FOOD FRIDAY!

CAPE VERDE CHICKEN

Today promises to be a tank top and shorts day, and I will be spending most of it outside tending the garden. First there will be some fun, running to the garden center to buy some flowers and herbs and planting them, then some necessary maintenance work, dealing with the maple helicopters in the back garden and in a few rain gutters. It's all in the balmy and fragrant spring breezes, though, so whatever I end up doing it will be a treat.

I call today's dish "Cape Verde Chicken" because the islands is where I first had it. I've since learned, though, that the marinade is actually Brazilian--makes sense, given the constant interflow between the two countries. There is a proper Brazilian name for it which for the life of me I cannot find now, but maybe somebody out there can supply it and give credit where it's due. By any name or nationality, it's a treat and goes down easy.

This particular recipe is entirely my own invention, using the technique of simultaneously brining and marinating I learned from Cooks Illustrated. I've become a huge fan of brining--it deepens the flavor of any meat and helps it retain moisture, for a more tender end product. Notes: Since you're brining, and the salt opens the meat both to its own flavor and to that of the marinade quickly, don't leave the chicken in the marinade for more than 2 hours, or the outcome will be too salty. Also, don't salt the chicken when you grill it. The salt is already there. As for the sugar: it also lends depth of flavor, and it encourages carmelization on the grill. The grilling itself: you'll notice in the picture there is very little browning on the chicken. That's because I grill using the "indirect method," with the coals banked on one side of the grill and the meat placed opposite. You'll get a better char if you spread the coals all over the bottom of the grill and place the meat directly over them, but you'll also have less control over the amount of char you end up with. I go for the easier, but less browned technique, but it's up to you.

Marinade:

1 cup lime juice

minced zest of one lime

2 tbsp. table salt

2 tbsp. sugar

5 or 6 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1 chicken, 3 or 4 lbs., cut up

In a small container with a tight cover, shake salt and sugar and garlic in lime juice until the salt and sugar are dissolved and the garlic is well infused. Add olive oil and shake again, forming an emulsion.

Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade for later use. Place chicken in a zip-lock plastic storage bag and pour remaining marinade over it. Close the bag and marinate the chicken no longer than 2 hours. Remove chicken from marinade. Place chicken on rack to dry at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Coat grill with cooking spray and lay over coals. Place chicken on grill, skin side down, cover, and cook 20 minutes. Turn chicken skin side up, baste with reserved marinade, and cook an additional 20 minutes. Remove chicken from grill to serving platter and baste again, while still very hot, with marinade. Let chicken rest 10 minutes, baste again, and serve.