Barbecued Chicken Kebabs Cooks Illustrated Recipes

Steps:

• Add the chicken and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the barbecue sauce:
• Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and reduces to about 1 cup.
• Set aside 1/2 cup of the sauce to serve with the cooked chicken, the other 1/2 cup is for brushing the kebabs.
• Preheat your grill - turn the burners to high, close the lid and let heat for at least 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, use paper towels to pat chicken dry.
• Mix the sweet paprika, sugar and smoked paprika together in a small bowl.
• Add the bacon to your food processor and pulse until the bacon becomes a smooth paste, about 30-45 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.
• Combine the chicken, spice mixture and bacon paste in a large bowl and use your hands to mix and coat the chicken evenly.
• Thread the chicken onto the skewers.
• Leave one burner of your grill on high and turn the others off. Place the kebabs over the hot burner, and grill (covered), giving them a quarter turn every 2 minutes, until browned and slightly charred on all sides, about 8 minutes.
• If a flare-up occurs, just move the kebabs to the cool side of the grill temporarily.
• Brush one side of the kebabs with about 1/4 cup sauce then flip and cook until the sauce browns a bit, about 1 minute.
• Brush the other side with the remaining 1/4 cup sauce, flip and cook until brown, about 1 more minute. The chicken should register 160 F on an instant read thermometer.
• Transfer the kebabs to a platter and let rest for 5 minutes before serving with 1/2 cup reserved sauce.