Thai-Style Grilled Chicken – Sizzling Summer Series

Long summer evenings provide ample chances to rest by the pool and grill fresh food to enjoy. Soon these longer hours will shorten and cooler temperatures will take over, so the Sizzling Summer Series is here to help you take advantage of the end of summer. Next up is Thai-Style Grilled Chicken, a tender and flavorful preparation bringing the aroma from the streets of Bangkok to your own backyard. Featuring authentic flavors from Thailand and served with a Thai-Style Sweet Chili Dipping sauce, this recipe is sure to become a family favorite.

Begin preparing the marinade by mixing garlic, cilantro, sugar, white pepper, coriander, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, and lemongrass until it forms a thick paste. Lemongrass, cilantro root, and fish sauce are signature flavors of Thai cooking, but here the cilantro root is replaced by cilantro stems as it is often hard to find. The halved-chicken is threaded onto metal skewers to make it easier to handle, and rubbed with the marinade paste placed in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. The chicken is beautifully grilled over indirect heat to retain maximum moisture. The sweet chili dipping sauce combines red Thai bird chiles, garlic, fish sauce, brown sugar, white vinegar, and lime juice bringing a addicting sweet and spicy explosion to dip the succulent chicken. This is one of the best tasting dishes you can pull off the grill, perfect for a sizzling summer day.

Serves: 3-4

Thai-Style Grilled Chicken Ingredients

  • 6 medium cloves garlic
  • 12 sprigs cilantro, including thick stalks
  • 3 tablespoons (45g) palm or light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons (10g) ground white pepper
  • 1 teaspoon (5g) ground coriander
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) fish sauce
  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) dark soy sauce
  • 2 (3-inch) segments lemongrass (optional)
  • 1 whole chicken, spine removed, split in half along the breastbone
  • 1 recipe Thai-Style Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Thai-Style Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

  • 10 to 12 red Thai bird chilies, finely minced (see note below)
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely minced (about 4 teaspoons)
  • 1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
  • 1/2 cup palm or light brown sugar sugar
  • 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Thai-Style Grilled Chicken Directions

  1. Combine garlic, cilantro, sugar, white pepper, coriander, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, and lemongrass (if using) in the bowl of a food processor. Process until a rough paste is formed. Set aside.
  2. Place chicken halves flat on a cutting board. Insert 2 metal skewers into each chicken half, running parallel through legs and breasts. Transfer chicken to a baking dish that just fits them. Rub on all surfaces with marinade. Cover, transfer to refrigerator, and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
  3. When ready to cook, set half 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 grilling grate.
  4. Place chicken, skin side up, on cooler side of grill, with legs facing toward hotter side. Cover grill, with vents on lid open and aligned over chicken. Open bottom vents of grill. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 140°F (60°C), about 45 minutes. Carefully flip chicken and place, skin side down, on hotter side of grill, with breasts pointed toward cooler side. Cover and cook until skin is crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 145 to 150°F (63 to 66°C), about 3 minutes longer. (Be careful, as the skin is very prone to burning.) If chicken threatens to burn before temperature is achieved, carefully slide to cooler side of grill, cover, and continue to cook until done. Do not leave lid off for longer than it takes to check temperature, or chicken will burn.
  5. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Carve and serve with chili dipping sauce.

Thai-Style Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

  1. Combine all ingredients in a small sealable container. Shake well, set aside, and allow sugar to dissolve, shaking every 10 minutes or so. When sugar is fully dissolved, store in refrigerator until ready to use. Sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Note: Use gloves while chopping chilies and carefully scrub cutting board when finished.

Taken from SeriousEats.com
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/07/thai-style-grilled-chicken-recipe.html

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