The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (218 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

We wanted glazed chicken breasts with tender meat and crisp, lacquered skin. Brining the chicken breasts before grilling helped ensure juicy, seasoned meat. For the glazes, we balanced sweet ingredients, like molasses and sugar, with bold flavors, like chipotle chiles, ginger, and curry powder. To keep the glazes from burning on the grill, we followed our method for
GRILLED BONE-IN CHICKEN BREASTS WITH BARBECUE SAUCE
, first searing the breasts over high heat, then moving them to the cool side of the grill, where we brushed them with the glaze in the last few minutes. For extra flavor, we reserved half of the glaze for serving.

SERVES 4

If using kosher chicken, do not brine in step 1, and season with salt as well as pepper. Remember to reserve half of the glaze for serving.

1.
Dissolve salt in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge chicken breasts in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Season chicken with pepper.

2A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL:
Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.

2B. FOR A GAS GRILL:
Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s). (Adjust primary burner as needed during cooking to maintain grill temperature around 350 degrees.)

3.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken on hot side of grill, skin side up, and cook (covered if using gas) until lightly browned on both sides, 6 to 8 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking. Move chicken, skin side down, to cool side of grill, with thicker end of breasts facing coals and flames. Cover and continue to cook until chicken registers 150 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes longer.

4.
Brush bone side of chicken generously with half of glaze, move to hot side of grill, and cook until browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Brush skin side of chicken with remaining glaze, flip chicken, and continue to cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 2 to 3 minutes longer.

5.
Transfer chicken to serving platter, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving, passing reserved glaze separately.

MAKES ABOUT
³⁄
₄
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
GRILLED GLAZED BONE-IN CHICKEN BREASTS

For a spicier glaze, use the greater amount of chipotle chiles.

Combine orange zest and juice, chipotle, shallot, and thyme in small saucepan. Whisk in molasses and cornstarch, bring to simmer, and cook over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Reserve half of glaze for serving and use remaining glaze to brush on chicken.

MAKES ABOUT
³⁄
₄
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
GRILLED GLAZED BONE-IN CHICKEN BREASTS

Reduce the amount of salt in the brine to ¹⁄
₄
cup when using this glaze.

Combine water, soy sauce, mirin, ginger, and garlic in small saucepan, then whisk in sugar and cornstarch. Bring to simmer over medium heat and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes; stir in scallions. Reserve half of glaze for serving and use remaining glaze to brush on chicken.

MAKES ABOUT
³⁄
₄
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
GRILLED GLAZED BONE-IN CHICKEN BREASTS

Whisk all ingredients together in bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reserve half of glaze for serving and use remaining glaze to brush on chicken.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

For evenly cooked, moist, tender chicken legs and thighs with dark and crisp skin, we seared the chicken over a medium-hot fire and then moved it to a medium-low fire to finish cooking. Rubbing the chicken with a spice paste prior to grilling proved far more satisfactory than marinating. We also found that brining the chicken seasoned and slightly firmed up the texture of the meat in little time.

See “TRIMMING LEG QUARTERS” illustrations that follow recipe.

SERVES 4

Chicken leg quarters consist of drumsticks attached to thighs; often also attached are backbone sections that must be trimmed away. Brining improves the chicken’s flavor, but if you’re short on time, you can skip step 1 and simply flavor the chicken (see the paste recipes that follow).

1.
Dissolve sugar and salt in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge chicken leg quarters in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Season chicken with pepper.

2A. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL:
Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (6 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour two-thirds evenly over grill, then pour remaining coals over half of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.

2B. FOR A GAS GRILL:
Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-high.

3.
Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken on grill (hotter side if using charcoal), skin side down. Cook (covered if using gas) until well browned on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking. Move chicken to cooler side of grill (if using charcoal) or turn burners to medium-low (if using gas). Cover and continue to cook, turning occasionally, until chicken is dark and registers 175 degrees, 16 to 20 minutes for whole legs and 12 to 16 minutes for thighs.

4.
Transfer chicken to serving platter, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

MAKES ABOUT
¹⁄
₂
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
MAHOGANY GRILLED CHICKEN THIGHS OR LEGS

Process all ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth, about 20 seconds. Rub paste generously under chicken skin and grill as directed.

MAKES ABOUT
¹⁄
₃
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
MAHOGANY GRILLED CHICKEN THIGHS OR LEGS

Process all ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth, about 20 seconds. Rub paste generously under chicken skin and grill as directed.

MAKES ABOUT
¹⁄
₂
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
MAHOGANY GRILLED CHICKEN THIGHS OR LEGS

Process all ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth, about 20 seconds. Rub paste generously under chicken skin and grill as directed.

MAKES ABOUT
¹⁄
₂
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
MAHOGANY GRILLED CHICKEN THIGHS OR LEGS

Combine all ingredients in bowl. Grill chicken as directed, brushing some spice mixture on both sides of chicken while chicken cooks on cooler side of grill.