Cooked as Diavolo, chicken is juicy with a spicy kick every time
We are in the middle of grilling season, and good grilled chicken has always been one of my favorites. I prefer bone-in chicken but will admit to overcooking the white meat almost every time. Then one day, while looking through William-Sonoma's "On the Grill" cookbook, a photo of beautifully browned chicken thighs sizzling away over hot coals caught my eye. The attached recipe was for Chicken Thigh Diavolo and promised juicy meat with a spicy kick. And the rest is history. I have made this recipe so many times since - each time with a slight adjustment - and my family loved it every time.
Does the word Diavolo sound familiar to you? You may have seen it on restaurant menus, most often describing pasta dishes containing Diavolo sauce, typically a rich and spicy tomato sauce served over pasta, often with shrimp or other seafood. While the name is similar, this recipe is very different but does use spices that can be spicy.
Please don't let the word spicy make you stop reading. Make no bones about it; this recipe brings some heat to your chicken. No recipe containing Cayenne pepper, chili powder and chili garlic sauce doesn't, but it is not as spicy as you might imagine. There is warmth and flavor, but I didn't find myself looking for a glass of milk to counter the heat.
Until finding this recipe, chicken thighs were not something I prepared regularly. So often the skin would turn out fatty and the meat would contain pockets of fat. But that changed with this recipe. At the same time, I'm not sure why; this chicken has perfectly crispy skin and is delicious every time.
Despite advising others to always read a recipe completely before making it, that is not always my practice. This recipe is an example of that. The first time I made it, I put all the seasoning together, without the water, creating a paste that I then rubbed all over the chicken before putting it all in a zipper top bag and refrigerating overnight. I also skipped the part of the instructions where you cook the chicken in the pan. I grilled them the entire time. You will notice this is not how the recipe is intended to be prepared at all, but in the end, it was still really good, albeit spicier than when it was prepared as written.
This was not the only time I didn't follow the recipe. I have made it with boneless chicken thighs. While it is still good, the cooking time is different, and you don't have the convenient handles (the bone) to help with eating it without a fork. But on the other hand, the spices have even more contact with the meat making it even more flavorful.
There is not much you can do to ruin this recipe. Since the thighs are dark meat, they are more forgiving than white meat when it comes to overcooking. I believe they also have more flavor.
I did not use wood chips when making my chicken, but I can only imagine how a little smokiness would add even more flavor. So, if you have some wood chips intended to be used for smoking on hand and try it, please let me know how you like it.
Diavolo is Italian and means devil, but don't let that scare you, as you can control how much heat your chicken has. The original recipe called for red pepper flakes, but I replaced them with the flavorful and less spicy chili garlic sauce. So if you like really spicy food, feel free to add some to yours. And, if you want lots of flavor and no heat, experiment by using less Cayenne.
So, if you share my former negative chicken thigh opinion, please try this recipe or at least the cooking method. You will not be disappointed.
I love hearing feedback and am willing to answer any questions you may have, so please drop me a line any time. Enjoy!
• Penny Kazmier, a wife and mother of four from South Barrington, won the 2011 Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge. Contact Penny at DhCulinaryAdventures@gmail.com.
Chicken Thighs Diavolo
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons paprika (smoked if you have it on hand)
2 teaspoons Cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon coarse salt (I used Kosher)
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (found in the Asian section of the grocery store)
½ cup water
3 pounds chicken thighs
1 to 2 cups wood chips, soaked for 30 minutes (optional)
Combine all ingredients, except chicken, in a nonaluminum bowl, and stir to combine. Place half of the sauce into a small serving bowl and set aside. (This will be served alongside the finished chicken.)
Rinse and dry chicken pieces. Using a sharp knife, score chicken skin to expose the flesh. Place chicken in a disposable aluminum pan and add remaining sauce, turning to coat well. Cover and refrigerate; allow to marinate at least one hour, but not more than four hours.
When ready to cook, remove chicken from refrigerator and allow to rest 10 minutes.
Drain excess marinade from pan and reserve marinade. Place chicken back in pan and place as directed below* onto hot grill, cover and cook until cooked through, approximately 30 minutes.
Remove chicken from pan and place on hot grill grate directly over heat and brush immediately with reserved marinade and then discard remaining marinade. Grill, turning often until nicely charred, roughly 5 minutes more.
Transfer to a platter and serve immediately with originally reserved sauce on the side.
Serves 6
Preparing your gas grill for indirect heat cooking:
Gas: Heat to high, place wood chips in foil packet or smoke box and heat until smoking. Reduce heat to medium-low by turning off a few burners. Place pan with chicken over unlit burners.
Charcoal: Arrange and prepare coals for indirect heating, and when ready, sprinkle soaked wood chips over hot coals. Place pan with chicken over cooler side of the grill.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma's "On The Grill" cookbook