Old School Wish-Bone Chicken

[chopsaw]

Nice thread . Enjoyed it , and brought back some memories .

. Pa never turned his chicken. A little flair-up was okay at the end, but no turning.

I'll have to agree with him there . I do the same . Makes a great piece of chicken .
The memory ? Falstaff by the grill . Reminds me of my Dad .

 

[robrpb]

thirdeye, that chicken looks good. I remember when I was a youngster a couple relatives would make chicken using Wishbone dressing, though they cooked it in the oven. I will have to try your three beer chicken, uh, I mean Wishbone chicken on the grill.

Rob

 

[Paulie Walnuts 440]

Wow thank you for sharing this! For day 2 letting them dry how long and uncovered ?

 

[thirdeye]

Wow thank you for sharing this! For day 2 letting them dry how long and uncovered ?

Brine is 24 hours, drying is 24 hours (uncovered) and I pricked holes in the skin.

The brine was fairly light on salt, and any sweetness came from the orange. The only stand out seasoning was the Old Bay, and it's even pretty light. I did not go very strong since the brine time is a full 24 hours.

The recipe I used was:
1 gallon of water
50 grams of Kosmos Chicken Soak
20 grams of salt
1 Tablespoon of Old Bay
1 lemon
1 orange
4 or 5 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion
2 Tablespoons of chile petin (pequin)

 

[uncle eddie]

Mouthwatering good looking leg quarters! Like!

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Wow that looks great and thanks for sharing your memories. I consider my self a chile head but never heard of dried chile petin peppers. Gonna be looking. What is your first name?

 

[Lorenzoid]

I remember Wish Bone salad dressing chicken on the grill!

It's funny what retro stuff we remember (and love because of the memories). I still have a fondness for chicken marinated in a ketchup/mayo/mustard mix with paprika and garlic powder, as mom would prepare it for dad to grill.

 

[Fueling Around]

Nice looking chicken
You cooked them on the BGE?
Leg quarters were really cheap until a month ago.

I'm intrigued by your grandpa's grill. What do you remember?

 

[Brokenhandle]

That's some great looking chicken! And a great story to go with it! Thanks for sharing! And congrats on the ride!

Ryan

 

[Central PA Cowboy]

I was in full retro mode last weekend and cooked some of my grandpa's favorite chicken which he took great pleasure in teaching us how to cook when I was a little boy. Then we made some of the same side dishes, I've eaten my whole life. "Pa" was the BBQ mentor of the family and this simple method is still strong after 50 some odd years.
View attachment 486711
He called it Wish-Bone Chicken..., mostly because he only used Wish-Bone brand Italian dressing, and partly because chickens have a wish-bone, and there was a wish-bone on the label (and still is). This story was repeated whenever someone new was over for dinner; my Grandmother knew it by heart. The process worked like this, chicken quarters were brined for a day, dried for a day in the fridge so the skin would cook up nice, and cooked on day three. The chicken was seasoned with salt and pepper and sometimes chili powder or garlic powder, and while cooking he basted with the Wish-Bone dressing. The kicker was.... Pa never turned his chicken. A little flair-up was okay at the end, but no turning. So I started with a brine whose most unique component was some dried chile petin peppers.
View attachment 486712
I stuck with salt and pepper only, all the flavor comes from the brine and the Wish-Bone.
View attachment 486713
Grilling took about 100 minutes, (and 3 beers) and I too resisted turning. Basting started after the first 20 minutes, then throughout the rest of the cook.
View attachment 486714
View attachment 486715
I used a thermometer to make sure the internal was 180° at the joint, my teacher used to use a toothpick and would pour a little beer on it if it got too hot.
View attachment 486716
The bite says it all..... oh yeah, that sauce is Head Country Original. For me, a tablespoon of sauce on the side is a lot.
View attachment 486717
Here is a photo of the Sunday evening full spread. Along for the ride are some lemon roasted herb potatoes, butter grilled corn, beans and cornbread, and a relish tray. Needless to say there were leftovers.
View attachment 486718

Looks great. What temp did you cook the quarters at? Actually have some skinless quarters in the smoker at 275 degrees currently. Marinated 2 in Italian dressing and 2 in honey bourbon marinade. Dusted the 2 Italian dressing quarters with Meat Church The Gospel and the other 2 with Meat Church Holy Voodoo. Gonna be good!

 

[thirdeye]

Wow that looks great and thanks for sharing your memories. I consider my self a cile head but never heard of dried chile petin peppers. Gonna be looking. What is your first name?

Oops, that's because I spelled it wrong. We have tepin and pequin and I sort of made up my own name. Chile tepin (the correct spelling) are the only wild chile's native to the US. My Granny had a bush next to the back porch. My first name is Wayne.

Nice looking chicken
You cooked them on the BGE?
Leg quarters were really cheap until a month ago.

I'm intrigued by your grandpa's grill. What do you remember?

Yes, in a LBGE. This cooker was a combination unit. It had a raised grate for grilling and the larger bottom served as a burn pit for splits of oak and mesquite to reduce them to coals. Then coals were moved into a second smoker I don't have a photo of.

Looks great. What temp did you cook the quarters at? Actually have some skinless quarters in the smoker at 275 degrees currently. Marinated 2 in Italian dressing and 2 in honey bourbon marinade. Dusted the 2 Italian dressing quarters with Meat Church The Gospel and the other 2 with Meat Church Holy Voodoo. Gonna be good!

I started in the 250° range, then ramped up to 275° - 300°

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

My brother always some of those growing in a pot on patio in Fl. I think I will try those this year.

 

[ksblazer]

Thanks for sharing your grandfather's bbq with us as well as your version of it.

I've always been a bit of a history guy and enjoy reading about the history of food. Just as much as reading recipes. So I really liked hearing about it and seeing that old photo of your grandfather manning the grill.

I've done bbq chicken wings marinated in Italian dressing and some other ingredients. They turned out as good as any wings I've ever made.

Your chicken looks really good and I bet it brought back some great memories too.

 

[thirdeye]

Thanks for sharing your grandfather's bbq with us as well as your version of it.

I've always been a bit of a history guy and enjoy reading about the history of food. Just as much as reading recipes. So I really liked hearing about it and seeing that old photo of your grandfather manning the grill.

I've done bbq chicken wings marinated in Italian dressing and some other ingredients. They turned out as good as any wings I've ever made.

Your chicken looks really good and I bet it brought back some great memories too.

Here is the oldest photo of him cooking I have, likely taken in the 30's with my Grand Uncle. They are cooking over an open pit, which were common in those days. Looks like beer has been a part of barbecue for a long time.

 

[mneeley490]

Great pics, Thirdeye. I've used Wishbone or some other Italian dressing for years, as did my grandparents, but never your method. I'll have to give that a whirl sometime.

BTW, your avatar reminds me of a little-known DC comics character called the Vigilante. Rode a 1940's Indian Chief motorcycle instead of a horse.