CHEF SILVIO’S Grilled Teriyaki-Citrus Chicken Thighs

      

May 24, 2019

 

When our sister store in Duxbury closed last fall, we inherited Silvio, a fantastic, experienced and hard-working chef.  Among other tasks, he is daily charged with filling our ‘hot case’ with tasty ready-to-eat treats.  This is one of his dishes.   

 

It’s easy cooking:  combining grilling with a quickly-made flavorful marinade/sauce and finishing the dish in the oven.

 

It’s batch-cooking, great for Memorial Day entertaining.

 

 

  • Prep: 30 mins
  • Cook: 30 mins
  • Yields: 6-8 portions

Ingredients

Marinade/Sauce:

1 cup teriyaki sauce (your favorite brand)

1 ½ cups water

½ cup sweet or dry sherry (optional: if not using increase water to 2 cups total)

4 cloves fresh garlic, roughly chopped

2-inch piece fresh gingerroot, peeled and thinly sliced

4 strips of orange peel

Juice of one orange

1/8th teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Optional: 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce

Vegetables:

1 or 2 sweet white onions, about 1 pound (Vidalia onions are in season and are sweet & delicious)

4-5 sweet bell peppers, mixed colors, about 2 ½ pounds total weight

2 tablespoons canola oil

Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Pinch kosher salt

½ bunch scallions, washed, dried & sliced on the diagonal into 2-inch lengths

Chicken:

3 pounds boneless & skinless chicken thighs

1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions

Prep & Cooking:

Combine all the ingredients of the marinade together (except the soy sauce) in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to barely simmering. Simmer for only 5-6 minutes. Set aside off heat. Taste, if it needs more salt, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and taste again. (Add the soy sauce judiciously.)

Wash and dry the bell peppers. Cut the tops off the peppers, close to the stem so you don’t waste any pepper. Cut each pepper into 4-quarter-pieces and then cut each quarter piece lengthwise into ½-inch strips. Set aside.

(n.b. I find that watching YouTube for short videos of cooking techniques to be very helpful.

A picture’s worth a thousand words, right ???)

Peel the onions, remove the stem and root ends. Cut each onion in half and slice into ¼-inch slices. Set aside.

Light the grill. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grab a sheet pan or large plate and coat lightly with 1 tablespoon canola oil.

With a paper towel, pat dry each piece of chicken thigh. On a clean cutting board, ‘inspect’ each piece and trim off visible, excess fat. Feel for any small pieces of cartilage and remove. My pieces were about 6-7 inches long so I cut them in half. Put each cleaned & trimmed piece of chicken on the oiled tray. Turn each piece to coat both sides. Sprinkle with merest hint of kosher salt.

Heat a large skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons canola oil and all the sliced onions. Stir to sauté and soften the onions. Season with salt & pepper. When almost translucent, add the sliced peppers and cook until softened as well. Season to taste.

Grab a pair of tongs and take the pan of chicken to the grill. Lay each piece of chicken thigh on the grill and cook, turning only when ‘meat’ releases from the grill. Grill both sides, briefly.

Lay the grilled chicken pieces in a roasting pan or oven-proof casserole dish. ‘Shingle’ the pieces in the dish; that is, overlap slightly. Strain the marinade/sauce over the chicken. (Discard the solid pieces in the strainer.) Don’t completely cover the pieces in sauce. (Save the extra sauce!) Put the dish in the oven and roast/braise for 20 minutes. Test with an instant-read thermometer—it should read at least 165 degrees.

 

 

To serve:

 

Re-heat the sautéed peppers and onions.  Spoon them out onto a warmed platter.  Cover with the cooked chicken pieces and some sauce.  Put extra sauce in a bowl and serve alongside.

 

Garnish with sliced scallions.   Serve a bowl of rice alongside as well.

 

 

 

 

 

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