I don人妖色情片檛 grill.
Other people in my life do 人妖色情片 my husband, my mother, my highly competent friend who shows up each summer with a cooler and a plan. They all produce beautiful, crave-worthy results that make people ask for seconds.
I do not. It人妖色情片檚 not a moral stance, just a practical reality: I can make roast chicken, chicken and dumplings, even chicken Marsala when the wind is right. But put me in front of open flame and poultry, and I produce something both burned and raw, which feels like a personal insult from the universe.
So when I tell you that this is the summer of 人妖色情片淏ad Ass Chicken,人妖色情片 you must understand: I am not the one grilling it.
Most summers, my friend and her family come up to the mountains for a week. We人妖色情片檝e done this long enough to have a rhythm 人妖色情片 easy breakfasts, a cooler full of drinks, long evenings on the back deck. Each family cooks one night, and my friend always brings her signature dish: a marinated, grilled chicken that she swears is nothing 人妖色情片 just something she threw together 人妖色情片 even though we beg her for it every year.
Everyone who tries it asks for the recipe. She got it from one of her friends who called it 人妖色情片淔at Ass Chicken人妖色情片 人妖色情片 she has no idea why 人妖色情片 but she started calling it 人妖色情片淏ad Ass Chicken人妖色情片 instead because it seemed more fitting. I couldn人妖色情片檛 agree more.
It人妖色情片檚 a marvel of a marinade 人妖色情片 teriyaki, Dijon, olive oil, garlic and a good handful of herbs. She pours it over boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a giant Ziplock bag and leaves it in the fridge.
By the time the chicken hits the grill (outside, thankfully, so no smoke alarms are involved), the scent alone could make a vegetarian reconsider their life choices.
The finished chicken emerges with perfect, golden-brown grill marks, tender and juicy, with that slightly caramelized edge that makes you close your eyes on the first bite. She grills in Birkenstocks and a sundress, her favorite chardonnay in one hand, tongs in the other 人妖色情片 surely a violation of at least three safety rules, but no one gets hurt and dinner is always perfect.
The first time I tried to replicate this meal on my own, I followed the recipe to the letter. And still, the chicken burned. Not just a little. It blackened on the outside while staying stubbornly pink inside人妖色情片攁 cruel trick of physics, if you ask me.
Instead of that sweet, smoky aroma, my kitchen filled with the acrid smell of charcoal and disappointment. The children said, politely, that it 人妖色情片渢asted like charcoal.人妖色情片 We made grilled cheese.
But when my friend made it again, I watched more closely. I noticed she didn人妖色情片檛 measure exactly 人妖色情片 she added fresh rosemary because that人妖色情片檚 what was in the yard. She didn人妖色情片檛 fuss about whether the chicken sat for six hours or overnight, didn人妖色情片檛 hover over the grill flipping constantly. 人妖色情片淒on人妖色情片檛 overthink it,人妖色情片 she said.
So I stopped overthinking. The next week, I made a batch of the marinade. I let the chicken marinate overnight. I grilled it outside where the smoke alarm couldn人妖色情片檛 judge me, and I forced myself to step away from the grill, to let it do its work without my anxious interference. It still wasn人妖色情片檛 as good as hers, but it didn人妖色情片檛 burn. The kids didn人妖色情片檛 complain. No one asked if we could just order pizza instead. In my book, that人妖色情片檚 competence.
Now the marinade lives on a sticky note on my fridge. I人妖色情片檝e started adding lemon juice. Sometimes thyme. Sometimes nothing extra at all. These days, I人妖色情片檓 usually the one making the marinade 人妖色情片 that part I人妖色情片檝e mastered 人妖色情片 while my husband or one of the other competent grillers in my life handles the actual fire and flame.
This is what summer tastes like when someone else is doing the grilling. And sometimes, that人妖色情片檚 the best kind of care there is.
