grilled chicken with south carolina sauce, grits, and gherkin salad

My father's side of the family is without a doubt German. His mother's youngest brother Ed lives out west near Brady, Montana. Ed takes care of himself out on the prairie, working outside and cooking most of his meals. While my father and I were out there visiting a few years ago, Ed showed me how to make gherkin salad. I was thinking of him and how tasty the dish is, especially in the heat of summer. In addition, I was contemplating the low country of South Carolina were my fiancee grew up. Apparently they eat a substantial amount of grits down near Charleston. In fact, Charleston is known for having the best shrimp and grits around. I thought it might be fun to somehow fuse a meal with these elements in mind. Since I had a whole chicken and the grill, I decided to cut the bird into equal halves up the back and down the breast. Grilling a chicken with the bones side down is one of the easiest and most delicious ways to cook a chicken I've discovered yet. South Carolina is also known for its barbecue with their own take on sauce incorporating mustard. Mustard, gherkin salad, chicken, and grits... kind of a low country, German, barbecue.

The only place to start with this meal was the gherkin salad. It really takes a couple hours to prepare properly.

INGREDIENTS
1 large English cucumber
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon freshly chopped dill
salt and freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS
Slice the cucumber as thinly as possible. Place the slices in a bowl, cover with salted water and refrigerate for at least one hour. This helps remove some of the bitterness and seasons the slices in the process.
Drain cucumber slices and add buttermilk, sour cream, vinegar, sugar, dill, salt and pepper. Mix gently and thoroughly.
Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. This way the flavors have a chance to meld.

Next I lit the charcoal grill. We still prefer the taste of charcoal over gas. And having used my Weber for a decade, I'm pretty comfortable knowing exactly how it's going to cook. I always oil, salt, and pepper the chicken before cooking it. This time I went a step further by applying a liberal amount of freshly chopped thyme and marjoram. When the grill was hot and ready, I placed the chicken halves bone side down, covered, and walked away. The FDA recommends cooking chicken to 180 degrees fahrenheit, but I prefer to cook it to 160 degrees to keep it on the moist side. I've been doing this for my entire cooking life and never once been sick. I checked the chicken by probing the thigh with a meat thermometer. A three pound bird generally requires about half an hour on my grill.

The sauce was the fun and experimental part. Traditionally, South Carolina barbecue sauces include cider vinegar, yellow mustard, brown sugar and spices. I made my sauce just a little differently, using a leftover sauce I made for wings the previous week.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 half stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup Louisiana hot sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Reserve enough sauce to put on the table for dipping.
Apply liberally to chicken at fifteen-minute intervals.

The last part of the meal was the pan of grits. I always try to use stone ground grits from local vendors if possible. Christy likes her grits creamy; so, I made them special for her with milk instead of water.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup stone ground grits
4 cups cold milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a cold pan and bring to a boil. This will keep the grits from clumping.
After coming to a boil, reduce heat and simmer lightly for 15 minutes.

This meal came together quickly once the chicken was to my liking. After the bird rested under a foil tent for roughly 15 minutes, I quartered and plated it. Next to the chicken I placed a portion of grits. This was a great idea as the chicken continued to lose juices which the grits were more than happy to absorb. I used cold bowls to hold the gherkin salad which was quite refreshing. I think the whole meal worked pretty well in terms of textures. In addition, gherkin salad with its creamy crunch is a perfect substitute for coleslaw if you're making barbecue.

The story of barbecue is the story of America: Settlers arrive on great unspoiled continent, discover wondrous riches, set them on fire and eat them. ~Vince Staten