Chicken Maracucho
Venezuelan Ginger Chicken Thighs
For a typical Venezuelan taste, we first marinate these tender chicken thighs for a couple of hours in a fragrant adobo made of lime juice, brandy, fresh ginger slices, fresh garlic, cummin and black pepper. We then grill these babies cowboy style until they are a nice and tender golden brown.
You could use any cut of chicken meat for this Latin barbecue recipe, and you can also use this adobo on whole chicken or chicken skewers. We use skinless chicken thighs because they are so nice and juicy and tender.
Barbecue Chicken Maracucho with Caraotas Negras,
fried platanos and white rice.
Ingredients
For this Venezuelan barbeque chicken recipe you'll need the following ingredients:
| 3 pounds |
| 1 cup |
| Chicken in parts (we use chicken thighs here) |
| Adobo Maracucho |
Adobo Maracucho - Venezuelan Marinade
An adobo is a spicy Latin marinade, mostly on the basis of freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice. We use this adobo recipe for marinating pork and to make Chicken Maracucho.
Preparation of the Chicken
1. |
Wash the chicken parts under cold running water (If you want to do this really proper, wash the chicken in water with vinegar) and blot dry using paper towels; |
2. |
Marinate the chicken parts in the adobo for at least two hours, but preferably overnight. |
The Barbecue !
Juancho's Split Grill
To obtain sustained lower heat and improved temperature control, and to increase the grate area and be able to accommodate more meat
or larger cuts, I developed an improved hot smoking method whereby the Weber Grill is set up for indirect grilling on one side.
"Cowboy Barbecue"
"Cowboy barbecue is a cross between grilling and smoking. You start the meat over the coals and move it when the color is right - then finish cooking it with indirect heat."
From the book "Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook" by Robb Walsh (page 144)
With Juancho's Split Grill
you can first grill your meat directly over the hot coals on the left,
then move it to the cooler area to the right, close the barbecue lid, and let the meat cook to perfection
without the risk of charring.
On the Grill !
First, the chicken thighs are grilled directly over the glowing hot charcoal briquettes.
This will take about one minute per side, just enough to create a crispy skin and grill marks.
Second, once these chicken thighs have had their skin slightly roasted and grill marks burned in,
move them to the cooler area of the grate, away from the fire.
Close the barbeque lid and let the meat cook to perfection by
indirect grilling.
In this particular case we cooked these chicken thighs for half an hour with the bottom air vents of our Weber Gold set at 50% open. (we always keep the air ventilation holes in the lid of the barbecue fully open)
Chowtime!
Time to attack! Venezuelan Ginger Chicken Thighs grilled by the Cowboy Grill method.
The PitBoss Suggests:
Caraotas Negras - Venezuelan Black Beans
This traditional and very savory Venezuelan Black Beans Recipe is a perfect companion for almost any Western style barbecue main course.
