Grilled Barbecued Chicken

Labor Day. The annual pork shoulder smoke. This year Clay ran the smoker himself — I supervised from the patio chair with a ginger ale and the specific satisfaction of a man watching his apprentice exceed the instruction. Clay started the fire at midnight Friday. He maintained 225 for twelve hours. He spritzed with vinegar. He wrapped at the stall. He pulled the shoulder at 200 degrees internal and rested it for an hour and pulled it with two forks and the meat was tender and smoky and the bark was dark and the whole thing was — was —

Ninety-five percent.

Ninety-five percent. Clay's pulled pork is ninety-five percent of mine. And mine is... well, mine is as good as it gets. Mine is the recipe I developed over six years, the recipe that fed seventy-eight people at Travis's wedding, the recipe that I'm proudest of. And Clay is ninety-five percent. At twenty years old. After less than a year of learning. The boy is a natural. The boy has the hands. The boy has the fire sense — that indefinable ability to read heat and smoke and time without a thermometer, without a timer, just by feel. Betty has it. I have some of it. Clay has it. The fire sense is in the bloodline.

Travis and Jolene came. Amber came (day off, miracle). The table was full: Craig, Connie, Travis, Jolene, Amber, Clay. Six. The full six. The first Labor Day with all six since... I don't remember. Maybe two years ago. Maybe longer. The full table. Every chair occupied. Every plate full. Every person present, alive, eating pulled pork that Clay made, and the pulled pork was ninety-five percent and the table was one hundred percent and the day was one hundred percent and I sat at the head of the table and looked at my family and thought: this is what the pork shoulder is for. This is what the twelve hours of fire is for. This is what the recipe is for. Not the food. The people. The people at the table eating the food that the people at the stove made for the people at the table. The circle. The oldest circle. Fire, food, family. That's the recipe. That's the only recipe.

The pork shoulder is Clay’s day now — he’s earned it, ninety-five percent and climbing — which means I’ve got room to run the grill. When all six of us are together, I want two things firing at once, and this grilled barbecued chicken has been the reliable second act at our Labor Day table for years: it’s fast enough to finish while the shoulder rests, it feeds a crowd without fuss, and the char and smoke remind everyone that the whole day is about fire. Some recipes are about the food. This one’s about keeping the circle fed while the circle’s all in one place.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

4 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (thighs, drumsticks, and/or breasts)
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the grill. Set up your grill for two-zone cooking — high heat on one side, indirect medium heat on the other. Aim for a grill surface temperature around 375–400°F on the indirect side.
Season the chicken. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels. Drizzle with olive oil and rub evenly with smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne if using. Let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes while the grill comes up to heat.
Start indirect. Place chicken pieces skin-side up on the indirect heat side of the grill. Close the lid and cook for 25–30 minutes, turning once halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer reads 155°F in the thickest part.
Sauce and sear. Brush chicken generously with 3/4 cup of the barbecue sauce. Move pieces to the direct heat side and grill uncovered for 3–4 minutes per side, watching carefully for flare-ups, until the sauce caramelizes and chars lightly at the edges and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Rest and serve. Transfer to a platter and brush with remaining barbecue sauce. Tent loosely with foil and rest 5 minutes before serving. Serve with extra sauce on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Grilled Barbecued Chicken — For the Days the Whole Table Shows Up