Captivating Chicken

This summer, we have been eating a lot of chicken.  I thought I would get tired of it after eating it for so long, but I have been trying many recipes, which makes each meal captivating!  Below you will find two chicken recipes.  The first is one I tried at my friend Sarah's house.  When she prepared it, she used chicken breast which was good too.  The second recipe was inspired by my friend Jan.  We went to her house for a 4th of July celebration, and this was one of the main dishes.  It was so good, I told her I had to make this for my family.  Instead of using the Pulled Chicken packet of seasoning, I used a few different ingredients and it was just as good.  Thanks Sarah and Jane for the chicken inspiration :). 

Recipe: Grilled Beer Chicken

Ingredients:

8 chicken drumsticks or 8 chicken breast

1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil

1 tsp onion salt

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp of minced garlic
Juice of half a lime or buy lime juice

1 cup beer (any beer of your choice, I used Miller Lite)

handful of chopped fresh parsley

season all to taste

Red pepper flakes (1 tsp)

Directions

Thoroughly wash drumsticks and place into a large zip lock bag or a large rectangular container.   While in the bowl, you can lightly season with season all, garlic powder, and black pepper.

In a large bowl, mix together the  oil, onion salt, paprika, ground cumin, cayenne powder and ground black pepper.  Add your lime juice and minced garlic.  Add your beer to the bowl.  Mix everything together.  Add season all or any other seasonings you would like to taste (I added season all and a little more garlic powder as well as red pepper flakes).  Add the chopped parsley.  

Place the mixture in the zip lock bag/container.  The chicken can marinade for as long as you want.  I let mine marinade for about 3 hours.  Sarah had hers marinading for about 2 days.  

 

Get your grill hot and take chicken directly from the marinade to the grill.  You can baste your chicken with the marinade if you would like (I did for that extra flavor).  Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside.  Just make sure you check on it every 10-15 minutes. Serve with a vegetable and enjoy!

Recipe #2:  Crock pot BBQ Beer Pulled Chicken

Image courtesy of www.howsweeteats.com

Ingredients:

8 chicken drumsticks or 5 chicken breasts
Season all

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 ounces of beer (use what you have on hand). 
1 (32) ounce container of your favorite barbecue sauce (I used Oklahoma Joe's BBQ Sauce)

Directions: 

Thoroughly wash your chicken.  

Season chicken with all seasonings listed above.  

Add to crock pot, then add beer and 3/4 of the barbecue sauce. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  After 8 hours, shred your chicken and add the rest of your barbecue sauce. Stir your chicken in the sauce and let it cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. 

 

Serve on a bun with cheese,  drizzle a little sauce on top, and a pickle on the side.  Enjoy!