#2 Learn how to BBQ

My favorite food? Hands down answer is BBQ. I love it all: the meat, the sides, the sauce...bring it! I especially love how it always feels like summer when you're eating a delicious BBQ meal. Anyways as part of my American list I decided I needed to learn how to BBQ and my friend Kelda (aka K-sista) makes a mean BBQ chicken. What makes her BBQ chicken the most American? That would be the Bud Light beer can up its butt...'Merica!

Kelda is an awesome BBQ-er and an even better host- check out that to-die-for cheese and fruit tray for a pre-dinner snack mmm. Anyways after we chatted for a bit we got down to business- time to gather the supplies.

1. First up, clean the chicken.

2. Drink about a quarter of the beer (bonus points for wearing a crazy cool koozie).

3. Carefully poke some holes in the can.

4. Massage the dry rub into the chicken.

5. Then the worst part...stuffing herbs (that would be home grown herbs- Kelda's got a green thumb) into the chicken. Gag, gag, gag, gag, gag...touching raw meat/chicken brings out my gag reflex but I did it. Apologies for the stuffing shot but it was just too good.

6. After the herbs are in then you put the chicken on the can so it stands up.

7. The BBQ is nice and heated up which means its chicken cookin' time! Only the two outside burners were on so we put the chicken in the middle so it would get indirect heat.

8. Next up, we picked tomatoes from Kelda's vegetable garden for the tomato, basil mozzarella salad she was making.

9. We did a quick baste with some SBR (that would be the magic known as Sweet Baby Ray's) about 15 mins in. 

10. Before we knew it the chicken was done- and it was a beauty. One more baste with the SBR and it was time to let it sit for a bit. Now I have a slight problem breaking down chickens- the last time I tried I may or may not have cried (totes did- Bonnie had to take over and I left the room...the breaking bones sound is just too much for me)- so Kelda did the carving like a champ.

With the chicken done we moved onto grillin' the corn - not my strong suit, I was pretty focused on the 'drinking wine' portion of the evening at this point. Luckily my K-sista was on it and put together a beautiful meal.

So. Freaking. Good! Was an awesome K-sista night and now I think I could legitimately cook a BBQ chicken- high fives for Kelda for teaching me how its done. One more item checked off the list!