Blackberry-Barbecued Chicken

lazyme's Note:

This barbecue sauce recipe makes enough for two chickens. Store the leftover sauce in a tightly capped container in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for several months. Make a batch of Walla Walla Onion Rings and a green bean salad to go alongside, and you'll be all set. From The Pacific Northwest (Williams-Sonoma New American Cooking) by Jean Galton.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Barbecue Sauce

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 cup walla walla onions or 1 cup other sweet onion , chopped
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 pints blackberries (fresh or frozen)
• ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 3 ½ lbs whole chickens , cut into 8 serving pieces
• ½ teaspoon coarse salt
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. To make the barbecue sauce, in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the canola oil.
2. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the wine, berries, brown sugar, and soy sauce and cook until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and pass the sauce through a food mill placed over a bowl, or puree in a blender or food processor and pass through a fine-mesh sieve placed over a bowl.
5. Set aside.
6. While the sauce is cooking, prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or preheat a gas or electric grill to medium-high.
7. Oil the grill rack.
8. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper.
9. Place the chicken pieces, skin side down, on the grill rack and cook for 5 minutes.
10. Baste with the sauce and cook for 5 minutes longer.
11. Turn the pieces, baste again, and cook until the juices run clear when a thigh is pierced, about 5 minutes longer.
12. Some pieces will cook more quickly than others.
13. The white-meat pieces, for example, should be moved to the outsides of the rack where the heat is less intense.
14. Transfer the chicken pieces to a platter and brush with additional sauce.
15. Serve immediately.