SYM Spicy Glazed Chicken and SYM Maque Choux by Wooux

Slap Ya Mama Spicy Glazed Chicken

by Woo Brower 

Marinade:

2 Tablespoons Slap Ya Mama Hot Cajun Seasoning (this stuff is HOT, start with 1 Tablespoon and go from there, don't be a hero!  LOL)

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

3 cloves (largish) smashed, I mean, finely minced garlic

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup olive oil

juice and zest of 1/2 an orange (navel)

3 Tablespoons honey

1/2 of a chicken, bone in, skin on (about 2.5 to 3 pounds)

Slap Ya Mama Glaze 

(original inspiration from Pike Place Market Cookbook, Apricot Sweet & Sour Sauce)

1/3 cup of apricot jam (I KNOW, but it's my new thing)
1 Tablespoon of the reserved marinade (if you forget to reserve it, use 1/2 teaspoon or less of the HOT)

1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard (I used Maille)

Juice of the other half of that orange

teeny tiny dribble of sesame oil (like a scant 1/4 teaspoon?)

Mix all the marinade ingredients (except the chicken) together in a bowl or a gallon ziploc bag. Taste it.  Mostly it tasted really hot to me.  Which is why I decided to create a glaze.

SET ASIDE 1 Tablespoon OF THE MARINADE in a small mixing bowl.

Add chicken and coat well.  Allow to marinate for at least 2 hours.

While the chicken marinates, mix up all the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl. Set aside and let the flavors meld.

Set up the grill for indirect heat (necessary for the bone-in cuts, less important for boneless)
Around 300-325 degrees, add chicken bone side down (skin side up). (My bone-in, skin-on chicken breast and thigh/leg quarter took about 50-55 minutes on indirect heat, 

with average temps around 325, plus let it sit for about 10 minutes with the grill off.)

About 15 minutes before the chicken is done, flip and brush on the glaze on the bone-in side.
Allow it to set, about 5 minutes or so. Flip and brush on the glaze on the skin side.  The skin should already be crisp (fat rendered out, but not burned, with a little bit of char on edges and grill marks) before glazing.  Brush on about three or four light layers of the glaze.  Allow each layer to set for a couple of minutes before brushing the next.  

Turn off the heat, cover the grill and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.Remove from grill,  allow it to rest while you plate and take pictures.

Cook's note: The hot blend is HOT!  I should have added it to the recipe last, tasting as I went.

I think using 1 Tablespoon of HOT and 1 Tablespoon of NOT would work well in the marinade. The apricot jam does temper the heat quite a bit, but the heat does come through. I recommend cooling sides like potato salad or the maque choux or cole slaw or grilled sweet corn or a cold corn salad. I used indirect heat because I like the skin to adequately cook and crisp up rather than just burn.

Slap Ya Mama Maque Choux

by Woo Brower

3 slices applewood smoked bacon, chopped/diced/sliced however you like your bacon pieces

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 medium onion, finely diced, about a cup

1 celery stalk, finely diced

1/2 cup of diced bell pepper (I used mostly red and a bit of green)

1 jalapeño, cored, seeded, and finely diced 

4 ears fresh sweet corn, shucked, kernels sliced off, milk scraped from the cobs, set aside milk, (discard cobs or throw it in the freezer and save for stock for corn chowder)

 4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 leafy stem of fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons of Slap Ya Mama Original Cajun Seasoning

1/4-1/3 cup of heavy cream 

In a large (10") saute pan or skillet cook the bacon til crisp, remove from pan, drain on paper towel, set aside. In the same pan with the leftover bacon drippings, on medium heat, add the onion, saute for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add celery, bell peppers, bay leaf, thyme, and 2 tsp SYM.  Saute 2-3 minutes. Add cut corn and jalapeno.  Saute 2-3 minutes. Add reserved corn milk and the heavy cream as needed for desired consistency. Cook 5 minutes, add green onions. Allow to simmer 10-15 minutes depending on how you like your corn.  Adjust seasoning. Serve immediately. Serves 4 as a side dish. 

Cook's note:  Between the bacon and the SYM seasoning, I did not need additional salt. 

If you don't want to use bacon...what the hell am I saying.  Never mind.  Of course you'll use bacon ;)