Huli Huli Chicken - Recipe and Pron

Saiko · 03-22-2010, 05:47 PM

Besides being fun to say, Huli Huli Chicken is a tasty grilled chicken commonly found at roadside stands in Hawaii. There are tons of recipes out there, and as usual I just kind of read through them all and then develop a recipe based on the most common ingredients I see. Pretty much every recipe had shoyu (soy sauce) and ketchup, and most had pineapple and brown sugar.

If you are going to give this a try, I highly recommend using mesquite as your only wood to get the traditional flavor. In Hawaii they use Kiawe (which some people claim IS mesquite, but I feel it is much milder). Since Kiawe is so hard to get in the mainland, mesquite is close enough.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup shoyu (soy sauce, I use Trader Joe's low sodium)
1/2 cup pureed fresh pineapple
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 TBSP rice vinegar (I'm using seasoned as it's the only rice vinegar I have)
1" fresh ginger, grated or finely minced
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 whole chicken cut up (I'm using 5 leg quarters)

I haven't tried it, but you could try substituting 1/4 cup pineapple concentrate mixed with 1/4 cup water if you have trouble finding (or paying for) fresh pineapple.

Mix all the marinade ingredients together. Pour about a 1/2 cup in a gallon freezer bag along with the chicken to marinade. Since I'm using soy, I'm keeping the marinade time down to an hour, I feel that soy can take over if left in a marinade too long.

My cooking method is a combination of offset smoking for about an hour and then finishing with high heat grilling (my poor man's version of Moose's reverse sear technique). If you don't feel like dealing with the offset, you can just straight up grill it, but it won't has as much smoke flavor.

Here I have a combination of charcoal and Kiawe embers on one side of the kettle, chicken on the other side. Bottom vents will be only about 1/4 open, top vents wide open. Basting and rotating every 15 minutes. Temps were from 250-275 for this stage. Not using any kind of diffuser cause I don't really care about temps for this cook.

Almost an hour in, thigh temps are around 160 so moving on to the grill stage.

After an hour, spread the coals out and finishing with a sear until thighs are 180 degrees with more basting.

And the finished product. Very tasty! Wifey wants more pineapple taste and less soy, but I like it as is. Give it a shot, if anything you get to say Huli Huli Chicken all day when family asks you whats for dinner.

If you are interested, my technique for creating a bed of charcoal and hard wood embers in kettle can be found here:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=80529

Bluesman · 03-22-2010, 06:00 PM

I have used the Huli Huli from Hawaii, that a freind brought back. Very, very good. Now I know how to make it. Thanks

NorthwestBBQ · 03-22-2010, 06:07 PM

I'd chow down on it.

Crüe-B-Cüe · 03-22-2010, 06:19 PM

Looks good to me. I'm gonna have to try that.

Moose · 03-22-2010, 06:36 PM

Mark,

That looks GREAT! I'm definitely going to try that before I run out of Kiawe wood!

ZILLA · 03-22-2010, 07:41 PM

I love the Huli Huli!! Looks great man!

keale · 03-22-2010, 07:47 PM

Mark, don't want to hijack your thread, try this basic recipe from here...
Huli Huli means "to turn"...which is what they do...normally they marinate chicken and put in wire racks, and cook like you said over Kiawe wood coals... turning several times, the chicken are about 3 ft above the coals... or you can smoke them or just grill them like usual...
(Local style: we don't put pineapple juice or pineapple)

5 pounds whole chicken (cut in half or spatchcocked) or leg quaters...
1/3 cup catsup
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons sherry
1 piece ginger root, crushed
1 clove garlic, crushed

Saiko · 03-22-2010, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keale

Mark, don't want to hijack your thread, try this basic recipe from here...
Huli Huli means "to turn"...which is what they do...normally they marinate chicken and put in wire racks, and cook like you said over Kiawe wood coals... turning several times, the chicken are about 3 ft above the coals... or you can smoke them or just grill them like usual...
(Local style: we don't put pineapple juice or pineapple)

Not a hijack at all and I appreciate the feedback. Pineapple purée/concentrate was only in about a third of the recipes I researched, but I also have the "wifey factor". She is not a fan of soy sauce and loves pineapple, so I knew if I didn't have pineapple she probably would't like it. Ya gotta do what you gotta do to keep the better half happy!

JD McGee · 03-22-2010, 08:15 PM

I remember Huli Huli Chicken from my Island days...most of the foks used 55 gallon drums cut in half and half chickens sandwiched between to lengths of expanded metal welded to two rods used to flip them. Good stuff Bruddah Smokah! I rate this thread 5 shakas...

Phesant · 03-22-2010, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JD McGee

I remember Huli Huli Chicken from my Island days...most of the foks used 55 gallon drums cut in half and half chickens sandwiched between to lengths of expanded metal welded to two rods used to flip them. Good stuff Bruddah Smokah! I rate this thread 5 shakas...

Ahhhh the Island days.....

That looks great Saiko.... I've been wanting to try doing this so thanx for sharing.....
MMMMMMMM.........mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

ricksegers · 03-22-2010, 09:39 PM

CB recently posted a recipe for Island pork that I am going to try and I have wanted a Huli Huli chicken recipe. An island meal is in the works. Dessert of grilled pineapple. Thanks for sharing the recipe Saiko. Your honey turkey brine is still my favorite.

Bigmista · 03-22-2010, 11:47 PM

WE have a guy at one of our markets that makes huli huli on a big rotisserie. I'll take pics and post tomorrow.

Saiko · 03-23-2010, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmista

WE have a guy at one of our markets that makes huli huli on a big rotisserie. I'll take pics and post tomorrow.

See if you can pry his recipe from him.

I have some pics somewhere I'll try to dig up of the traditional method of cooking Huli Huli, kind of what you are talking about. It's like a large rotisserie over a bed of Kiawe embers, and they turn whole chickens over the embers.

1FUNVET · 03-23-2010, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saiko

Not a hijack at all and I appreciate the feedback. Pineapple purée/concentrate was only in about a third of the recipes I researched, but I also have the "wifey factor". She is not a fan of soy sauce and loves pineapple, so I knew if I didn't have pineapple she probably would't like it. Ya gotta do what you gotta do to keep the better half happy!

Gotta keep the Boss happy.

NeoTrout · 03-23-2010, 09:27 AM

Another one to add to the to-do list. Thanks Guys. Aloha.

03-22-2010, 05:47 PM	#1
Saiko is Blowin Smoke! Join Date: 12-24-03 Location: Kennesaw, GA	Huli Huli Chicken - Recipe and Pron Besides being fun to say, Huli Huli Chicken is a tasty grilled chicken commonly found at roadside stands in Hawaii. There are tons of recipes out there, and as usual I just kind of read through them all and then develop a recipe based on the most common ingredients I see. Pretty much every recipe had shoyu (soy sauce) and ketchup, and most had pineapple and brown sugar. If you are going to give this a try, I highly recommend using mesquite as your only wood to get the traditional flavor. In Hawaii they use Kiawe (which some people claim IS mesquite, but I feel it is much milder). Since Kiawe is so hard to get in the mainland, mesquite is close enough. Ingredients: 1/4 cup shoyu (soy sauce, I use Trader Joe's low sodium) 1/2 cup pureed fresh pineapple 1/4 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup ketchup 1 TBSP rice vinegar (I'm using seasoned as it's the only rice vinegar I have) 1" fresh ginger, grated or finely minced 2 cloves garlic finely minced 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 whole chicken cut up (I'm using 5 leg quarters) I haven't tried it, but you could try substituting 1/4 cup pineapple concentrate mixed with 1/4 cup water if you have trouble finding (or paying for) fresh pineapple. Mix all the marinade ingredients together. Pour about a 1/2 cup in a gallon freezer bag along with the chicken to marinade. Since I'm using soy, I'm keeping the marinade time down to an hour, I feel that soy can take over if left in a marinade too long. My cooking method is a combination of offset smoking for about an hour and then finishing with high heat grilling (my poor man's version of Moose's reverse sear technique). If you don't feel like dealing with the offset, you can just straight up grill it, but it won't has as much smoke flavor. Here I have a combination of charcoal and Kiawe embers on one side of the kettle, chicken on the other side. Bottom vents will be only about 1/4 open, top vents wide open. Basting and rotating every 15 minutes. Temps were from 250-275 for this stage. Not using any kind of diffuser cause I don't really care about temps for this cook. Almost an hour in, thigh temps are around 160 so moving on to the grill stage. After an hour, spread the coals out and finishing with a sear until thighs are 180 degrees with more basting. And the finished product. Very tasty! Wifey wants more pineapple taste and less soy, but I like it as is. Give it a shot, if anything you get to say Huli Huli Chicken all day when family asks you whats for dinner. If you are interested, my technique for creating a bed of charcoal and hard wood embers in kettle can be found here: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=80529 __________________ "Whose chopper is this?" "It's Zed's." "Who's Zed?" "Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead."

03-22-2010, 06:00 PM	#2
Bluesman Babbling Farker Join Date: 01-01-10 Location: Planet Krypton Name/Nickname : Jon	I have used the Huli Huli from Hawaii, that a freind brought back. Very, very good. Now I know how to make it. Thanks __________________ 2010 22.5 WSM Weber Q200 1983 WGA 2010 Brick Red Touch n' Go Performer Kitchen stove

03-22-2010, 06:19 PM	#4
Crüe-B-Cüe is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 09-25-07 Location: Mobile, AL	Looks good to me. I'm gonna have to try that. __________________ Wes - Mobile, AL - Large Big Green Egg, MES 40

03-22-2010, 06:36 PM	#5
Moose somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 10-12-08 Location: Gallatin, TN Name/Nickname : Richard	Mark, That looks GREAT! I'm definitely going to try that before I run out of Kiawe wood! __________________ Moose *Showcase Your Cooking in the BBQ Brethren Throwdowns!* 2017's "Mayo Explosion" The 2022 Steak Cooking Controversy: Follow the Science! Check out my blog: www.mooseonfire.com

03-22-2010, 07:47 PM	#7
keale Babbling Farker Join Date: 04-17-07 Location: Kauai, HI	Mark, don't want to hijack your thread, try this basic recipe from here... Huli Huli means "to turn"...which is what they do...normally they marinate chicken and put in wire racks, and cook like you said over Kiawe wood coals... turning several times, the chicken are about 3 ft above the coals... or you can smoke them or just grill them like usual... (Local style: we don't put pineapple juice or pineapple) 5 pounds whole chicken (cut in half or spatchcocked) or leg quaters... 1/3 cup catsup 1/3 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup brown sugar 3 tablespoons sherry 1 piece ginger root, crushed 1 clove garlic, crushed __________________ To Eternity and Beyond! HE>i BBQ Brethren 22.5" WSM (1,000,000 post mod.) Weber Performer (169.00/brand new mod.) Weber Handles from www.amlwoodart.com UDS 22.5" Weber kettle, (refuse collector mod.) 18" Weber kettle (almost new craigslist $20 mod) "crest of a breaking wave" thats my name...

03-22-2010, 06:07 PM	#3
NorthwestBBQ somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 06-28-09 Location: Everett, WA	I'd chow down on it.

03-22-2010, 07:41 PM	#6
ZILLA is Blowin Smoke! Join Date: 12-01-05 Location: Universal City, Texas	I love the Huli Huli!! Looks great man!

03-22-2010, 08:15 PM	#9
JD McGee somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 06-28-07 Location: Duvall, WA	I remember Huli Huli Chicken from my Island days...most of the foks used 55 gallon drums cut in half and half chickens sandwiched between to lengths of expanded metal welded to two rods used to flip them. Good stuff Bruddah Smokah! I rate this thread 5 shakas... __________________ "The team formerly known as "Wine Country "Q"... PNWBA "Team of the Year" 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017... We cook on MAK Grills and Bullets...

03-22-2010, 09:39 PM	#11
ricksegers Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 08-11-03 Location: Island off the GA Coast	CB recently posted a recipe for Island pork that I am going to try and I have wanted a Huli Huli chicken recipe. An island meal is in the works. Dessert of grilled pineapple. Thanks for sharing the recipe Saiko. Your honey turkey brine is still my favorite. __________________ Rick Segers KCBS Certified Judge/Fl BBQ Assoc Certified Judge/MBN Judge

03-22-2010, 11:47 PM	#12
Bigmista somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 05-24-04 Location: Long Beach, CA	WE have a guy at one of our markets that makes huli huli on a big rotisserie. I'll take pics and post tomorrow. __________________ Wait! Bigmista wrote a cookbook? Rec Tec RT-700 Bull Pitmaker Vault Remembering Scott

03-23-2010, 09:27 AM	#15
NeoTrout is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 11-26-08 Location: Elmhurst, Illinois	Another one to add to the to-do list. Thanks Guys. Aloha. __________________ Steve [B]"Le Grille? What the hell is that?"[/B] Klose 20x48 Deluxe Offset Pipe Smoker Weber 22.5, Weber 22.5 w/Rotisserie Weber Performer, Weber Ranch Kettle, 18" WSM Weber Smokey Joe, Weber Homer Simpson Smokey Joe Bayou Classic Turkey Fryer, Blackstone 28" Griddle Brinkmann Smoke'n Grill, UDS, Weber 26" H-D FLHR

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