Miami Chicken

Here's one of those summer favorite recipes. This time of year its a nice reminder of summer, so its something different to make to stave off cabin fever. A tangy change from that sweet BBQ taste in a bottle, Miami Chicken is good baked, broiled or grilled. You'll get a slightly different flavor depending on how you cook it and what kind of chicken you use.

On the grill I like bone in chicken but boneless works as well. You'll use the sauce as a mariinade and then baste frequently to build a lovely glaze and seal in the flavorable juices. Under the broiler, I find boneless chicken will cook much more evenly than bone in chicken, but I've done both. Here, the sauce is a marinade, and then you'll baste two or three times getting a bbq type sauce, but not as much of a glaze as the grill will give you. Just baking in the oven, I use skinless and sometimes boneless chicken because you're going to get a sauce that will not be as sticky, and the skin creates far too much fat drippings for my liking.

Whatever chicken you use, this makes about 2 cups of the sauce/marinade. I think its supposed to work well for 2 pounds of chicken, but I tend to go heavy on my sauces so I use about a pound and a half of chicken per batch of marinade. 

Make sure you wash and dry off your chicken before starting. Salt and Pepper the chicken lightly. Once you have asssembled the ingredients and created the sauce, you'll want to marinade the seasoned chicken it  in for a while. Usually I go between 20 minutes and 4 hours, in the fridge. Of course the longer you soak the chicken, the more flavor it will have. Once you go to cook the chicken this sauce will become a sauce or glaze. Only use sauce that is cooked, throw away the portion that is uncooked.

If Grilling, turn the chicken often (5-7 minutes) and baste with the sauce each time. Grill for 30 minutes or until the chicken is done and the juices run clear.

If Broiling the chicken, you'll want to watch it doesn't burn. The cooking works similar to grilling, turning and basting every 10 minutes until the chicken is done. If you cut back the brown sugar by a tablespoon it will be less likely to burn using this cooking method.

If Baking, Double line the pan (it should have a lip around the edges) with foil. Cover the chicken with sauce, using about half of it. Cook about 15 minutes at 350 degrees before turning the chicken over and covering it with the remainder of the sauce. Bake another 15 minutes or until done. once you have put the chicken on a platter for serving, use the foil to lift the resulting sauce out and pour over chicken for serving. I serve this with a spoon in case folks want a little extra sauce with their meal.

This also is good made with chicken wings for a party.

Miami Chicken Sauce

About 1/2 cup tomato ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. oil
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 &1/2  tsp. dried basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced

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