Dressed to Grill

With another beautiful weekend approaching — and barbecue season in full swing, about a month early — we'd like to share our favorite recipe for grilled chicken. It's the best we've tried, and there are two things you can do to make it even better: use chicken legs from Maine-ly Poultry in Warren (available at the Orono Farmers Market and Rosemont Markets in Portland), and allow the chicken to marinate longer than the suggested 2 hours. Not surprisingly, the recipe is an adaptation from one of our favorite Maine cookbooks: "Stonewall Kitchen Harvest." So dig in and let the flavors of summer begin (even if the season won't really start for another month)...

Grilled Marinated Chicken with Herbs
Adapted from "Stonewall Kitchen Harvest"
Serves 4

4 whole chicken legs, cut into drums and thighs
1/2 cup white wine
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh lavender (leaves and flowers)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

In a plastic bag or large bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken and shake or whisk to blend. Add chicken, refrigerate, and marinate for at least two hours.

Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-hot (do NOT get a full, hot fire going; if using a kettle-style grill, such as a Weber, try to make sure that the coals are concentrated on one side of the grill, with a cooler area on the other side). Remove chicken from marinade, boil remaining marinade for 2 minutes and reserve for basting.

Place the chicken, skin side up, over the cooler side of the grill. Allow the fat to render for a few minutes, then flip so that the skin side is down. Cook for 20 minutes, basting regularly. Move the chicken to the hottest part of the grill and finish cooking, basting regularly — you'll want to keep an eye on the chicken to be sure the skin doesn't burn.

2 comments:

Kate. said...

oh yum, that sounds SO good- i can't wait to start grilling. and i really love the moxie fiddlehead illustration on your header right now.

Kristen said...

Thank you! I'll let our illustrator know. This recipe is SO good. The first time you make it, the slow cooking aspect on the grill makes it a little tricky, but patience pays!

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