It was a pretty small tailgate, about 10 people, and all of the food was gone. The wings were a lot better after I let them soak in the wing sauce. All of the meat was reheated on a tailgate grill before it was served. Nothing was dry, and with all the cold beer, everything tasted great! Going with a pork butt in 2 weeks. Will be asking for help when we get closer.
To prepare the chicken thighs, I marinated them in a mixture of liquid smoke, Famous Dave's Sweet and Sassy BBQ sauce, and water for about 15 hours. When I began to put together the thighs, I took them out and coated them with Arthur Bryant's Rib Rub, and placed the thigh on 2 slices of bacon. I dropped a slice of honey ham on the chicken and sprinkled shredded marble cheddar on the ham. I then rolled up the chicken into a tube shape, then wrapped the bacon around it and slid a toothpick to hold the bacon in place.
The wings were coated with Gates Spice Rib Rub and that was it. I placed the thighs and wing in my ECB with the electric attachment around midnight and decided to sleep for a bit and take them off at 3:00 a.m. Unfortunately I didn't wake up until 5, so was freaked out the chicken would be dried out. I took the wings out (ate one, and the meat was tender but the skin was a little tough) and placed them in a big bowl and covered them with Frank's Red Hot Hot Buffalo sauce. I took the thighs off and sampled one, and it tasted great. I covered them with some sauce and put them back on to caramelize the BBQ. I also put the sausage in the smoker for the next 3 hours.
The food was all amazing. It was a pretty small tailgate, about 10 people, and all of the food was gone. The wings were a lot better after I let them soak in the wing sauce. All of the meat was reheated on a tailgate grill before it was served. Nothing was dry, and with all the cold beer, everything tasted great! Going with a pork butt in 2 weeks. Will be asking for help when we get closer.
