A taste of home

I'm not sure if this is a Central New York thing, or if it happens elsewhere in rural America, but where I grew up there is a tradition of chicken barbecues to raise funds for local volunteer fire departments. The firemen set up a massive grill, generally in the driveway of the fire house, and the most delicious smoke billows down the road attracting locals and anyone passing by. The typical chicken dinner consists of a half chicken marinated and slathered in a vinegar-y salty herbal sauce, baked beans (presumably from a giant can, but I don't really know for sure), salt potatoes swimming in melted butter, and a soft, fluffy roll. Are salt potatoes a Central New York thing? I have never seen anyone eat them any place else. They are small white potatoes boiled in heavily salted water. In fact, the bag of potatoes comes with a little plastic baggie of salt. In my house the extra salt this little baggie would be saved, out of, um, let's say 'economy' and used when the regular salt ran out. Or, more often, until it's contents were accidentally spilled after months of sitting at the bottom of the refrigerator (Mami's) or the back of the cupboard (Papi's). Anyway, the potatoes are boiled in very salty water until soft, at which point they are permeated with saltiness and the skins, where exposed to air, get a slight salty crust. Then, to ensure arterial damage, they are drenched in butter. I never really ate them, because I am not crazy about potatoes. I never ate the baked beans, either. Syrupy and bland with cloying artificial smoke flavor and boring mushy texture? Not thank you.

But the chicken is a different story. Oooh the chicken was fabulous! Crisp skin, juicy, tender meat, and the salty, slightly acidic, smokey flavor. Heavenly. But, not living in Central New York, or really every wanting to have to visit, I miss out on the firemen's barbecues. Until now, it has always been a price I was willing to pay. But now Wegman's carries the sauce that all of the fire companies use, and I have a way to recreate the delicious chicken of my youth without the trip. It is so good we had it twice in the past week, once with fresh grilled sweet corn, and once with a caprese-ish salad of spring mix, tomatoes and basil from the garden, and fresh mozzarella drizzled with a little bit of olive oil and balsamic.