At My Kitchen Table: Grilled Chicken
Outdoor grilling is fun - except when it's not. And it's not fun after dark. You can't see what you're doing! Given our tendency to eat after dark, even in the summer, I came to find grilling a royal pain in our weekend-house days. It's generally illegal in Manhattan - open fires must be kept at a functionally impossible distance from any structures - but of course people break the law all summer long. I am not tempted.
The broiler in a gas oven - basically a rack set beneath the fire - is not an effective substitute for an outdoor grill. You can't see what you're doing! Unless, that is, you keep opening the broiler and letting heat escape. But broilers are perfectly good for grilling meats. Top-quality steaks require no more than a dusting of salt and pepper, but most meats taste better if marinated for a few hours ahead of time.
Here's a tasty way to grill chicken. Combine about a half-cup of canola oil, three tablespoons each of sesame oil and soy sauce, and the juice of one lime. Blend very well. Fill a gallon plastic bag with thighs, drumsticks and wings. Pour the marinade into the bag, seal the bag well, and turn the bag several times to coat the chicken. Stow the bag in the refrigerator for at least three hours. When it's time to fix dinner, open the bag and set aside as many pieces as you intend to serve; store the rest in smaller bags of three or four pieces each, and freeze it.
There's no point in stipulating a cooking time. You'll just have to rely on the good old chicken-doneness test: when the juices run clear, the chicken is ready to eat. With practice, you'll be able to tell from the degree of burn on the chicken skin. Sometimes, when I'm unsure of serving time, I bake the chicken in a 350º oven for twenty minutes before running it under the fire. Either way, if you cook the chicken properly, it will be succulent at the table.
Gas oven note: the temperature in a gas oven is controlled by a sensor that shuts off the flames when the desired temperature is reached. The fire, in other words, is not like that on a stove ring - adjustable. It's either on or it's off. For temperatures below broiling, this alternation is called "cycling." Time was, when gas ovens did not cycle when set to broil: the fire stayed on until you turned the oven off. My newer oven, though, cycles even during broiling, and I find that I have to crack the oven door to keep a steady flame. If you're stuck with an electric oven, you've got my deepest sympathies.
