Grilled Chicken with Mango BBQ Sauce (Kosher Connections Linkup, August 2012)

A little over a month ago I shared news of Kansas City's first ever kosher BBQ competition alongside a Beer Can Chicken recipe by Vaad HaKashruth Executive Director, Medel Segal.  Today was the day that Kansas saw the first ever annual Kosher BBQ Festival – and it is certainly one of the highlights of my summer.  There was a sense of celebration as contestants camped throughout Saturday night to perfect their chicken, beef ribs and brisket and by the time judging commenced just before noon, the fifteen teams were eager to hear how their barbeque had performed.

It was an honor to sit at the judging table alongside members of the Kansas City clergy and Kansas City BBQ Society Judges and my research before the event has taught me more about babeque than I knew there was to know.  The teams performed well and delivered sweet, savory, spicy and smoked delights in each and every round. I'm proud of Kansas City today, and pleased to have played a part. Check out the coverage on Fox4 news, and let me know if you can spot me in the clip!

 

While smoking was the name of the game today, smoked chicken is a dish I have never made myself.  Today was only the second time in my life that I ate smoked chicken and I like the subtle addition of a smokey flavor. The judging was blind, so I don't know who's dishes I sampled, but the Vaad put on an incredible event and I'd love to learn some of the techniques and recipes behind the dishes I sampled today! Congratulations to prize winners, participants, volunteers and attendees, this event is to be added to my long list reasons that I am proud to live in Kansas City.

I don't own a smoker (yet) so when it comes to the grill, I like to serve chicken with a home made mango BBQ sauce, and in the spirit of bbq and this month's Kosher Recipe Linkup, I share that with you today. You can view all my submissions to the Kosher Connections Recipe Roundup here.

Mango BBQ Sauce, perfect for Grilled Chicken

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 small red pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 mangoes, peeled and chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup tamari sauce
• 1 (1-inch) piece ginger root, peeled – chunk
• 1 lime, including zest and juice
• 1/4 cup honey or brown sugar
• 1 tsp of chicken stock powder.

Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a sauce pot or grill pan over medium-high heat.

Add onions, peppers and saute to soften 3 to 4 minutes, then add mango and season with salt and pepper.

Stir in soy sauce, ginger, a little zest of citrus fruits, honey, stock and hot sauce. Cook the sauce for 10 minutes, add the lime juice and cook for 2 minutes more, to thicken. Remove the ginger chunk.  Set it on a low light so and stir occasionally.

Now, simply grill your chicken, I think this sauce is best served on chicken breasts – make sure the heat is high so you get some good-looking grill marks.  If you're planning to reheat this dish, pour the bbq sauce over the chicken before reheating.  If serving right from the grill, pour it over and be generous, it's a good tasting sauce!

(Thank you to Mahesh for the Creative Commons Image)

You can view all my submissions to the Kosher Connections Recipe Roundup here.