Vern's Special Barbecued Chicken Seasoning Mix

It's hot. It's the middle of Summer. So what better time to take a break from knitting and talk about a fun Summer activity. Barbecue! That's right. In the middle of Summer there is no better way to enjoy a sunny afternoon than a barbecue and there is no better barbecuer than my Dad!



I often talk about barbecues because Southern Californians love to barbecue. It's a fun and relaxing way for friends and family to congregate and enjoy leisure time together whether in a backyard, at a park, or at the beach. When my parents first moved to Santa Barbara, California, back in 1960, they had the good fortune to move next door to the King family who had six children and a large extended family who all loved to laugh and have a good time and there was nothing the King family loved more than getting together for barbecues. It wasn't long before my family was being included in these get togethers and that is how my Dad learned how to barbecue California style.

For those of you who may not know how to go about cooking barbecue, I would like to share with you this truly American classic pastime. And, like most things, it makes a world of difference if you are taught by the very best. Meet my dad, Vern, who is a world class barbecuer and he is going to take you through all of the steps of cooking a barbecue, including sharing his own special seasoning mix for chicken.



*NOTE * If you "click" on any of the following pictures in this post they will enlarge and that will make it easier for you to see the images that are clustered together in the collages.

Advance Preparation ~ Gather necessary Implements

The day ahead of your barbecue is a good time to make sure you have everything you need, i.e. wood, charcoal briquettes, chicken, and seasoning mix.



Pictured above are the things that can, and probably should, be done a day in advance:

A. Mix seasonings and/or prepare a marinade. My Dad makes a special seasoning mix for barbecue chicken (heretofore never shared) that I have included at the end of this post.

B. Chop wood into small chunks. A mixture of oak wood and pieces of oak bark make the best combination. Other hard woods that can be used to barbecue are apple wood and hickory. But, for a distinctive Southern California style barbecue flavor, you need oak wood which is sold in cords or in small quantities from a local woodcutter.

C. Gather the tools you need to grill safely, i.e. long tongs, meat thermometer, and leather gloves. This is also a great time to clean off your grill.

D. Prepare the Chicken. Purchase a small chicken - preferably less than 3 lbs. If you are cooking for a group you can cook as many as 3 or 4 small chickens on the spit at a time. I find that the organic chickens are more flavorful and generally smaller and I highly recommend using them if possible. Cut off all excess fat. Using kitchen twine or strong string tie the wings and legs to the body of the chicken to prevent them dangling loose when it is turning on the spit.

Build the Fire Bed



This method of building a fire bed can be used to barbecue any type of meat and can be used whether cooking meat on a spit or a flat grill. When tri-tip is cooked this way it is referred to as "Santa Maria Style" barbecue.

The pictures above show the various layers used to build the fire bed, which are as follows:

Layer 1: Wads of news paper
Layer 2: Small pieces of wood kindling
Layer 3: Oak bark pieces
Layer 4: Chunks of oak wood
Layer 5: Oak bark pieces

The charcoal briquettes are technically layer 6, but they will not added until the fire has burned down for approximately 20 minutes as explained more fully below.

When building your layers make sure to leave an opening in the center for air to circulate. This is referred to as creating a chimney effect in the middle of the fire.

Getting the Fire Ready for Cooking



It takes about 30 minutes for the fire to burn down to embers and be ready for cooking. Chickens take about 1 hour to cook. Therefore you want to start your fire about 1 hour and 30 minutes before you want to serve your meal.

The pictures above show how to manage the fire from start to finish as follows:

A. My dad does not use any lighter fluid. He simply uses matches to light the news paper which catches the kindling and then the wood on fire. In the upper left picture you can see my dad using a hair dryer to create a back draft. He does this to causes the fire to burn hot and fast.

B. After the fire has burned for about 20 minutes my dad adds the charcoal briquettes which burn down to embers very quickly. Approximately 10 minutes after adding the briquettes the fire will have burned down to embers and be ready for cooking. The middle picture shows my dad adding charcoal briquettes to the fire which, at this stage, should still be burning hotly. The reason my dad adds briquettes is to help the wood embers hold enough heat for the full hour required to cook a whole chicken.

C. When the embers are beginning to show a white ash and the flames have died the fire bed is ready to begin cooking. The lower left picture shows what the embers look like when ready.

From start to finish the the fire preparation time is approximately 30 minutes.

Barbecuing the Chicken

A chicken cooked on a rotating spit takes about 1 hour. This barbecue process combines both smoke and heat to give the meat a wonderful flavor while keeping it moist and juicy.



You can see in the pictures above that my dad closes the barbecue lid to keep the smoke inside. He occasionally checks to make sure the chicken is rotating and the fire is sufficiently smoky. If the fire is not sufficiently smoky he adds a few small pieces of bark around the outer edges of the coals to increase the smoke.

In the upper right corner picture you can see that my dad has fashioned a iron drip pan set below the chicken and above the embers to catch the dripping fat. If you don't have something to keep the fat from dripping onto the embers the fat will cause the embers to flame and can cause the chicken to catch on fire. If the chicken should catch on fire keep a can of beer handy to pour on the chicken to put the flames out.

Waiting is the Hardest Part



All that's left is the waiting. Which for a little dog like Mr Puffy is the hardest part.

Vern's Special Barbecued Chicken Seasoning Mix

1/2 cup (heaping) ordinary iodized salt
1 tablespoon (heaping) black pepper
1 tablespoon (level) "all purpose seasoning salt" (made by Lawry's or McCormick preferably)
1 tablespoon (level) garlic salt
1 tablespoon (level) onion powder
1 teaspoon (level) paprika
1 teaspoon (level) monosodium glutamate

Combine all seasonings. This formula makes a large quantity of seasoning mix. You will only use a fairly small quantity each time to season a chicken (around a teaspoon per chicken) so this mix will keep for years. Toss some of the seasoning into the bird cavity and sprinkle a small quantity evenly over a slightly damp chicken just before cooking. The quantity of seasoning is to be varied to suit one's taste.



I hope this doesn't sound too complicated. It really is fun and even if it it isn't exactly perfect the first time you will laugh and have a good time regardless. I guarantee it!

Stay cool and, until next time, be well, love well, and happy barbecuing.

Tips for The Wildfire Evacuee

I've been traumatized! Without belaboring you with news that you have already heard, suffice it to say I was in Santa Barbara when the Jesusita Fire broke out. I had only just arrived at my parent's house an hour or so before the first of the helicopters were heard overhead. Holy cow ~ it's just over the hillside beyond Laurel Reservoir.



We were placed almost immediately in mandatory evacuation status and I'm going to impart a few tips that I learned on my sojourn as a wildfire evacuee.

8 Tips for the Wildfire Evacuee

As an aside, in case you haven't noticed, it's hot and dry out there. These wildfires are becoming more invasive and causing more destruction than ever before. Someone you know will likely be effected in the next few years. I hope you will take these tips seriously.

1. If you have prearranged where to meet family or friends in an emergency you need to have 2 or 3 back-up meeting places. You might find, as we did, that your initial meeting place is inaccessible due to road blocks or other unforeseen factors. This is where well laid plans start to fall apart.

2. Cell phones require power to work. If you don't have a car charger for your phone, get one. Having your phone go dead in an emergency is highly undesirable.

3. Keep a small phone book in your purse/wallet at all times. Phone numbers and addresses you think you know by heart will quite possibly desert you under periods of high stress.

4. Don't rely on TV or Radio coverage if you are in or near the disaster area. Emergency personnel are stretched thin and the news (particularly on AM radio) is outdated. Go outside and look around for yourself. Talk to people and make your own assessment of the current situation on the ground. Wildfires are dynamic and you might find that you need to relocate to a safer place.

5. Wildfires are unpredictable and can circle back to areas where you don't expect them. Burned-out area are covered with smouldering embers that can flare back to life when the wind blows. These in turn set homes on fire and can ignite any unburned brush in the area. Which reminds me, close all windows before leaving your house to prevent embers from blowing inside.

6. You need a safe place to wait it out. If you are a camping family (which we are) it's nice to have a motor home at your disposal. Know that if you opt for an evacuation center you might be there for days without much in the way of amenities. Hotels are nice, if they have room and if you can afford the rate (this cost might be reimbursable by your homeowner insurance). Although it's tempting to stay near your home you are best served by removing yourself from the danger zone.

7. At a minimum always keep plenty of bottled water in your car along with some pet food.

8. Throughout it all it's important to keep your sense of fun. You will be happy to know that on Wednesday (day 2) before things went horribly awry, I managed a quick visit to Cardigans Knit Shop and I bought some gorgeous yarn (a skein each of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino dk and Classic Elite Yarns Miracle) to knit some cute fingerless mitts for next Fall!

The following are a few of the pictures that I took during the course of the fire.

This is our first view of the fire which began approximately 1.8 miles from my parent's house. We were only mildly concerned at first. After all, it seemed small and an aerial water attack was already underway.



The next morning it was quiet in the area and the fire seemed far away and well in hand. We expected to return to the house sometime that day and decided to wait for the "all clear" in Stevens Park a small local park situated in San Roque Canyon below the bridge. Merely a stone's throw from my parent's home. It seemed a very convenient place to wait. But for an odd car here or there we had the park to ourselves.

But when I went outside about 4:00 p.m. to walk Mr Puffy I looked up into the sky and saw an alarming sight. Large booming smoke clouds were quickly converging on our location.

We decided to relocate to an evacuation point. The following pictures are taken in the San Roque area as we are leaving Steven's Park on Wednesday afternoon to relocate to the First Presbyterian Church (our prearranged meeting place) which, incidental, turned out to be blocked off (see Evacuee Tip No. 1 above).

At this point things became quite stressful. I quote "Last night, all hell broke loose," Santa Barbara Fire Chief Andy Dimizio said. Today "We saw the fire spread laterally across the top of the city … to almost five square miles." I believe these pictures bear out his assessment.

This is a home near Steven's Park in the San Roque area.

These photos are looking back at lower Santa Barbara foothills (in the San Roque area) from Peabody Elementary School.

Below is a picture of La Cumbre Plaza (in the Vons parking lot) on Thursday night. The night that I was told by news crews that my parent's canyon was burning.



At one point more than 30,000 of Santa Barbara's 90,000 residents were in evacuee status.

I want everyone to know that I appreciate your concern and well wishes. My parent's home miraculously survived with the intervention of the brave and courageous firefighters who lined up 10 fire engines on their street Thursday night and held the line.



My parents are doing great and Mr Puffy was a trouper throughout. But a reminder to all how what begins as a small fire can level a city. It is time for Californians to rethink how we combats these wildfires and come up with a more innovative approach.