Summer might be winding down, but the grill in our yard still beckons. Barbecue chicken never gets old, especially when paired with a homemade rub and a bold homemade sauce.

Smoky chipotle chiles paired with a dark, rich fruit prove a match made in barbecue heaven. This summer, we’re nestling dried cranberries among the smoky chile, sweet tomato and honey in our sauce. Red miso adds a mysterious note of umami and a perfectly salty edge to the sauce.

For an impressive presentation, I’m a fan of grilling halves from small chickens. Halves also prove quicker cooking and easier to turn and flip than the trendy spatch-cocked birds (a whole chicken without a backbone, grilled splayed open). Most butchers will cut the chickens in half for you — simply ask them to remove the backbone and cut in half through the breastbone. It’s fairly easy to do this yourself with good kitchen shears and a chef’s knife. Save the backbone (and any neckbones and giblets from the cavity) to use to make chicken broth.

Three to four-pound chickens, halved, cook in less than an hour. To speed things up, cook cut-up chicken parts, such as thighs, drums and bone-in breasts; the timing will be closer to 40 minutes. Both the rub and the sauce enhance lean boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs as well; reduce cooking times on these cuts to about 25 minutes.

Make the chile rub and the barbecue sauce several days in advance to keep the meal preparations under control. Always take care when basting any sauce onto cooked meat so as not to add any raw meat juices to the entire batch of sauce. I usually pour a 1/2 cup of sauce into a dish and then use a heatproof brush to glaze the chicken moments before it’s ready to come off the grill. The sugar in barbecue sauces burns easily, so apply it after the meat is cooked and leave it on the grill just long enough to glaze everything.

Serve the sweet and spicy glazed chicken hot off the grill or chilled. Cobs of buttered sweet corn and a bowl of crisply-cooked green beans make this a summer meal to remember.

This recipe serves about eight guests. Leftover grilled and sauced chicken tastes great, diced and sprinkled over a leafy green salad with dried cranberries, corn kernels. croutons, diced cucumber and avocado. Drizzle on a bit of the barbecue sauce and some mayonnaise or ranch dressing for a terrific summer salad.

Cranberry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

Makes about 3 cups

Note: This sauce sports a mild-medium heat. After cooking, taste the sauce and add more chipotle as desired.

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup dried cranberries, about 3 ounces

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons dried onion flakes

1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon red miso paste, optional

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon pureed chipotle chile in adobo, or to taste

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Put all ingredients and 2 cups hot water into a deep, large saucepan. Heat to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to very low and simmer, uncovered, stirring often, 25 to 30 minutes.

2. Cool. If desired, puree smooth with an immersion blender or batches in a blender. Refrigerate covered up to two weeks.

Barbecued Chicken Halves with Cranberry Chipotle Glaze

Makes 8 servings

Note: If desired, swap 4 to 5 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts for the chicken halves and reduce cooking time to 30 to 35 minutes.

2 small young chickens, each about 4 pounds, giblets removed, patted dry

For the chipotle and brown sugar salt:

2 tablespoons each: coarse (kosher) salt, dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon each: ground cumin, crushed Mexican oregano

1/2 teaspoon each: chipotle chili powder, dry mustard, freshly ground black pepper

Smoked paprika

To finish:

About 1 1/2 cup cranberry chipotle barbecue sauce, see previous recipe

Chopped fresh parsley and green onions

1. To halve a whole chicken, use a sharp knife, or kitchen shears to cut out the backbone. Lay the chicken out flat on a cutting board. Use a large chef’s knife to cut chicken in half through breast bone. Arrange the chicken halves on a baking pan and smooth the skin over the pieces nicely.

2. For chipotle and brown sugar salt, mix salt, brown sugar, cumin, oregano, chipotle chile powder, mustard and black pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture generously over the chicken. Sprinkle chicken with paprika. Refrigerated loosely covered for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

3. Preheat a gas grill to high. Or prepare a charcoal grill and let heat until coals are covered with gray ash; arrange coals on two sides of the grill for indirect cooking. Put the cooking grate in place and let it heat for 5 minutes.

4. Clean the grate with a wire brush or scrunched up aluminum foil. If cooking on gas, turn off the center burners to reduce heat to medium (350 degrees if you have a grill or oven thermometer). If using a charcoal grill, adjust the air vents to have a medium grill.

5. Place the chicken, pretty skin side down, on the grill but not directly over the heat source. Cook, covered, without turning for 35 to 40 minutes. Carefully flip the chicken, cover the grill. Cook without turning for 15 minutes. Chicken should be mostly cooked and slightly firm when pressed with a finger.

6. Start saucing the chicken by coating one side with sauce and turning the pieces over. Cook covered 5 minutes. Baste again with sauce. Then cook, covered, another 5 minutes. Repeat to glaze the chicken and until juices run clear, 5 to 10 more minutes.

6. Serve garnished with chopped parsley and green onions.

(JeanMarie Brownson is a James Beard Award-winning author and the recipient of the IACP Cookbook Award for her latest cookbook, “Dinner at Home.” JeanMarie, a chef and authority on home cooking, Mexican cooking and specialty food, is one of the founding partners of Frontera Foods. She co-authored three cookbooks with chef Rick Bayless, including “Mexico: One Plate at a Time.” JeanMarie has enjoyed developing recipes and writing about food, travel and dining for more than four decades.)

©2025 JeanMarie Brownson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.