Most anytime I have the opportunity to stop at a genuine BBQ joint, I’ll order a North Carolina-style pulled or chopped pork sandwich. But you know what? A pulled chicken BBQ is pretty darn good itself and has a fraction of the calories of a pork BBQ.
Recently, I needed some meat for lunchtime sandwiches and thought I’d buy a pound of sliced chicken at the Deli. The Deli was busy with customers three deep, so I went back to the pre-packaged section and nothing looked good. Then as I was browsing through the meat department, I saw a whole chicken for $4.98. What the hell. I’ll make my own lunch meat.
That night after dinner while the oven was still hot, I put the whole chicken in one of those cooking bags at 350, added a little salt and pepper and a dab of olive oil and let it cook for 2 hours. When it cooled, I put in the fridge overnight. The next morning, I pulled all the meat from the carcass.
I decided to do my own version of Pulled Chicken BBQ. I did and it was some kind of good.
I once made my own BBQ sauce mix, that is until I discovered a rub mix from Charlie Mills. It comes in one pound bags and all you have to do is add a little vinegar and a splash of water and it’s 100% North Carolina BBQ sauce at its finest. I poured about a cup of the liquid mixture on the pulled chicken and let it simmer for a half hour, then piled the chicken BBQ high on a bun and it was perfect.
To make the sauce from a rub to a liquid, I use 2 T of the Charlie Mills mix with 2 C of white vinegar and a 1 C of water, I store it in a jar in the refrigerator so it’s ready when I am.
If you want to make your own rub, mix black pepper, cayenne pepper, salt, garlic salt, paprika, dry mustard, cream of tartar, onion powder, celery salt, tabasco, Worcestershire, brown sugar along with water and vinegar to your liking, or simply buy a pack of Charlie Mills Sauce Mix and do it the easy way.
You can buy Charlie Mills Bar-B-Que Sauce Mix on-line. I have never seen it in Virginia stores.
Keep a bag on hand and make your own Pulled Chicken BBQ that will impress even those from Eastern North Carolina.
1 Whole Chicken
2 T Charlie Mills BBQ Sauce Mix
2 C white vinegar
1 C water