Barbecued Chicken with an Apricot Glaze

This is a sauce that's suitable for all meats but particularly chicken drumsticks. One important point is that drumsticks need pre-baking in a pre-heated oven for 15 minutes just before glazing and barbecuing.

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This recipe first appeared in The Delia Collection: Chicken.

Method

Begin by placing the apricots in a small saucepan with enough water to cover them, then bring them up to simmering point and simmer for 2 minutes. Now drain off the water and, as soon as they're cool enough to handle, slip off the skins (protect your hands with a cloth if they're too hot). Then halve and stone them and place the flesh in a blender or food processor, together with all the other glaze ingredients. Whiz everything to a purée and the sauce is ready. All you do now is arrange the drumsticks in a shallow dish, pour the glaze over them – turning the pieces of chicken so that each one gets a good coating – then cover and leave in a cool place until you're ready to cook.

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C). When you light the charcoal, pre-cook the chicken drumsticks for 15 minutes, then, when your charcoal is at the right heat, brush the drumsticks with the glaze and cook for about 5 minutes on each side about 3 inches (7.5 cm) from the coals. What we like to do sometimes is scrape any sauce that's left in the dish into a small saucepan, add a glass of white wine to it, and bring it all up to simmering point to give some extra sauce. Serve the barbecued chicken with a crisp salad and some very robust red wine!