If you take a drive around the Big Island of Hawaii, chances are you will pass a roadside BBQ pop-up in Kamuela making Huli Huli Chicken. As the vendor turns the chicken over and over, the smoke fills the air, and the aroma is mouthwatering. It makes driving past the stand impossible to resist. The trick was always to make it back to Grammie Lambie’s house in Waikoloa before breaking into the rich, delicious goodness. Which sometimes was impossible. 

For my entire life, Grammie Lambie was on a diet. She tried counting calories, the south beach diet, weight watchers, keto, and a low carbohydrate diet to keep the pounds at bay.  She spent most of her life hungry, yet disciplined enough to weigh in at 130 pounds or lower. That is until she would get in a car with that Huli Huli Chicken. Annie and I love to recall, with laughter, the many times that the chicken was devoured on a drive home, right out of the tin foil pouch. She would fall off the wagon, but bless her heart, she would be right back on it the next day and we would all eat light. 

You can imagine how excited Annie was to find a version of Huli Huli Chicken in the NY Times Food Section, and I’m grateful she shared it with me. It is the perfect dish for a summertime meal. Maybe go all in and break out the Hawaiian Mac Salad recipe (pg. X) and some watermelon fries to wow your friends. Or just pack it up and take it for a drive. It’s pretty good on the road.  

NY Times Alana Kysar – Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• ½ C Ketchup
• ¼ C Rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• ½ C Soy sauce
• ½ C Packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1-inch Piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 3 Garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated
• 4 lb Bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces
• Grapeseed or canola oil, for brushing the grill grate

Directions

• In a large bowl combine the ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger and garlic, and stir or shake until combined. Reserve and refrigerate ½ C of the mixture for basting the chicken later. 
• Add the chicken and remaining mixture to a gallon size Ziploc bag. Shake until evenly coated. Refrigerate overnight, or at least eight hours, turning the chicken at least once.
• When you’re ready to cook, oil your grill grates well. Heat the grill to medium (for charcoal, the grill is ready when you can hold your hand five inches above the coals for five seconds). 
• Add the chicken to the grill, cover, and cook for 25 to 35 minutes, turning every five minutes to keep the chicken from burning (huli huli literally means turn, turn). Baste with the reserved marinade after you turn it, until cooked through. (Cook times will vary depending on sizes and cuts of chicken pieces, so be sure to check for doneness: Meat should not be pink and the juices should run clear.) Serve immediately.