BBQ Chicken breasts in homemade BBQ sauce

There is something about the word barbeque (BBQ) that makes non-veg lovers salivate.

Traditionally speaking, BBQ is the method of grilling meat on a hot, open grill or directly over the fire. The meat is first tenderized/marinated with a variety of spices and rubs and then is grilled. And, this is a tradition that goes back ages to the time when men discovered fire and started cooking their food around 1.8 million years ago (Acc to Planet Barbecue, Workman Publishing, 2010)

The word barbecue comes from the language of a Caribbean Indian tribe called the Taino. Their word for grilling on a raised wooden grate is – barbacoa. The word first appeared in print in a Spanish explorer’s account of the West Indies in 1526, according to Planet Barbecue.

My recipe is a ‘make-in-the-pan’ kind of recipe. So, there is no need for an open fire-pit or even a BBQ set. You can simply do this on the stove stop.

This is my twist on a classic recipe (I have added Indian spices too) –  BBQ chicken breasts in my home made BBQ sauce. Now, traditional BBQ sauce is a combination of a few ingredients in moderate quantities. Does that work? Nah, not for me!  We Indians with our spicier palates can hardly be faulted for adding more spice. My BBQ sauce is a marriage between American, continental and my Indian heritage. We Indians love our spices, don’t we?

This is what I put in my sauce. Now, now… don’t be all judgy-wudgy! You gave to taste it to believe just how incredibly delicious this sauce is. It’s better than lip-smacking good. The first time that I made this for the family, my daughters who are major BBQ fans told me that they had never tasted anything better. 🙂

So, try this and if you like it, don’t forget to drop me a line to tell me. 

For one hour marinate 1 kg of chicken breasts (I used whole breasts but you can chop them into desirable portions) in

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp pepper

salt as per taste

1/2 tsp paprika/ (I used Kashmiri red chili powder)

1 tbsp chili flakes

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3 tbsp honey

1/2 cup tomato ketchup (you can add a dash of hot sauce to this. I prefer that)

1/4 cup dark soya sauce (dark sauce adds color)

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 tsp Schezwan peppercorns (whole, not grounded)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp lemon juice

1-2 tbsp brown sugar (as per taste)

I tsp grated fresh ginger

6-7 cloves of garlic (full, not chopped)

Chopped green onions for garnish

In a grill pan or a flat, heavy-bottomed pan (you can use a cast iron pan too) add the above chicken breasts that have been marinating in the marinade (add both the chicken and the marinade – all of it) and cook on high flame for about 5-7 minutes till the meat starts to tenderize and the sauce starts to thicken. Lower the heat and continue to stir occasionally while the sauce thickens. Gradually, it will reach a thick syrupy consistency and will start to stick to the meat.

Once the sauce coats the meat evenly (see image), take the pan off the heat and serve hot with a side of mashed potatoes (https://onsonalstable.com/mashed-potatoes/) or buttered veggies. You can garnish it with green onions.

Tip – If you think that your sauce is too thin and the meat has cooked fast then you can add 1/2 tsp of corn flour to the sauce to thicken it quickly. To add the corn flour first mix 1/2 tsp corn flour in 2 tablespoons of cold/room temperature water, then add that to the sauce and stir it in.