Barbecued Chicken with Yellow Mustard Sauce

If you fancy a proper US-style barbecue this weekend try this brilliantly easy recipe from chef Brad McDonald's book Deep South: New Southern Cooking

Brad writes: "You’re going to fall in love with this Carolina- style sauce. I really like its tanginess with the chargrilled chicken skin. It also stands up well to the charred spring onions, which make the perfect garnish for this dish. (Keep any left- over mustard sauce in the fridge – it’s great with sausages.)

Barbecued Chicken with Yellow Mustard Sauce
Serves 4–6

1 free-range chicken, about 1.5kg (3 1⁄4 lb)

100ml (3 1⁄2 fl oz) olive oil

50g (1 3⁄4oz) BBQ rub (see below)

12 spring onions (scallions), trimmed but left whole

a little vegetable oil

sea salt

For the yellow mustard sauce:

250g (9oz) French’s yellow mustard

120ml (4fl oz) cider vinegar

85g (3oz) light soft brown sugar

1⁄4 tsp paprika

1⁄4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1⁄4 tsp cayenne pepper

1⁄4 tsp freshly ground
black pepper

First spatchcock the chicken: put it breast-side down on a board and, using a pair of poultry scissors, cut out the backbone. Turn the bird over and press down gently on the breast bone, then splay the chicken open. Season with salt on both sides. Make a paste with the olive oil and the BBQ rub and coat the bird all over with it. Leave to marinate for 3–4 hours or overnight.

Place the bird skin-side down on a barbecue grill and cook over a medium heat until tender and cooked through. Turn once and move to a lower heat if nec- essary to prevent scorching. If using a thermometer to check the temperature, pull the bird off the heat at 65°C/150°F. Leave to rest for 15–20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: put all the ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly with a whisk.

Toss the spring onions in enough vegetable oil to coat, then place on the barbecue and cook until lightly charred.

Carve off the chicken legs and thighs, then carve the white meat from the bone. Brush the sauce over the meat. Garnish with the grilled spring onions and serve with the rest of the sauce on the side.

For the rub:

125g (4 1⁄2 oz) paprika

15g (1⁄2 oz) onion powder

15g (1⁄2 oz) garlic powder

15g (1⁄2 oz) chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)

15g (1⁄2 oz) crushed black pepper

7g (1⁄4 oz) dried oregano

Mix everything together, use what you need for the recipe and keep the rest in a sealed jar

What to drink: Personally I'd go for a craft beer like a pale ale or IPA with this but you could go for a fruity red like a merlot, grenache or tempranillo or a not-too-oaky chardonnay if you prefer a white

From Deep South by Brad McDonald (Quadrille £25) Photograph © Andy Sewell

Mushroom and Mustard soup

With the country blanketed by snow what else can you think of but soup? A favourite recipe from my book An Appetite for Ale that makes a great pairing with a dark, Trappist beer. You can decide how creamy you want it - my preference is to add just a dash to the soup then swirl a little in each bowl to decorate.

Serves 3-4

50g butter
250g portabella mushrooms, wiped clean and roughly chopped
1 small onion (about 90-100g), peeled and chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 small potato (about 75g), peeled and finely sliced
1 tbsp madeira or amontillado sherry
500ml fresh beef stock or stock made with a beef stock cube (or 2 level tsp yeast extract if you’re a veggie)
1 rounded tsp grain mustard
2 tbsp double cream (optional) + extra cream for swirling
A good squeeze of lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped parsley or chervil to garnish

Heat a large saucepan or cast iron casserole for a minute or two, add the butter then as soon as it’s melted tip in the mushrooms. Stir and cook for about 8-10 minutes until any liquid created begins to evaporate. Add the onion, stir and fry for 3-4 minutes then stir in the garlic and fry for a minute longer. Add the potato, stir, then add the madeira and beef stock and bring to the boil. Simmer until the potato is cooked (about 12-15 minutes). Turn the heat off and cool for a few minutes then add the mustard.

Pass the soup through a strainer, reserving the liquid and put the mushrooms into a blender. Whizz until smooth then add half of the reserved liquid and whizz again. Add the remaining liquid and whizz. Pour the soup back into the pan or casserole. Pour 150ml of water into the blender to pick up the remaining soup you haven’t managed to scrape out and add to the pan. Add the cream if using then reheat gently without boiling.

Season with a good squeeze of lemon, a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish each portion with a swirl or splosh of cream and sprinkle over a little chopped parsley or chervil.

Recommended beer match: I found Westmalle Dubbel was a great match with this soup but you could also try it with a porter or stout.

Porc à la moutarde

This typically Burgundian dish of pork with a wine, cream and mustard-based sauce is quick, easy and versatile. You could equally well use it for chicken.

Serves 2
1 tbsp olive oil
15g butter
2 boneless pork loin steaks (about 300g), preferably organic
125g chestnut mushrooms, rinsed, trimmed and thickly sliced
1 level tsp flour
100ml white burgundy or other dry white wine
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp creme fraiche
2 rounded tsp Dijon grain mustard or other grain mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Some scissor snipped chives

Heat a medium sized frying pan and add the oil. When it's hot add the butter, then lay the pork steaks in the pan. Brown for about 3 minutes on each side, then turn the heat down and cook for a further 2-3 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the steaks.

Remove the steaks from the pan and keep warm. Cook the mushrooms in the remaining oil and butter until lightly browned. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and add to the pork.

Stir the flour into the pan then add the white wine and thyme and bubble up until reduced by about two thirds. Turn the heat right down and stir in the creme fraiche then add the mustard and warm through taking care not to boil the sauce which will make the mustard taste bitter.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper then return the pork, the mushrooms and any juices to the pan. Heat through very gently. Put a pork steak on each plate, spoon over the mushrooms and sauce and snip a few chives over the top. Serve with new potatoes and a green salad

Wine match
A young Chablis or Maçon-Villages would be ideal with this dish or any cool climate, unoaked Chardonnay. A modest red burgundy would also work well.