Stovetop Barbecued Chicken
This recipe was a childhood favorite that had been lost when the booklet containing it had been inadvertently discarded. I reconstructed it partly from memory and partly by comparing similar recipes on the Internet. The ingredients combine to form a tangy sweet-sour barbecue sauce.
- 1-2 Tbs vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3½ lbs Chicken pieces, skinned (~2 cutup chickens)
- 2 - 12 oz. cans tomato juice
- ¼ C white vinegar
- ¼ C brown sugar
- 2 Tbs lemon juice
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1½ tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- Several twists of black pepper from a grater
- 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 2 Tbs water
Heat oil on med-high in a large (3½ -4 qt) Dutch oven. Brown chicken in as many batches as necessary to avoid overcrowding. Remove chicken and sauté onion and garlic. In a bowl, mix together brown sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, white sugar, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and tomato juice. Return chicken to pan with onion and garlic, pour sauce from bowl over the chicken, and add bay leaves. Cover and simmer 45-60 minutes. Remove chicken pieces to a serving dish. Mix corn starch and water and mix into sauce in pan. Simmer until thickened, stirring frequently, Pour sauce over the chicken in the serving dish. Serve chicken and sauce over brown rice, white rice, or noodles. Part of chicken and sauce can be frozen for later serving (a Ramblemuse survival strategy).
If you come to a fork in the road, take it. — Yogi Berra