Huli Huli Chicken
Picture by Pat Farrell
 

Every time my wife and I visit the Island of Oahu I make sure to find a Huli Huli chicken stand. It's common to be driving along and see a bunch of grills set up in a parking lot just off the roadway grilling up what to me is absolutely got to be the islands greatest hunger satisfier.

Below is my adaptation to the famous Huli Huli Chicken recipe; I substituted wild bee honey in place of the brown sugar. Any honey will do, mine came from Singing Winds Bee Hives; caringly nurtured and collected by my brother Tim Farrell of Richland Center Wisconsin. BZ brah!

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs chicken pieces (quarters or halves work well also)
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 honey
• 3 tablespoons sherry
• 1 piece (thumb sized) ginger root, crushed
• 1 clove garlic, crushed 

Recipe note: If Sherry isn’t desired substitute Apple Cider or Vanilla extract as follows: Apple cider is commonly used to substitute for sherry in cooking. It can be used in equal measure for the sherry called for in the recipe. If using apple cider vinegar, cut the amount to half of what is called for and replace the remainder with water.

Alternately, for every two tablespoons of sherry called for in a recipe, substitute 1 to 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

Preparation:

Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and let the flavors fuse together for about an hour.

Cooking Huli Huli Chicken on an outdoor grill is best but is also excellent when baked inside.

For baking inside, set oven to 350 degrees, arrange chicken, skin side up in a deep baking dish and bake for 1 hour until chicken is done.

Weather grilling or baking, Huli Huli BBQ sauce needs to be applied 10 to 15 minutes near the end of the cooking time.

Baste the chicken with two or three separate coats allowing each coat to caramelize prior to applying the next.

Continue this basting & baking  / grilling process for 10 minutes or until done to your liking. I do it until all the sauce is used.

Recipe note:  Take care not to let the sauce burn. A little charring is always tasty / desirable. 

Oven Baked - So Good

Picture by Kiara V. Hobson