The Good Rabbi's Blog

Basically, this is a marinated chicken that is then roasted or grilled. I usually make the marinade the day I buy the chicken in order to ensure freshness. The chicken should marinate for a minimum of 24 hours, but for no longer than three days (in the fridge, of course). The quantites provided are for proportion only (so you know how much to use of everything), but you should make enough marinade to fully submerge the chicken.

I use leg quarters for this recipe (as the extra fat on it will keep the chicken moist), but you can use any part of the bird. The only requirement is that the cut must have skin on it. This will prevent the meat from drying out during the cooking process.

The marinade has a good amount of oil in it (even though I've drastically reduced the amount of oil used from the original version of this recipe). If you're cooking this chicken on a grill, you will want to grill this indirectly (i.e. use an indirect heat source) because the oil will drip down, and if the coals are under your chicken, you'll get a lot of flare-ups. If you're cooking the chicken in an oven, you will want to use a broiler pan to catch the drippings (even though you will not be broiling the meat). Well, all that having been said, let's get on with the recipe!

Marinade:

1 Cup Prego Traditional Spaghetti Sauce
1/2 Cup Orange Juice (preferably not from concentrate)
1/4 Cup Distilled White Vinegar
1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano (or 3 Tbsp fresh oregano)
Garlic, Salt, and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

If you're cooking this chicken on the grill, use an indirect fire (arrange your coals in a circle along the outer edges of the grill, leaving the centre space empty or place a drip pan with some water in it there to catch the drippings), and arrange your chicken pieces FAT SIDE UP in the centre of the grill grate.

If you're cooking this chicken in an oven, preheat the oven to 375. Arrange the chicken pieces FAT SIDE UP on a broiler pan. Place the pan in the oven on the centre rack, and cook for approximately an hour (or to doneness).

Reserve some of the marinade for basting, but the rest of this marinade can be heated to an internal temperature of 165 and used as a sauce. The heating of the marinade is critical, as it has had raw chicken sitting in it for a while. By simmering the marinade while the chicken cooks, you will cook out any bacteria that may be present.

This chicken goes very well with a simple garlic and oil pasta, and for a wine pairing, I would recommend a nice Valpolicella (Tomasi's Rafael is really good).

Placing the chicken fat side up is extremely important, as the fat renders during the cooking process, keeping the meat moist.