Huli Huli Chicken Recipe

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated August 30, 2018
20110629-159005-huli-huli-chicken.jpg
Joshua Bousel

I'll be going for the Hawaiian take on barbecue chicken this year.

Using the traditional method of roasting, then saucing a bird, Huli Huli chicken introduces a new set of flavors that is reminiscent of the American classic, but takes it to exciting new places.

First the chicken gets a soak in a soy sauce-heavy brine. Then it's smoke-roasted over a medium fire on both sides, producing a beautifully brown and crisp bird. The real magic comes with the final coat of glaze, whose pineapple juice base brings the island feel to this sauce.

The final product is a true triumph in barbecue chicken. It's smoky, juicy, fruity, sweet, and tangy—so many excellent flavors that come to together into bird that puts those standard tomato-based sauced chickens to shame.

Adapted from Cook's Country.

Recipe Details

Huli Huli Chicken Recipe

Prep 10 mins
Cook 35 mins
Active 60 mins
Marinating/Resting Time 70 mins
Total 115 mins
Serves 4 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

For the Brine:

  • 2 quarts cold water

  • 2 cups soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 6 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

  • 4 split chicken halves

For the Glaze:

  • 18 ounces pineapple juice

  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

  • 1/4 cup ketchup

  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

  • 1 teaspoon sriracha

  • 2 chunks medium smoking wood, like hickory or oak

Directions

  1. To make the brine, combine the water and soy sauce in a large bowl. Heat oil in large saucepan 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 a least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.

  2. To make the glaze, combine pineapple juice, sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and sriracha in empty saucepan and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until thick and syrupy, 25 to 30 minutes.

  3. Light one chimney 3/4 full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over entire surface of coal grate. Alternatively, set all the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Place wood chunks on one side of the charcoal. Remove chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange chicken, skin-side up, on the side of the grill away from the wood chunks.

    Cover and grill until chicken is well browned on the bottom and meat registers 120 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Flip chicken skin-side down and continue to grill, covered, until skin is well browned and crisp and thigh meat registers 170 to 175 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes longer. Flip chicken, brush with half of glaze, and transfer to a platter and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with remaining glaze.

Special equipment

Grill

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
710Calories
30gFat
44gCarbs
64gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories710
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 30g39%
Saturated Fat 8g38%
Cholesterol 172mg57%
Sodium 8230mg358%
Total Carbohydrate 44g16%
Dietary Fiber 2g6%
Total Sugars 29g
Protein 64g
Vitamin C 66mg328%
Calcium 135mg10%
Iron 5mg30%
Potassium 1347mg29%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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