(Yes, I know, the Monday recipe is late, again.)
This is a dish that took more time to cook, and more time to type up, than to prep. It was a beautiful breezy cool day, so I wanted to eat chicken - I don't know why - perhaps a pleasant memory? But the darn bird is frozen solid and takes days to defrost - so I went to the local Hannaford's and picked up a four-pack of thighs.
The thighs were stuffed with one small onion, grated; three (should have used more) garlic cloves, grated; the zest of a small lime. They were marinated in 1/4 cup of white wine and the lime juice.
The thighs were trimmed and boned out; a bit of the onion mix was placed in the center. Gave them a bit of salt. (And these cost all of $2.57!)
Rolled and ready for marinating.
Into plastic and refrigerated for four hours. At this point, I'm thinking it may have the potential to be a good party dish.
The bundles were tied together, salted, and just less than a tablespoon of butter placed on each - the twine helps hold it there - this was an homage to Julia Child's chicken "butter massage". Lots of cracked black pepper.
The bundles were placed on my trusty warped pizza pan with fresh tomatoes - I am collecting the drippings for sauce. No chilies or hot stuff, it's supposed to be all about the bird.
Did I mention that this would be going on the grill? I placed a probe in the center of one bundle and set it to 170f. The temperature of the Big Green Egg was 300f.
In one hour and ten minutes, at 170f, I removed the bundles from the pan and set them directly on the grill to brown. Because they were marinated, I wasn't expecting them to get crispy, but I did want to make them look delicious.
I let them rest under foil and a heavy towel to keep warm while I worked the sauce.
The drippings and tomatoes simmered away at a low boil. I smashed up the tomatoes until they fell apart while the sauce reduced. Tasted, salted, removed from the heat. This took about 8-10 minutes.
I strained the sauce, and used a spatula to push the solids through.
I have to be honest, I could tell that this was commodity poultry, and the lack of "chickeniness" in the flavor was disappointing - I mean, I WAS craving farm-raised chicken, after all.
Other than that, the thigh was moist - onion/garlic with a hint of citrus, appropriately delicate - and that sauce? Wow! It was smokey, buttery, savory; it took everything upscale. The sweetness of the fried cherry tomatoes fit right in. I will be making this again.
There is an accompanying gratin recipe that I'll post tomorrow.
