Dutch Oven Pepsi Chicken

Our family likes to camp and cook dutch oven meals. I am always looking for new dutch oven recipes to try out when we are camping. This is one recipe that our family likes me to cook that we keep making each year because everyone in the family likes it. When we go camping with my wife’s family we each take turns cooking a breakfast and dinner at least once during the campout. This allows the extended family members to relax and enjoy each other company while the meal is being prepared. Each family ends up cooking less meals by dividing each meal by family. Dutch ovens are great for cooking for larger groups like this since they can feed a lot of people. A 12 inch 6 quart dutch oven can feed around 12-14 people so you do not need many pots of food to feed a large group. This Pepsi Chicken recipe was told to me by my friend and co-worked Clyde Miller and I have made variations of this dish many different ways depending on what people like and what ingredients that I have on hand when I am cooking. I don’t always follow a recipe exactly and I use them more as a roadmap which allows me to take scenic byways from time to time and try new flavors.

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts
1-Red, 1-Yellow and 1-Orange Pepper
1 large onion
1 package of mushrooms
1 20 oz bottle of Pepsi
1 bottle of your favorite BBW sauce. I am using Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce but I have also used Kraft Honey BBQ and many other ones. They all taste great.
4 tablespoons cornstarch for thickening the broth (or more depending on how thick you like your sauce)
4 tablespoons of cold water
Cooked rice (optional)
12″ dutch oven
Charcoal

Directions

Prepare the chicken breast by trimming off the fat and any tendons that my be still attached to the chicken breast. Cut the chicken breast into 4 – 6 pieces depending on the portions size that you would like to server.
Place the cut up chicken on the bottom of the dutch oven.
Cut up the peppers, onions and mushrooms and place them on top of the chicken
Pour the bottle of Pepsi and BBQ sauce into the dutch oven and place the dutch oven lid on the pot.
Start igniting at least 19 charcoals using a chimney. I have about 24 charcoals started so that I can add extra heat if needed due to wind or coolness of the air.
Place 9 charcoals in a circular form with 1 briquette in the middle. Place the dutch oven on the charcoal and make sure that all charcoal is under the oven. Place the remaining 13 charcoal briquettes on the top lid of evenly space out. This will generate approximately 350 degree Fahrenheit. This is known as the 3 up, 3 down method that can be used for most dutch ovens to produce 350 degrees Fahrenheit. This dish contains a lot of liquid so this can also be cooked using an outdoor cooking stove set at medium heat.
After 10 minutes turn the lid 1/4 turn to the right and then turn the full pot 1/4 turn to the left. Repeat this process during the remainder of the cook. This help make sure that there in not a how spot that is cooking the food too fast in one location. Several time during the cook take off the lid and stir the bottom of the pot to make sure that it is not burning on the bottom
This should take about 45 – 60 minutes to cook. Cook until the chicken reaches a temperature between 160 – 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
5 minutes before the chicken is done, prepare the thickening agent. Combine the 4 tablespoons cornstarch and 4 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour this mixture into the dutch oven to thicken the sauce. Continue stirring and cooking for another 3-5 minutes as the sauce thickens and get nice an bubbly. Take it off the heat source and serve.

This dish can be served over rice or in a bowl like a stew.