RECIPE: Smoked Whole Chicken (from Myron Mixon’s Keto BBQ)
Even before I was on Keto, I never liked my barbecue chicken to be too saucy or too sweet—a problem I’ve run into in many barbecue restaurants in my life. I like traditional old-school barbecue chicken, by which I mean a bird that’s dry-rubbed, without sauce. This is my personal favorite way to smoke a chicken, and it happens to be the simplest. I sometimes serve chickens this way at my cook schools to introduce my students to the pleasures of plain simple barbecue, of meat that’s gently spiced and kissed with smoke. If you’re new to smoking, this is probably the single best recipe to get yourself started cooking. I like to cut the back out of the chicken as it cooks quicker and better, but you can skip that step if you want.
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
1 whole chicken (about 3-4 pounds)
1 recipe BBQ Chicken Rub (see below)
1. Heat a smoker to 250°F.
2. Place whole chicken breast side down on a clean work surface. Using kitchen shears and starting at the thigh end, cut along one side of backbone all the way up past the neck bottom. From the other side of the backbone, cut all the way up again and remove the backbone. Discard or save to make a stock.
3. Use paper towels or a clean kitchen towel to pat the chicken pieces dry thoroughly so that the rub will adhere to the skin. Generously apply the chicken rub all over the exposed areas of the chicken, rubbing it in gently. Place the seasoned chicken in a deep aluminum baking pan. Place the plan in the smoker and cook for 1½ hours.
4. After 3 hours, start checking the internal temperature by inserting the thermometer into the thickest part of the breast without touching bone. When the breast reaches 165°F, remove the pan from the smoker. Allow the chicken to rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Serve immediately, with the wings and some warm Tangy Sweet BBQ Sauce on the side, if you like.
RECIPE: BBQ Chicken Rub
Ingredients
2⁄3 cup chili powder
2 tablespoons monk fruit
sweetener
4 tablespoons kosher salt
¼ cup onion powder
¼ cup garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl or jar. If using a bowl, stir thoroughly to combine, use how much you need, and save the rest for another use. If using a jar, twist the lid on airtight, shake it to mix.
You can store this rub in an airtight container, away from heat and light, for up to 6 months.
Can you eat barbecue and still lose weight and be healthy? Yes, you can. New York Times bestselling author Myron Mixon will show you how.
After more than thirty years of winning contests for his smoked hogs, briskets, ribs, and chickens, Myron Mixon knows a whole lot about barbecue. So what does the “winningest man in barbecue” know about living a healthy lifestyle? As someone who was overweight and unhealthy before losing more than 100 pounds, he’s figured out how to cook and eat the foods he loves and still live healthfully. Having kept those pounds off for more than two years, Mixon is living proof that you can eat barbecue and be healthy, if you know how to do it right.
This is Keto done the way we all want to live; the recipes in Keto BBQ are the ones Mixon uses to enjoy the barbecue lifestyle without gaining weight. Like Mixon, you get to eat the foods you love—including bacon-wrapped chicken breasts, smoked pork shoulder, baby back ribs, and even barbecue sauce—if you follow the recipes in this book. In Keto BBQ, Mixon shares a series of real—and real simple—changes you can make to your diet while still enjoying barbecue and other Southern foods in a healthier way.
For more information, click here.
