Post #558773 by jokeiii on Sat, Oct 9, 2010 8:16 AM

As I rummaged around the "Tiki Drinks and Food" threads, I found that some of them were a bit cluttered and some of them had a bit of...uh...tension going on.

Now, I am of two minds on this. On the one hand, just because you're a Tiki-ista, doesn't mean you can't enjoy Mexican or Bulgarian or East Elbonian food without losing your Tiki License. On the other hand, there are lots of other places where people can get information about BBQ or pasta, etc., but bloody few places where we can find information on Tiki food.

So I decided to do the Goldilocks thing. Start a couple of threads for people to post details exclusively on Tiki food (and I will NOT go down the rabbit hole of trying to define it :wink: ) so that those who seek such information can find it in an uncluttered way. This thread, for example, is all about posting individual recipes for particular Tiki foods. I've set up another one for people to post their links to articles and recipes for Tiki food. Other food related posts can go wherever else they normally go.

Sounds simple, friendly, clean and easy, right?

(Here's my first. Ahem.)

My default Huli-Huli Chicken is:

Chicken & Marinade:
2 qts. water
2 c. soy sauce (I prefer San-J reduced sodium, and NOT because it's reduced sodium!)
1 T. peanut oil
6 garlic cloves, minced as fine as your patience will allow
1 T. grated fresh ginger
2 chickens (about 8 pounds total) carved up as you see fit...halves, into quarters, etc.

Glaze:
18 oz. pineapple juice, fresh is best, from cartons is fine and from cans only if you are REALLY desperate and don't mind the taste of tin.
¼ c. packed light brown sugar
¼ c. soy sauce
¼ c. ketchup (I like Heinz Organic)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. grated fresh ginger
2 t. chili-garlic sauce

2 cups oak (or hickory) wood chips, soaked for as long as you can stand it, 15 min. at least

A- Marinate Chicken. Combine water and soy in a large bowl. Heat oil in large sauce pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir into soy sauce mixture. Add chicken and refrigerate, covered, for at least 1 hour or up to 12 (8, if you are using "regular" soy sauce).

B- Make Glaze. Combine pineapple juice, sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, ginger and chili-garlic sauce in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer until thick and syrupy (you should have about 1 cup), 20-25 minutes.

C- Prep Grill. Seal wood chips in foil packet and cut vent holes in top. Open bottom vents on grill. Light about 75 coals. When coals are covered with a fine gray ash, spread evenly over the bottom of the grill. Arrange foil packet directly on coals. Set cooking grate in place and heat, covered with lid vent open halfway, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 5 minutes. (For gas grill, place foil packet directly on primary burner. Heat all burners on high, covered, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-low.) Scrape and oil the grate. You can use the broiler, sans chips, if you absolutely had to.

D- Grill Chicken. Remove chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange skin side up on grill (do not place chicken directly above foil packet). Grill, covered, until chicken is well browned on bottom and meat registers 120 degrees, 25-30 minutes. Flip chicken skin side down and continue to grill, covered, until skin is well browned and crisp and thigh meat reaches 170 to 175 degrees, 20-25 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to platter, brush with half of the glaze, and let rest 5 minutes. Serve, passing remaining glaze at table.

Hope that helps!