Hickory-Smoked Chicken Breasts and Potato Salad

Mark came home a bit late last night so dinner need not be Mamoy-friendly (he was asleep long before I even fired up the grill. He had to settle for Gerber - just for the night).

Normally, I go old-fashion with bbq marinades but we wanted to try out the new McCormick line of "insta-food mates" - I forgot what they were called, they're bound to be available in supermarkets -plus, you'd be hard-pressed to find hickory wood chips here, so I just used the pre-packed marinade instead.

Ingredients:

Chicken BBQ
1 package McCormick Smoked Hickory BBQ Marinade
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 kilo chicken breasts (I used the pre-cut Magnolia pack, no more hacking)
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp water

Potato Salad
1/2 kilo potatoes washed and peeled
Miracle whip mayo (I don't use any other brand, doesn't taste like proper salad to me when I do)
1/2 block of cheese, cut into small cubes
2 tbsp pickle relish
1 small red onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper, as needed

Preparation:

Combine the marinade mix with oil in a glass bowl or large plastic bag. Set aside a few teaspoonfuls for basting.

Add the chicken meat, turning to coat all sides. Marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes, or longer for extra flavor. --> I started working on my chicken Monday night so I sorta over-marinated it.

Combine the remaining marinade mix with the melted butter, this will be your basting liquid.

Before grilling the chicken, I placed my spuds in a pan of water and left it on the stove over medium flame.

Taking a cue from many roadside bbq places, I used one of our fans to keep the grill in high heat. You need to work fast when using big fans though, otherwise you'll run out of charcoal before you finish cooking your meat and it will definitely be covered in ash.


I forgot to put oil on the grill before placing my chicken breasts on it resulting to ugly striations where the meat got stuck on the metal. Tsk.

Grill the chicken on high heat for 8 minutes, let it spend about 2 minutes on each side (basting on every turn). After 8 minutes, move the meat to a part of the grill with medium heat and allow it to finish cooking at a lower temperature.


The potatoes were good to go after I finished grilling so I set it aside first - wrong move! I should've drained the potatoes and placed them in the fridge to stop the cooking. My spuds became too mashed-potatoey and it made tossing very difficult.

Combine the mayo, onions, and pickle relish in a large bowl. Add the potatoes and cheese. Toss gently. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave in the fridge for 2 hours or more. --> Had to stick mine in the freezer for 30 mins because Mark was already on his way home. Don't leave the salad in there for more than that, otherwise, you'll have popsicles.

The Verdict:

According to Bobby Seale (self-professed bbq guru), the secret to moist and juicy barbecued meat is constant and liberal basting. Since I don't have a basting brush, and I didn't feel like making one using banana leaves, I opted to dip the meat into the basting sauce instead. Made me realize that I need a good brush... and a nice pair of tongs too so I don't mangle the meat.


The food may not look appetizing on screen but it sure tasted great. It would've tasted better had we eaten it while it was hot but it WAS GOOD EATIN' NONETHELESS. Naks, I'm a bbq master! Next time, I'll try glazing the meat after grilling. Need to remember to buy Worcestershire sauce.