Laquered Island Chicken

Note: If you can’t find sweet soy sauce, just add another 1/8 cup of soy sauce and 1/2 cup more brown sugar.

Combine all of brine ingredients, except the cold water and ice, in a stock pot. Whisk well until the sugar and salt are dissolved, then add the cold water and ice and stir to cool.

Add the chicken parts to the brine, cover the pot, and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

Bring the pineapple juice to a boil in a large non-reactive sauce pan. Reduce the heat to a high simmer and let it cook until the juice is reduced by half, stirring occasionally (about 30-40 minutes).

Reduce the heat to a low simmer, add the remaining sauce ingredients, stir well, and let it cook another 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and set aside to cool. Set a portion of the sauce aside to use after the chicken is cooked. Keep the rest in a container that you can take to the grill to sauce the chicken while grilling.

About 2 hours before you want to serve the chicken, start your grill and prepare for indirect cooking (heat to one side) over a medium fire (325-350ºF).

While the grill is heating, remove the chicken pieces from the brine and pat each dry with paper towels.

Add the chicken to the hot grill. Grill the chicken over indirect heat until the internal temperature in the thickest part of each piece is about 140ºF. Then gently remove the skin from each piece of chicken, brush each side with the sauce, and continue cooking with what was the skin side up.

Continue cooking, saucing each side about every 10 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.

Remove the chicken from the grill, tent with foil, and let it rest five minutes.

Brush each piece with with the reserved sauce, serve and enjoy!