Spicy Pulled Chicken with Red Cabbage Pecan Cranberry and Apple Salad on Rosemary Garlic Potato Waffles

Spicy & Sweet Pulled Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 large whole chicken, about 6 pounds
• 2 onions, halved
• 3 cloves, garlic, peeled
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 bottle barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Preparation:

Wash and pat dry chicken. Coat cavity of chicken with cayenne pepper and allspice. Place onions, garlic, and herb sprigs inside. Prepare smoker. Smoke chicken for 6-8 hours, or until internal temperature reaches between 165-175 degrees F. (74-80 degrees C.)

Once cooked, remove chicken from smoker and set on a baking sheet. Allow to cool before pulling apart. Right before chicken has cooled, add 1 bottle of barbecue sauce with 1 teaspoon of hot sauce, and 1/4 cup of brown sugar into a large saucepan. Allow sauce to simmer on very low heat.

When chicken has cooled, remove skin, and shred meat. Place shredded meat into saucepan with barbecue sauce. Make sure the chicken is well coated with sauce before serving.

Red Cabbage Pecan Cranberry and Apple Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon spicy or Creole mustard
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium unpeeled Gala, Red Delicious, or Fuji apples, cored, quartered, and thinly sliced crosswise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups coarsely shredded red cabbage
• 2 cups coarsely shredded green cabbage
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted, optional
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Whisk both vinegars and mustard in small bowl. Gradually whisk in the honey and olive oil.

Toss apples with lemon juice, shredded cabbage, and dried cranberries. Add dressing and toss. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in pecans, if using. Refrigerate the salad and toss again before serving.

Rosemary-Garlic Potato Waffles

• 2 Russet potatoes
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion -- peeled and finely chopped
• 2/3 cup milk
• 4 garlic cloves -- peeled
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper -- to taste
• 2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

Peel, wash and cut the potatoes into uniform small pieces. Put potatoes and garlic in a large pot with cold water to cover. Add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Then lower heat and cook until potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of potato/garlic water.

While potatoes cook, heat olive oil, minced rosemary and chopped onion in a small skillet over low heat just until onion softens a bit. Transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Pour oil and onion over drained potatoes.

Add milk to still-warm skillet - just to take chill off - then pour milk over potatoes. Using a fork, a potato masher or a rubber spatula, mash potatoes with oil and milk. 

Add 1/4 cup of warm potato water, reserving rest, and continue to mash until mixture is smooth.

Taste potatoes and season liberally with salt and freshly ground pepper. Preheat waffle iron and finish batter by beating eggs into potatoes with a whisk or handheld mixer. Whisk together flour and baking powder and fold into potato mixture with a rubber spatula.

Lightly butter or spray waffle iron grids. (You can skip this step with well-seasoned or non-stick materials.) Scrape batter by half-cup measure onto hot iron, smoothing batter evenly almost to edge of grids.

Close iron and bake until brown and crisp.