Kick-N-Chicken

When I was a little kid, I used to spend 2 months every summer at my grandparents' house in upstate NY. Not the Westchester county version of Upstate NY... I'm talkin' about the back country road, old farmhouse, pig farm, corn field Upstate NY. And every Sunday was chicken day. What was chicken day, you ask? Chicken day was when smoked rotisserie chicken owned the kitchen- the smell alone was enough to attract every member of the family like flies to sugar water. 

Every weekend during the summers, the chicken stand would light a wood smoker early in the morning. Imagine a massive pit with a 15 foot rotisserie spit spread across. On the spit were 20 perfect chickens, bound together with twine, seasoned with BBQ seasoning (Bucks), and gently rubbed in butter. The chickens would slow roast over the smoky embers for a couple hours, until the meat fell off the bone. *Fell off the bone* Imagine a slow roasted pork butt shredding between your fingers- that's what this chicken is like. This isn't a chicken with flavor reserved only for the skin, or the chicken that requires a heavy coating of sauce to be called barbeque. The meat itself is infused with smokey flavor, and the slow roasting melts the tendons to lock in moisture. Equally moist white and dark meat- impossible to achieve in the oven without dissecting the bird before it's fully cooked.

Yesterday, I encountered the infamous Upstate NY chicken for the first time in over 5 years. What the hell was I thinking, skipping all of those summer family visits? The chicken alone was worth the flight (and grandma too).

Here's a picture of Kick-N-Chicken in Palermo, NY. The pit has been replaced with a wagon. Clearly this ain't your Kroger dual chicken electric rotisserie.

Grandma with the birdies