Best Chicken Teriyaki Recipe Ever

[ecowper]

Well, okay, I only have one .... but it's darn good. Posting it for richinlbrg, who apparently has more chicken thighs than he knows what to do with. But figured others might enjoy it too. I cook this fairly frequently. It's inexpensive, not too hard to prep, and the whole family loves it.

One of the keys is that the chicken and sauce are cooked separately and you only add the sauce right as you serve. Also, this method leaves you with moist chicken and crispy skin.

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs (this will serve 3-4 people)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
2 TBSP aji-mirin rice cooking wine (can get in asian section of good grocery stores, usually)
1/2 tsp cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Prep grill for two zone cooking with indirect zone at 350
2. Debone the thighs, trim skin and excess fat, cut 3 diagonal slashes in skin so that the skin won't curl on you (make sure not to score the meat). Tuck meat under and lightly flatten all thighs to roughly the same thickness. Lightly salt and pepper the meat.
3. Cook thighs skin side up on indirect heat until temp taken with digital thermometer is 160
4. Get direct zone as hot as possible and put thighs over direct heat, skin side down. The idea here is to get the skin crispy and brown, not burned. You're going to have to watch carefully, because you can go from browning to burnt really fast. Move chicken around as needed to avoid flareups, burning, etc.
5. Once the skin is crispy and brown, time to slice the chicken. Cut the meat crosswise into 1/2 inch wide strips. I usually get 4 out of each thigh.

Sauce

1. Stir together soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sugar over medium heat. Bring to low boil.
2. Stir together aji-mirin and cornstarch until smooth. Add to simmering sauce.
3. Reduce heat and reduce sauce until you have a syrupy glaze that coats the back of a spoon.

Serving:

Serve two thighs and white rice on your plate. Drizzle teriyaki sauce over chicken thighs and rice, as desired.

Notes: for my family of 5, including 3 teenage kids, I do 18 thighs usually. This feeds all of us and gives us a few leftovers. I double the sauce recipe and we end up with leftover sauce. I like to get the skin to the point where it is potato chip crispy. That takes patience. Use aji-mirin in the sauce. It makes a big difference. Play around with the sugar in your sauce until it tastes right to you.

[richinlbrg]

Thank you, ecowper ! We'll start looking for the Aji-mirin. That will be the pacing item for us.

GREATLY appreciated!!

[ecowper]

Since you have Costco thighs, I normally use them myself. I use 1 full package (i.e. all 6 pouches), which willl give you 18-20 thighs. But this is for a family with 3 teenagers.

You're welcome. This is one of my favorite grilled chicken dinners. Not hard to make, just takes some patience on the grill is all.

[Ernest]

ecowper Have you looked at Aji mirin ingredients? It's pretty my glucose syrup. Try to find Eden Mirin, the difference is night and day in teriyaki

[ecowper]

I'll look at Eden Mirin ... thanks for the tip

[Medusa]

Yeah Ernest, I've learned there is a difference when a recipe calls for red or white wine not to use red or white "cooking" wine - DOH!

[Medusa]

Eden Mirin is Best Buy Recommended by CI. Don't know what I have, cuz the label has fallen off (time to replace!). Got it at Publix a long time ago.

[richinlbrg]

Tried this recipe tonight.
AWESOME!!!
Highly recommended!

[ecowper]

Awesome! glad you liked it. I think it's fun to cook, too

[Papa Bob]

here is mine simple and good


TERIYAKI MERINADE
1 CUP SOY SAUCE
½ CUP SUGAR
½ CUP DRY SHERRY
2 TEASPOONS GRATED GINGER
4 OR 5 CLOVES GARLIC (PRESSED OR FINLEY CHOPPED)
1 OR 2 JALIPENOS OR HABANERO CHOPPED FINE (YOU’RE CHOICE)

PUT ALL INGREDIENTS IN A SAUCE PAN AND HEAT OVER MODERATE HEAT TO MELT THE SUGER LET SIMMER FOR 5 MIN THAN COOL USE AS A MARINADE FOR ANY THING OR USE AS SAUCE FOR STIR FRY DIPPING SAUCE OR FOR WINGS

CHANGE IT UP A BIT ADD ½ CUP ORANGE JUICE OR ½ CUP PINEAPPLE JUICE SUBSTITUTE ½ CUP HONEY FOR THE SUGAR YOU GET THE DRILL MAKE IT YOUR OWN
ENJOY

WITH LOVE PAPA BOB

Hey ecowper have you ever thought about skewering your chicken thighs good and tight close together than putting on the counter and flattening with your palm for even thickness. works real good for a bunch, not so many to flip over a hot grill. I do these when I do a lot of most every thing.

[ecowper]

I'll try that next time I do this. Usually, by the time I've deboned 18-20 thighs I am more or less done with messing around with chicken ;-)

[Papa Bob]

you do save your thigh bones for stock?

[Medusa]

ecowper , your recipe sounds AWESOME!

[ecowper]

I got it from my sister-in-law, made a few changes and now call it "mine" ...... try it out .... I haven't bought teriyaki chicken since I figured out how to cook it myself.

[Ernest]

My Teriyaki sauce recipe:

Equal parts Eden mirin, honey, soy sauce and Sake. Grate some fresh ginger. That's it.

[Old Glory]

Similar to Kenji's

[BigJoe]

Folks,

Thank you all for the help and ideas.

[lostclusters]

I likes me some good Chicken Teriyaki! I'll have to try some of these, with Ernest's suggestion.

[ecowper]

You may be thinking that you are gonna just throw away the bones and skin and fat trimmings from getting the chicken thighs ready for teriyaki. But that would be a huge mistake. Instead, turn it into chicken stock!

You need your veggies and chicken parts to be a one to one ratio. I typically do 12 quarts of stock, which needs about 3 lbs each of veggies and chicken bones. 8 thighs ends up with about 1 lb of chicken parts. And since I usually triple this recipe (because I cook it for 8-10 people), I end up with enough bones :-)

Veggies - I use a classic French mirepoix, so equal parts carrot, celery, leek, onion. Dice ‘em all up evenly and then cook in a bit of olive oil until the veggies are tender. Add 5 or 6 minced or crushed garlic cloves. Cook until garlic is aromatic: 2-3 minutes. Add a bouquet garni of thyme, rosemary, basil and the leafy bits of the celery.

Chicken bones and skin. Spread out evenly on a cookie sheet covered in foil. Set broiler to high, put cookie sheet on the middle rack of oven and roast in direct for about 20 minutes. When the skin is browned and crispy, you are good. Toss all of that into your soup pot also. Fill with water. Bring to a boil. Now simmer all day. Skim the foam and scum occasionally.

Strain all the chicken and veggies out of the stock. Taste. Adjust salt. Simmer another couple hours, tasting and adjusting as needed. Don’t over salt. Your stock should never taste salty. It should get rich and deepen in flavor.

Let it cool. I store 3 cups in a quart bag and freeze.

[Old Glory]

The long simmer is key. At least 6 hours. You need to render out all the gelatin. I only use onions, carrots, and celery for the veggies otherwise very similar to yours.

[TripleB]

Recipe very similar to mine. I put in a little apricot or peach nectar. I admit I had to get up to see what type of mirin I use. It’s neither Aji or Eden.

[Old Glory]

Try the Huli Huli recipe on the free site on thighs. Very good.

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/marinades-and-brinerades/huli-huli-teriyaki-marinade-sauce