When I was in high school, I became addicted to cooking shows on TV. They were fairly new then- there was no such thing as a Food Network- only the occasional show on PBS. The Discover Channel at the time, was just one channel on cable, and in the late mornings they had a 90 minute block of cooking programming. I had mono- and I missed over a month of school, and as tired as I was, the one thing I did not miss was the cooking programming. I was fascinated- first up was Great Chefs, where they took you into professional kitchens and showed fancy food being created. next was the “Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Gourmet: Lynn Fisher” who always started her sautes by pouring water into her pan instead of oil. Last, but certainly not least, Graham Kerr was on with his heart healthy choices as well. Oh, I was smitten, I loved these cooking shows- and I wanted to cook like them. When I went back to school, I missed these shows terribly, and spent any free TV time I had flipping the channels- looking for some glimpse of a cooking show on TV.
And that’s how I stumbled upon Marcia Adams of Marcia Adams’ Kitchen. I have no idea what channel it was on- and I only ever saw the show twice, but it stuck with me because she cooked homey down-to-earth food that looked spectacularly delicious. Of course they did, because they were all dishes from Amish and Mennonite communities. I remember watching her that day and scrambling to find a pen and paper to write down her recipe for Amish Carrot Cake- which I don’t think I ever got around to making, but I remembered Marcia Adams. And when I was at the library a few weeks ago and saw her book “New Recipes from Quilt Country” I had to bring it home and check it out.
Just a few pages into this book, I determined I had to have it. I’ve often watched other bloggers cook through single books, recipe by recipe, and have been just a bit envious- not because of what they are cooking, but because these people found cookbooks that were good enough to cook all those recipe out of. Oh, I have cookbooks that I use a lot, but none of them are “cook every recipe good enough”. This book is. It is out of print, sadly, but is available used in various places on the web.
The recipe I want to share today is for a really easy and delicious chicken marinade. It is really straightforward, and takes just a bit of thinking ahead to get it ready, but overall I was definitely pleased with the result. I also think this is highly adaptable. The basic ingredients are apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic and Worcestershire sauce, but this is where I think you can play with it and add seasonings and spices that you would like. We had the chicken straight up- I grilled it over indirect heat just as it was. The chicken was tasty and very juicy, yet it still would have been good with an addition of BBQ sauce had I thought to add it. This may be just the thing to add to your summer repertoire because you can make a lot and feed a crowd with it. The book says the marinade will keep indefinitely in the fridge- so you can make a large batch of it and use it over a period of time with no problems. My only change to the recipe was with the oil called for- I used peanut oil since that’s what I’ve been using as a standard cooking oil as of late. I think any neutral tasting oil will work well here.
Grilled Chicken With Garlic
4 cups cider vinegar 5 cups water 1/2 cup corn oil 1/3 cup salt 6 garlic cloves, crushed 4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper 24 chicken pieces, such as legs, thighs, and breast halves, skin on (bone in)Directions:
Combine all the ingredients, except the chicken, in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat, cool, transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.
To prepare grilled chicken for 6 servings, place 12 chicken pieces in a 2-gallon food storage bag. Pour half of the marinade over the chicken. Close the bag tightly and refrigerate for 24 hours, turning once or twice. (Or use whatever time you have- at least 2 hours would be ideal.)
Remove the chicken from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Grill the chicken pieces for 12 to 15 minutes per side- or until nicely browned and the juices run clear when pierced with a knife. Serve hot or cold.
For 24 pieces of chicken, use all the marinade.
I’ll have to try this one, looks good!