Chicken legs with Alabama white sauce recipe

This creamy sauce for barbecued chicken is quite spicy with horseradish, pepper and chilli. You can reduce the quantities of each if you prefer less heat, but its beauty lies in its punchiness.

Ingredients

  Metric  Cups  Imperial  For the chicken

• 6 chicken legs
• 2 thick slices good bread, cubed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 6 vine tomatoes, halved
• 2 x 80g (2.75oz) bags watercress
• 1 pinch each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 6 chicken legs
• 2 thick slices good bread, cubed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 6 vine tomatoes, halved
• 2 x 80g (2.75oz) bags watercress
• 1 pinch each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 6 chicken legs
• 2 thick slices good bread, cubed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 6 vine tomatoes, halved
• 2 x 80g (2.75oz) bags watercress
• 1 pinch each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Alabama white sauce

• 200 ml mayonnaise
• 100 ml cider vinegar
• 0.5 lemon, juice only
• 2 tbsp hot horseradish sauce
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

• 7 fl oz mayonnaise
• 3.5 fl oz cider vinegar
• 0.5 lemon, juice only
• 2 tbsp hot horseradish sauce
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

• 0.8 cup mayonnaise
• 0.4 cup cider vinegar
• 0.5 lemon, juice only
• 2 tbsp hot horseradish sauce
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

Details

• Cuisine: American
• Recipe Type: Chicken
• Difficulty: Easy
• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 40 mins
• Serves: 6

Step-by-step

1. Fire up the barbecue ready for direct and indirect cooking.
2. Make a few deep slashes in the meat of each chicken leg and season with salt and pepper. Set onto the grill bars away from the fire and leave to cook indirectly, with the lid down, for a good 20 minutes, turning and rotating once or twice.
3. While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce by whisking together the mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, horseradish, crushed peppercorns and chilli flakes in a bowl. Season to taste with salt.
4. Transfer half to a small serving bowl to use as a dressing for the finished dish. Take the other half to the barbecue and have a silicone pastry brush ready for basting.
5. Tip the bread cubes into a fireproof pan (no wooden or plastic handles) and drizzle over 2 tbsp of the olive oil. Use the flat of a large knife to bruise the garlic cloves and add them to the pan with the rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil onto the tomato halves and season with salt and pepper.
6. Once the chicken has had its 20 minutes’ cooking time, begin basting with the sauce. Brush all over regularly and keep cooking and turning for a further 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. When tested with a digital probe thermometer in the thickest part of the leg, it should read 74°C (165°F).
7. When you start basting the chicken, set the pan of bread over the direct fire and cook until crisp and golden, tossing to cook evenly. Remove the croutons from the fire and set aside. At the same time, rest the tomato halves over the fire so they grill and soften, turning to cook both sides.
8. To serve, scatter the watercress onto a large platter and top with the grilled tomatoes. Add the chicken legs and sprinkle over the croutons. Drizzle with some of the reserved sauce and serve the rest alongside.