I don’t know about you but I can name the place and time when I had my first taste of Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce. I was at the levee, on the bank the Mississippi, at a New Years Eve bonfire. An old man with shrimp boots and suspenders was turning chicken on the grill. When I walked up with my plate He grumbled “JD or regular?” Not knowing what “JD” meant at the time I of course answered with “JD Please” I don’t know…it sounded better than regular. I remember tasting that chicken and thinking that was the best chicken I have ever tasted. It took me a few years for me to put two and two together and realize that what the old man sauced his chicken with was Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce. Now I don’t know if it was store bought or what. Judging by the looks of him it was probably homemade. Times have changed and Jack Daniels has successfully infiltrated the barbecue world as to where you don’t even think twice about slathering some of this delicious sauce on your meat. In the following article we are going to show you how to make the perfect “JD Drunken Chicken” If you are skeptical all I have to say is your really missing out. This is delicious!
First I started out with a store bought 5 pound chicken. For the injection I added 1 cup of Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey, 1 stick of butter, 1/2 chopped onion, 2 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, and 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. Boiled it for 10 minutes and strained the onions out. Be sure to save the onion pieces for some killer sauce later. Next I let the mixture cool down and then we injected the chicken using the method of 1 injection in each leg, 1 in each thigh, and one on each side of the breast. Remember the less holes the better. If you feel that you aren’t getting enough liquid in a certain spot just angle the needle towards that area without removing it from the skin.
I prepared my beer can solution by drinking the whole beer and replacing it with 6 ounces of whiskey. Now the chicken was ready to receive the can. After that much alcohol who wouldn’t be huh? I lit up the traditional 30 piece mound of briquettes stacked on one side and placed the chicken on the grill on the opposite side. Always use the indirect heating method! While the chicken cooked at a steady 325 F. I worked on a batch of BBQ sauce for that an old friend recommended. I don’t know if they sell this in other parts of the country but here in Louisiana “Pig Stand” or “Jack Miller” is huge. It’s called Cajun BBQ sauce and both are processed locally. I mixed up 1 cup of Pig Stand, the remaining onions from the injection, and a healthy shot of Jack Daniels for what makes for probably the most unique sauce you will ever taste. After two hours I spread some of the sauce on the chicken and proceeded to sauce the bird 5 to 6 times before it was done. After 3 hours the chicken had reached an internal temperature of 170 F and was ready to take off the grill. I let it cool down, carved it up, and chowed down on what turned out to be one of the best chickens we have ever tasted! I highly recommend trying this if you are in search of something a “lil mo’ bold!” You can find more recipes for beer can chicken on my website www.drunkenturkey.com