Huli Huli Chicken

Born at a Hawaii fundraiser in 1955, huli huli chicken is the smell of every island roadside stand worth pulling over for. Huli means turn — the recipe is in the flipping, and the shoyu-pineapple glaze that caramelizes a little more with every huli.

Ingredients

• 3 lb chicken thighs, bone-in
• 1/2 cup shoyu
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 Tbsp grated ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed

Cook Sequence

1. Whisk the glaze. Reserve a third for basting; marinate the thighs in the rest, 2+ hours.
2. Build a medium two-zone kiawe fire (or run 400°F with chunks or chips smoking).
3. Start skin-side down over the cooler zone, lid closed, 5 minutes.
4. Huli — and keep flipping every 4–5 minutes, basting on every turn.
5. Pull at 175–185°F when the glaze is dark and lacquered. Rest 5, scatter green onion.

Round Out the Plate

• Hawaiian Mac Salad — the plate-lunch essential
• Coconut Rice — sweet counterpoint to the smoke
• Grilled Pineapple Salsa — bright and smoky