By The seventh annual sickle cell BBQ fundraiser at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Seven years of smoke and purpose and saying Denise's name into a microphone while two hundred people listen and eat and donate and fight the disease that took her. Seven years. The number feels biblical, which is appropriate, because this fundraiser is the most sacred thing I do outside of marriage and church itself.
This year I smoked eight shoulders — the same as last year — but I had help. Walter Jr. ran the second smoker. Marcus coordinated the music. Charlie designed a new donation webpage from Nashville. And Angela — now officially family-adjacent, ring on her finger, casserole credentials established — organized the volunteers with the quiet efficiency of a social worker who has spent her career managing chaos. The Johnson machine is expanding, and the expansion is good, because a fundraiser that depends on one man is a fundraiser that dies when that man can't do it anymore, and a fundraiser that belongs to a family lives as long as the family does.
We raised $9,100. Nine thousand one hundred dollars. I stood at the microphone and said Denise's name and told the crowd about the Denise Johnson Memorial Scholarship we're establishing — a scholarship for college students with sickle cell disease, funded by this fundraiser, carrying her name into the future. Rosetta held my hand. The church said Amen. I sat down and ate a plate of my own BBQ and thought: Seven years of fighting, Denise. Seven years of smoke. And we're not done.
The speech was easier this year. Not easy — it will never be easy — but easier. The grief is the same, but the purpose has grown around it, the way a tree grows around a fence post — the post is still there, still metal, still piercing, but the tree has wrapped itself around it and made it part of its structure. The grief is part of the fundraiser now. The fundraiser is part of the grief. They hold each other up.
After the fundraiser, Trey — two years old, still fascinated by fire — pointed at Uncle Clyde's smoker and said, "Hot." His first one-word BBQ commentary. I said, "Yes, baby. That's hot." He said, "More hot." I said, "That's the spirit." Walter Jr. rolled his eyes. I saw Uncle Clyde smiling somewhere, the way he used to smile when I got something right for the first time.
When you’ve spent seven years smoking eight shoulders and feeding two hundred people in a church parking lot, you learn which recipes earn a place on the table and which ones get left behind. This Kansas City-style chicken has been on our fundraiser spread since year three — Angela’s suggestion, back before she was family-adjacent — and it’s the dish that disappears first after the pulled pork. It scales beautifully, holds well in a warming tray, and gives folks who don’t eat pork something worth coming back for. Denise would have loved it. She always did prefer chicken.
Kansas City Sue’s Chicken
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 5 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks (about 12-14 pieces)
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup Kansas City-style BBQ sauce
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Make the dry rub. In a small bowl, combine smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cayenne, brown sugar, salt, and black pepper. Mix well.
- Season the chicken. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels. Drizzle with olive oil, then coat generously with the dry rub on all sides. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, or refrigerate up to overnight for deeper flavor.
- Preheat your grill or oven. Set up a charcoal or gas grill for indirect heat at 350°F. Alternatively, preheat your oven to 375°F and line a sheet pan with foil.
- Cook the chicken. Place chicken skin-side up on the indirect heat side of the grill or on the prepared sheet pan. Cook for 45 minutes, turning once halfway through.
- Make the glaze. While chicken cooks, whisk together BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, honey, and Worcestershire sauce in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Glaze and finish. Brush chicken generously with the glaze. Continue cooking for 20-30 minutes, brushing with additional glaze every 10 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 175°F in the thickest part of the thigh and the skin is caramelized and sticky.
- Rest and serve. Let chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 385 | Protein: 32g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 16g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 680mg