Grilled Huli Huli Chicken is flavorful, smokey, sweet and (gulp) moist. I know my hatred of that word is nearly universal, but it just had to be said. Using a super simple marinade of ingredients probably in your pantry, this chicken is different than my go-to grilled chicken and a welcome addition to the party.
Huli Huli Chicken
A friend of mine introduced me to Huli Huli Chicken, and I was intrigued just by the name. What is a Huli? And can I just have the one Huli if I’m not that hungry? (Name that movie). Anyway. When I googled “Huli” I learned that the Huli people are from Papua New Guinea. I am highly skeptical of their connection to this chicken, but there’s a little nugget of trivia for you anywho. According to the giver of all knowledge (wikipedia) Huli Huli chicken is a Hawaiian style of cooking chicken, involving barbecuing chicken and basting it with a sweet sauce. That sounds about right.
What really makes this chicken special is the marinade. At least 4 hours or preferably overnight, marinate your chicken in most of the mixture. The magic happens with the cup of marinade reserved for later. You’ll baste this marinade over the chicken in it’s last 5 minutes of cooking, and the resulting sticky sweet sauce is out of this world.
I highly recommend tossing some pineapple wedges on the ol’ barbie while you’ve got it heating up. The chicken, smokey pineapple, and rice all combined with the to do for marinade and sauce is absolutely delicious.
Grilling: It’s Not Just For Summer
I know conventional grill season is winding down. But I am a champion for the cause of year round grilling. Light ’em up, people. And if you can’t, I suppose you can make this on a grill pan indoors, or in a skillet. I wouldn’t make it in the oven, as it’s likely to be a real smokey mess with the basting situation.
Do you grill in the winter? Or do you just relegate yourself to dry chicken during the winter months? I am told that grilling in the winter requires more gas or wood pellets or whatever, but it’s worth it, people. Every week, I grill up a whole flat of chicken for salad, sandwiches, dinners, etc., and it’s such a lifesaver. I loved this leftover chicken on a salad with mandarin oranges, pine nuts, and green onion. Yum.
Get to grilling! Need more reasons to fire up the grill off season? You gotta try my Tacos Al Pastor and my Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Stuffed Chicken– they are meals that made me famous*!
*famous among a very small circle of relatives. It counts.
Grilled Huli Huli Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts, if you prefer)
- 1 c unsweetened pineapple juice
- 1/2 c soy sauce
- 1/2 brown sugar + extra for pineapple
- 1/3 ketchup
- 1/4 chicken broth
- 2 tsp fresh ginger root grated or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 pineapple sliced into spears
- Green onions for garnish
Instructions
- Combine pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, chicken broth, ginger, and garlic in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Reserve 1 cup for basting. Add chicken to bag and marinate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Heat grill (or grill pan or skillet) to high heat. Slice pineapple into long spears and rub with brown sugar. Cook chicken for 6-8 minutes on each side, if using thighs, 10-15 if using breasts. Add pineapple to grill in the last 10 minutes of cooking, rotating once. Use a pastry brush to baste with reserved marinade several times in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Serve with rice or quinoa, green onions, and pineapple.
This is going on my menu for this week!!! I love grilling (anytime) and with pineapple?!? Mmm. Cooked fruit is one of me favorite things.
I looooove grilled pineapple, and it’s SO good with this chicken!