Chicken
Guamian Chicken Salad
Guamian Chicken Salad
Recipe Notes
- Advance Prep: The chicken can be grilled or smoked up to 24 hours ahead, but you’ll get the best flavor if you grill it a few hours ahead before serving.
- Yield: Makes about 5-1/2 cups, enough to serve 4
- Method: Direct grilling
- Equipment: 1-1/2 cups wood chips, soaked and drained
Ingredients
- 1 frying chicken (3-1/2 to 4 pounds; 2-1/2 to 3 cups shredded meat)
- Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
- 2-1/2 cups coarsely grated fresh coconut
- 2 green onions or scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced crosswise
- 2 to 6 hot red fresh chiles, like Thai chiles or red serranos, thinly sliced crosswise
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste
- 2 large or 4 small flour tortillas, warmed on the grill or in the oven and cut into wedges
Recipe Steps
Step 1: Truss the chicken. Season generously on all sides with salt and pepper.
Set up your grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium (350 degrees F). Throw half the wood chips on the coals. Arrange the chicken breast side up on the grate and indirect grill until browned and cooked through, 1 to 1-1/4 hours. (Add more coals as needed and the remainder of the wood chips after 30 minutes.) Use an instant-read meat thermometer to test for done-ness: the internal temperature should be 170 degrees F.
Or preheat your smoker to 275 degrees and smoke the chicken until cooked, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
Step 2: Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let cool to room temperature. Remove the crisp brown chicken skin and eat it when no one is looking. Cut the chicken meat off the bone and dice into 1/2 inch cubes, or shred. Place it in a large mixing bowl. The recipe can be prepared ahead to this stage and refrigerated.
Add the coconut to the chicken. Add the green onions, chiles, and lemon juice. Toss to mix. Add salt and pepper to taste, and additional lemon juice if desired: the salad should be highly seasoned.
Step 3: Transfer the salad to an attractive platter or bowl and serve at once with tortilla wedges for scooping.
