Grilled Korean BBQ Sauce Black Pepper Chicken (韓國燒烤醬黑椒雞胸肉, Hon4 Gwok3 Siu1 Haau1 Zoeng3 Hak1 Ziu1 Gai1 Hung1 Juk6)

This is an easy to make grilled chicken recipe using a bottle of prepared Korean barbeque sauce intended for beef. I’ve got a few bottle of Korean barbeque sauce in my pantry to use when I don’t feel like making my own sauce from scratch. Other ingredients are added to the marinade and the chicken is marinated for 24 hours before the marinade is discarded. Ground black pepper is then used to coat the chicken. If you’re really pressed for time, just use the bottle of Korean barbeque sauce and marinade for at least one hour before discarding the marinade, and coating with ground black pepper. The results won’t taste quite the same, but the chicken will still be tasty.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

6 lb.	3 kg.	Chicken breast meat (雞胸肉, gai1 hung1 juk6)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
4 cloves	4 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
17 oz.	480 g.	One bottle of your favorite Korean barbeque sauce (韓國燒烤醬, hon4 gwok3 siu1 haau1 zoeng3)
4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
		Ground black pepper (黑椒, hak1 ziu1) to coat the chicken

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
4 qt.	3.8 L.	Covered bowl
		Tongs and an oil coated paper towel
22.5 in.	57 cm.	Covered charcoal or gas grill (or larger)

 

Instructions

1. Prepare the chicken breast meat by removing any excess fat and remaining yellow skin. Ideally all the yellow skin was removed during the vendor’s chicken cleaning process, but some always remains and will prevent the marinade from penetrating the skin. Use your fingers and rub any remaining yellow skin from the chicken under cold running water.
2. Marinate the chicken in a covered container for at least 24 hours, turning the chicken halfway through the marinating time to make sure the chicken is fully coated, in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, Korean barbeque sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking and discard the marinade. Coat the chicken surfaces with ground black pepper.
3. Prepare the charcoal or gas grill for indirect cooking following the manufacturer’s instructions. Light the charcoal or preheat the gas grill accordingly. Soak the smoking wood (oak or pecan goes well with this dish) for one hour if desired. I use dry and not soaked wood.
4. If using a charcoal grill, arrange the lighted coals on one half of the grill. The side of the grill with the coals (the “hot” side) will not be used and the side without the coals (the “cool” side) will be used for smoking the chicken. For a gas grill, follow the manufacturer’s instructions as to which burners to leave on for indirect cooking. Clean the grill to remove any leftover charred bits from the last use and with a folded paper towel coated in oil, use tongs to lubricate the grill. Put the smoking wood onto the coals or as per the instructions for the gas grill.
5. Place the chicken, skin side up, on the cool side of the grill and cook the breasts for 35-45 minutes covered. Remove the chicken from the grill and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before optionally serving with lime wedges. The temperature of your fire and previous experience with your grill will determine the total cooking time for the chicken.