"Really" Lazy Indoor BBQ

Yesterday, I really wanted juicy barbequed chicken with blackened grill marks and cloying sauce clinging to the meat. However, I had nothing but frozen chicken hindquarters in my fridge and a cupboard full of non-dry rub spices, like cinnamon, curry powder, and star anise. Coming home late from work, I also didn't have the time to marinate or brine the chicken either.

What made matters worse, was that the weather was terrific barbecuing weather. Unfortunately, I live on the second story of a crowded apartment complex and have no desire to lug a heavy bag of charcoal briquets to the park without financial remuneration. My slothfulness is all-consuming. Needless to say, I also had no desire to clean the George Foreman grill or even walk to the barbeque take-out restaurant just five blocks away.

I decided to take the "semi-homemade" way out, and resort to using store-bought bottles of barbeque sauce and also using the range instead of the grill. Thus, the "homemade" part, was just me heating up the chicken.

I employed my "watch television while cooking" method, and put the cut chicken pieces in a non-stick pan, poured the sauce on top, and literally ignored the bubbling pan. About 15 minutes later, I returned from watching the syndicated episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, and was pleasantly surprised. The chicken was exactly what I had been yearning for--tender, juicy, and with a sweet and sticky sauce.

Hey, it worked! And I was satisfied with the outcome! Although America's Test Kitchen warned me of the dangers of stovetop barbeque chicken, I was happy with the results given that I put in minimal effort.

I am getting used to this semi-homemade type of cooking, and in the words of Martha Stewart, using premade store-bought ingredients for a hungry stomach can be a "good thing."