I’ve never been a dark meat sort of guy when it comes to my poultry, but a while back I got a great deal on a package of chicken thighs and made some sort of roasted dish that the kids loved. Figuring that you can’t knock a good thing, I decided to play around with another chicken thigh dish. This one is killer if I do say so myself.
Recently I’ve become a big fan of brining meats, as it not only imparts flavor, but it pretty much guarantees the protein will be moist even if one forgets to check on the BBQ while cooking. Beer does that.
The only problem with brining meats is that it does require a certain amount of forethought, as you can’t take your meat out of the freezer in the afternoon and then cook for dinner. Don’t worry though, the extra thought involved is well worth the effort.
Brine the thighs
Brine
1 gallon of water
2/3 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 dozen or so chicken thighs
Caribbean seasoning. Make your own or use store bought. We love the variety of flavors available from Toronto’s Cool Runnings. In this case, we used their “Meat seasoning”.
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a big pot.
Whisk them all together until salt and sugar are combined. Voila, brine is ready. Drop the chicken in the pool and then put the whole deal back in the fridge. Let them swim around in there for an hour or two. Two is better.
Some BBQ fanatics will tell you to bring the brine to a boil to allow the salt to fully dissolve. In theory, they are correct. The problem is that the brine has to cool completely before the chicken is added. It takes a LONG time to fully cool a big pot of boiling liquid. If you have the time to plan for this, then go for it. Most folks don’t usually have that time.
Time to BBQ
Remove chicken from the brine, drain well and put in a large baking dish. Liberally coat all sides of the thighs with seasoning, wrap with plastic wrap and return to the fridge for a half hour or so.
Meanwhile, preheat the BBQ so that it is nice and hot.
Put the chicken on the grill, close the lid and turn the heat down to med-low. After about 5 minutes, open the lid and give them a turn. Close the lid and leave them for another 4-5 minutes. Check to make sure they are done and then remove them.
Serve with rice and veggies and you can’t go wrong.
