Kevin’s honey-mustard barbeque chicken with corn and tomato salad

Photographer: Emma
Serves 4

There’s something liberating about dusting off the barbecue after a long, cold winter. It’s a sure sign summers on its way, and with it come long, lazy lunches and al fresco dinners while basking in the sunset.  As it is barbeque month at OurKitchen it was only fitting to ask one of our work mates Kevin at our Huntington Beach (California) office to provide a recipe fit for a grill. Honey mustard chicken is typically American but can just as easily be added to our repertoire here in the Southern Hemisphere.

For best results Kevin suggests to use hickory wood chips in your grill – it will infuse both the chicken and the corn with a sweet smokiness that will leave your guests wanting more.

Here’s what Kevin had to say about this recipe:

During my time helping the team design the Titan Wall oven I learnt how good chicken could taste when aero (or fan) grilled. This type of oven grilling would sear the outside of the chicken quickly and keep the meat tender and moist on the inside. But really my favourite way to cook meat is outdoor grilling for the fact that the smoke infuses the food and that the whole process requires minimal clean up. This summer I rediscovered the ease cooking chicken drumsticks on my grill.

I can’t remember where I read this particular recipe, but it’s very quick and simple, in fact it became a staple dinner of mine this summer. Like a lot of vegetables that are cooked over the grill, corn picks up so much flavour – it’s almost like roasting it in the oven. The chicken is served with a no-fuss, zesty but sweet salad which can be prepared while the chicken is grilling. Unlike Johnny Utah from the movie Point Break, I do leave the skin on the chicken; smothered in honey mustard dressing I think it’s definitely the best part. The skin also acts as a doneness indicator as when the chicken is cooked through the skin will pull away from the end.

 

INGREDIENTS

Salad
6 corn cobs, husks removed
1 tbsp olive oil


1 onion, sliced thinly and rinsed under cold water
2 large, 6 roma or 12 cherry tomatoes, chopped into large chunks
1 cup basil leaves, roughly torn
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Rock salt and black pepper to season


8 pieces of chicken (thighs or drumsticks work best), skin on

Honey mustard glaze
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp thyme, chopped


Fresh crusty bread to serve

METHOD


1. Rub the corn cobs with 1 tbsp olive oil and place onto the barbeque grill set to medium heat, turning every few minutes until the corn is cooked through and has charred a little in places (if your barbeque has a hood, keep it down in between turning in order to infuse a smokey flavour). Take the corn off the grill and set aside to cool.
2. Turn up the heat on your grill to medium-high. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and then sear the pieces on the grill for a couple of minutes each side.
3. Lower the heat on your grill to medium and cook the chicken pieces for 20 minutes (if your barbeque has a hood, lower it).
4. After 20 minutes of cooking, brush the chicken liberally with the honey mustard glaze. Cook for another 5 minutes, turn the chicken and reapply the glaze. Cook for further 5 minutes, check the chicken is cooked right through and then remove it from the heat.
5. Slice the corn kernels off the cob and combine them with the sliced onion, tomatoes, basil and thyme.
6. Whisk the remaining oil with the lime juice, salt and pepper and pour over the salad ingredients.
7. Lightly toss the salad just once or twice to combine and serve immediately with the barbeque chicken.