Mark Bittman’s How to Grill Everything–Huli Huli Chicken

Photo courtesy of Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Guess what’s for dinner tonight? I made this recipe once before and it’s time to make this delicious teriyaki-inspired dish from Mark Bittman’s How to Grill Everything again. Bittman says, “In Hawaiian, huli means ‘to turn,'” which is a reminder that the chicken needs to be turned occasionally as it cooks. The recipe calls for spatchcocking the chicken, but I used bone-in chicken breasts with skin.

Happy cooking, hon!

Huli Huli Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy sauce
6 Tablespoons sugar
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
salt ad pepper, optional
1 whole chicken (3-4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces or spatchcocked (I used chicken breasts on the bone instead.)
2 Tablespoons or more chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Whisk soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, and oil together in a large bowl until sugar dissolves. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired.
Trim excess fat and skin from the chicken without exposing the meat. Add chicken to the marinade and turn pieces to coat. Let sit at room temperature while preparing the grill. Or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
Start the coals or heat a gas grill for medium-high indirect cooking. Make sure the grates are clean. If using charcoal, put a drip pan under the direct portion of the grill; for gas, empty, clean and replace the fat trap.
Put the chicken on the indirect side of the grill skin side up, so the dark meat is as close to the fire as possible without any danger of fat dripping onto the flames or pilot lights. Put the breasts farther from the fire. Close the lid and cook, turning the pieces and rotating them 180 degrees for even browning after 15 to 20 minutes for breasts, 20 to 30 minutes for dark meat. Cook until the meat is no longer pink at the bone; depending on the size of the pieces, this can take 25 to 40 minutes total for the breasts and 40 to 50 minutes for dark meat. (Nick with a small knife and peek inside.)
Move the chicken directly over the fire, skin side down, to crisp up for 1 to 3 minutes; if using gas, first turn the heat down to medium. Transfer the chicken to a platter, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings