Grilled Hard Ginger Ale Chicken Thighs

Hard ginger ale is used in the marinade in place of the usual Shaoxing wine to make this grilled chicken dish. Hard ginger ale provides a slight sweetness on its own, together with a slight ginger flavor. Regular ginger ale can be substituted, but I would also add some Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry to the marinade if this is done. The ginger flavor is enhanced by using fresh crushed ginger in the marinade. This is a really simple dish to make and you’re only limited by the amount of grill space on your barbeque.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 lb.	1.5 kg.	Chicken thighs (鷄髀, gai1 bei2)
1 in.	2.5 cm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
6 cloves	6 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
½ cup	125 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
12 oz.	355 ml.	One bottle hard ginger ale
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)

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 thighs 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, soy sauce, hard ginger ale, hoisin sauce, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
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 used to brown the chicken 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 chicken for 10-15 minutes covered. Uncover the grill and then move the chicken, skin side down, to the hot side of the grill to brown the chicken for 2-5 minutes. Turn the chicken over, skin side up, and repeat the procedure. Remove the chicken from the grill and allow to rest for 10 minutes. The temperature of your fire and previous experience with your grill will determine the total cooking time for the chicken.