recipe and crook by Adam Abada
photo by Kevin Horn

Ingredients:

• 1. Chicken (I used two packages of thighs – about 3 lbs)
• 2. Soy sauce
• 3. Orange juice
• 4. Salt
• 5. Brown sugar
• 6. High heat cooking oil (I used avocado)

Directions:
Sorry to all the heads out East for this winter grilling recipe, but I always liked grilling in the snow anyway. There are unlimited ways to cook chicken. For this, I used boneless, skinless thighs (expert tip: bone-in has more flavor). Thighs are the fattiest, juiciest, and therefore tastiest part of the chicken. As widespread as cooking chicken is, there are some nearly non-negotiables. Let’s get into it.

1. First non-negotiable: Get that bird salted and in whatever marinade you want as soon as possible. Overnight, ideally. I like to use a 1:1 mix of orange juice and soy sauce then a few pinches of brown sugar, coating the pieces in a metal mixing bowl, covering it, and storing in the fridge. Like TI says, you can have whatever you like. The longer it’s soaking in flavor, the better. Simple but important, and easy to sleep on. If you even just salt your chicken overnight and follow this method, you’ll be on your way to somc tasty eatin.

2. Second non negotiable: Let your chicken sit about half an hour to get close to room temperature, then get the grill heated. We’re going to use two temperatures, so with a traditional charcoal grill, get your coals hot then pile them up to one side, tapering them off to the middle, leaving the least on the opposite side of the mound. This will be your low heat section – the denser mound will be our searing section for later. With propane: hear it on medium until the temperature is about 350° Fahrenheit, then lower all but one burner to low heat.

3. With a cooking brush, coat the grill with whatever high heat cooking oil you got around. We don’t want the meat sticking.

4. Third non-negotiable: Make sure it’s hot enough in there! Repeat: 350°. A beginner’s mistake is to overheat the grill, so keeping an eye on this carly stage is important. Once the grill is heated, place the chicken skin side up on the low-heat part of the grill. The grill should be hot enough to sizzle it a bit but we’re not trying to deep sear it yet. Don’t touch it. This is important. The less you touch the chicken while it’s cooking, the better. Cover and let sit for 8-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your chicken. Occasionally I like to dribble some of the marinade back on it, but it’s not necessary. What’s important here is to not couch the chicken too much and squeeze the juice out.

5. After the chicken is pretty cooked through, beginning to char around the edges and brown up on top we are ready to flip it over to the hot side of the grill. Make sure your coals are piled or turn the medium burner up all the way for a minute or two before moving the chicken. Flip it onto that hot side of the grill. It should sear and flare up a bit – that’s OK. If you develop a grease fire, that’s not OK and probably means your chicken or marinade is dribbling too much. Cook for another 3-7 minutes on the sear side, depending on size

6. If you have a meat thermometer, you want the internal temperature no less than 165° Fahrenheit.

Thighs can handle a bit more heat since they’re a little less tender. I’ll shimmy a test piece off and check done-ness with that, usually.

7. This recipe yields enough for three or four meals.

Pair with whatever side you want. The human body can only break down about 30 grams of protein at a time and each chicken thigh has roughly 20 grams, so one and a half is a serving sweet spot, if you are keeping track of that. Enjoy!