BBQ Chicken

Having lived all over the US, I've learned that the term "barbeque" means very different things to different people. Growing up in the west and southwest, "barbeque" was usually a verb describing how something was going to be cooked. It was also an noun/event, as in "We're having a barbeque." Most barbeque sauces I knew of were tomato based, and usually made by Kraft. How little I knew...

When we moved to South Carolina "barbeque" took on a whole new meaning. It was a specific dish...usually shredded pork and was no longer tomato based, but vinegar based. Sometimes it was mustard based. The low country South Carolinians took great pride in their barbeque. I was never a fan of it, but my husband most definitely was. But I did learn that there was a whole lot more to barbeque than grilling with Kraft.

While we were in South Carolina, we came across a small chain of southern restaurants called Sticky Fingers. I had THEIR barbequed chicken for lunch one day and was in heaven. It was the best I'd ever had. I was thrilled to learn that they sold their sauce in their restaurants and online. Even now, after living in Oregon for 7 years, I still order my BBQ sauce from them. MY favorite is the Memphis Original, although we usually order a mixed case of all their sauces. It's nice to have a variety on hand!

So, it is with this favorite sauce that I made up a batch of shredded BBQ chicken when I had my "Eat the Meat" event (from the "Great Thaw of 2008"). I had a bunch of thawed cooked shredded chicken that needed to be eaten ASAP. I needed something quick and easy to make, and so I took a bottle of my Memphis Original from the pantry, mixed it in a pot with the cooked chicken, heated it up and served it on buns. Voilà! A new quick and easy staple to make in minutes!