14 Jul bbq chicken + slaw

These recipes first appeared in Insider Magazine in The Irish Independent on July 3rd.

We figure everyone should be armed with the blueprint for a great BBQ sauce and a recipe for a good, crunchy coleslaw that they can call upon at times of need. Whether it’s World Cup Fever or a touch of American patriotism that has you cooking for a crowd this weekend, our BBQ chicken drumsticks and apple and fennel coleslaw always go down a treat.

BBQ Sauce

Making your own BBQ sauce is ridiculously easy. We like ours with a bit of kick and think a spoldge of Sriracha brings that extra something-something to the table. We’re cooking our chicken in the oven for this recipe but they would be even yummier cooked over hot coals on a barbecue.

Ingredients

8 tablespoons of your favourite ketchup

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon of Sriracha or other yummy hot sauce

1 tablespoon of American mustard

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of pepper

8 chicken drumsticks

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 180C/160C/Gas Mark 4.

Mix together the ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, white wine vinegar, hot sauce, mustard, salt and pepper until you have a well-blended BBQ sauce.

Place the chicken drumsticks in a roasting tray and cover with the BBQ sauce. Use a spoon to mix everything well before popping into the oven or 45 minutes, giving the tray a shake every 15 minutes and basting the chicken with the bubbling hot sauce.

These are good straight away but can be enjoyed cold, too. We love them as part of a celebratory spread with coleslaw on the side.

Fennel and Apple Coleslaw

It wouldn’t be right to have drumsticks without coleslaw. We make ours with yogurt because we find mayo a little heavy. We almost always use Glenisk’s organic natural yogurt (www.glenisk.com) for its light texture and tangy flavour.

Ingredients

1 head of fennel

2 carrots (or one really big one)

2 eating apples

4 tablespoons of yogurt

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

1 lime

Salt

Pepper

Method

Roughly grate the fennel and carrot into a mixing bowl.

Roughly grate the apples (skins and flesh but not the core) into the same mixing bowl.

In a smaller bowl, mix together the yogurt, mustard, lime and a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Now mix the yogurt dressing into the grated fennel, carrot and apple, mixing really well. Serve with a few freshly chopped pieces of apple and some of the lovely fennel leaves if you have them.