As a young man, my dad worked with the State of Georgia Extension Service, where he learned to barbecue chickens by the hundreds. Over the years, he cooked thousands of chickens that were sold on the town square, at football games, or horse shows. He and his friends would build a huge pit with cement blocks and top them with specially made racks that could hold about 50 chicken halves each. To turn the chickens, another rack was placed on top, and two men, one on each end of the racks, would flip the entire rack at once! My mom has adapted Dad’s recipe to serve a family, not the whole town.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 6
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Put the chicken halves in a very large bowl or deep pot and cover with water. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the salt in the water. Cover the bowl or pot and refrigerate the chickens in this brine for 6 hours or overnight.
Step 2
Prepare a fire in a grill with the grilling rack set 16 inches above the coals (see Note).
Step 3
In a saucepan, mix together the vinegar, remaining tablespoon salt, peanut oil, Tabasco sauce, black pepper, 1/4 cup water, and the cayenne. Bring this mixture to a boil, stir well, and remove from the heat.
Step 4
When the coals are uniformly covered with gray ash, spread them in a single layer. Drain the chicken, pat dry, and place the halves on the grill, skin side up. Baste with the sauce and cook for 30 minutes. Using tongs, turn the chickens skin side down and baste the top with sauce. Continue to grill the chickens for an additional 1 1/2 hours, turning and basting the chicken every 15 minutes. Add charcoal as needed to maintain a hot layer of coals. Check for doneness by twisting a drumstick. It should move easily.
Note
Step 5
If you cannot find small chickens, use larger ones (3–3 1/2 pounds) and quarter them. If the grill rack cannot be adjusted, cook the chickens closer to the coals and turn the halves more often to avoid burning.
