Huli Huli Chicken
If there's one grilled chicken to try, it's Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken. "Huli-huli" means "turn-turn" and was well known as a "Hawaiian-only" food. Now, you can easily make it right at home.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken breasts, or thighs, boneless and skinless
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup soy sauce, regular strength
- ¼ cup sherry
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Optional: thinly sliced green onions, grilled pineapple rings
Instructions
- Use paper towels to dry the chicken pieces well. Use a fork to pierce chicken pieces throughout. Place in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, sherry, ginger, garlic, and pepper. Reserve 2/3 cup of marinade for a basting sauce.
- Pour rest of marinade over the chicken. Turn chicken pieces to thoroughly coat well. Cover and chill overnight, or at least 8 hours. Turn chicken over once during marinade time to ensure even marinating.
- Drain/discard used marinade from chicken pieces. Grease your grill and heat to medium-high heat.
- Grill chicken 4-5 minutes per side, or just until center is no longer pink; do not over-cook. Baste with the 2/3 cup reserved marinade during the last couple of minutes during grill time - if you start basting too early, it will be more likely to burn.Serve with grilled pineapple rings and freshly sliced green onions, if desired.
Notes
- We recommend chicken thighs for extra tenderness, as they're much more forgiving if you accidentally overcook them. If you use chicken breasts, the key to tenderness is to avoid over-cooking.
- Sherry provides a complex depth of flavor and helps tenderize the meat. If you can't find sherry, you can use rice cooking wine.
- If you need a non-alcoholic option for sherry, you can use unsalted chicken stock; note that the flavors will be somewhat different. If using chicken stock, we do recommend adding in 1/4 cup real pineapple juice, for the acids.
- Prep time listed does not include resting/marinade time.
- See original article for delicious serving ideas.
- If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating ❤️
Nutrition (per serving)
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 317mg | Potassium: 883mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 69IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg