Coca-Cola BBQ Chicken

A little more than ten years ago, my then-boyfriend and I decided it was time to get married.  I was still a grad student, anticipating graduation.  I had little interest, less money and even less time to spend on cooking real food.  But I decided that I should do something very old-fashioned...learn to cook for my future husband.  And I started collecting recipes. 

This is one of the first recipes I harvested, scrawled down frantically in real time while watching a cooking demonstration on a Nashville talk show (did anybody else ever see Crook & Chase?)  It wasn't all that long ago, but informatically it seems like the Dark Ages, or at least the early Enlightment, when recipes featured on morning talk programs weren't available instantly on the show's website.

I can't say now how closely the recipe I still have in my 3-ring binder replicates the original recipe, but it's still a good 'un.  Use a low or zero calorie soda, if you prefer.  Even though we don't keep soda routinely in the pantry any more, I still make this occasionally with a single bottle bought from the impulse aisle at the grocery store. 

I think this recipe would also do well in the crockpot, but I've never *actually* tried it that way.  I'd probably skin the chicken and skip the browning...or maybe not LOL  I'm going to do up some freezer kits this weekend b/c, duh-duh-da-duh! I'm going back to work after 3 years of full-time SAHM-itude, and I'll try this one as a crockpot kit and post results.


Coca Cola BBQ Chicken
Makes 6-8 servings

1 chicken, cut up into serving pieces OR 2 1/2 lbs. bone-in chicken breasts/quarters
1/3 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste
2 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 large bell pepper, any color, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped or 1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 cup Coke
1 cup ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp pepper
dash hot sauce
2 tbsp bacon fat or canola oil
Rice, to serve

To make a freezer kit, make sure the chicken is well-wrapped.  Put seasoned flour in a small freezer bag.  Combine remaining ingredients to make sauce and transfer to a bag or container.  Freeze all together with cooking instructions.

To cook, thaw thoroughly.  Put chicken pieces and seasoned flour in a ziptop bag and shake well to coat.  Brown chicken in bacon fat or oil over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes per side.  Transfer to a covered casserole or a small baking pan.  Pour sauce over, and bake 1 hour at 350F, covered with casserole lid or foil.  Serve over rice. Pin It