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Grilled huli huli chicken halves arranged atop a white oval serving platter that sits atop a creamy white textured surface. A small white ceramic bowl filled with huli huli chicken sauce with a small wooden spoon inside sits atop the platter alongside the chicken. The huli huli chicken is garnished with thinly sliced green onion and the serving platter is surrounded by a small plateful of more sliced green onions and a small ceramic bowl filled with Hawaiian mac salad. A white and black window pane patterned linen napkin is tucked underneath the platter and a carving fork and knife are resting on the edge of the platter.

Grilled Huli Huli Chicken with Mom’s Huli Huli Sauce

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  • Author: Jess Larson
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Overnight Brine: 12 hours
  • Cook Time: 60 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: serves 4-6 1x
  • Category: Main Dishes, Chicken Recipes
  • Method: Grilling & Smoking
  • Cuisine: Hawaiian, American

Description

My first encounter with real-deal, authentic huli huli chicken happened on one of my first trips back to Hawaii with Chris. As we cruised along the Windward side of Oahu – one of my favorite spots on the island! – we stumbled upon a roadside huli huli chicken stand. A man was flipping racks of chicken over a live fire on the side of the highway, selling the fresh roasted chicken out of his car. The beautiful flames, incredible smoky aromas, & mouth-watering charred-crisp chickens completely drew me in & I’ve been obsessed with huli huli chicken ever since.

Since huli huli chicken cravings always follow me back to the mainland, I turned to my mom, who was born & raised on Oahu, for a homemade version. She has many memories of huli huli chicken from her childhood & she taught me that modern day huli huli chicken you find in restaurants in Hawaii today has evolved quite a bit from its pretty humble origins. Check out the blog post, above, to learn more!

This particular recipe is a marriage of both of our experiences with huli huli chicken – the preparation & line-up of ingredients is relatively simple, but it really packs a big punch of flavor. Simply soak the chicken in a pineapple brine to ensure juicy & flavorful results, then grill slow & steady with indirect heat to mimic a traditional kiawe wood-fired rotisserie at home. 

As far as serving goes, we swear by a traditional Hawaiian plate lunch, complete with rice, mac salad, & a generous drizzling of Mom’s huli huli sauce (below). We hope you love this recipe just as much as we do – it’s really a taste of Hawaii at home! 🌺

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 (one) 4-5 pound whole chicken, spatchcocked & halved
  • 3 cups pineapple juice, canned or jarred (NOT fresh)
  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar (can sub regular brown sugar)
  • optional, for color: 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
  • for serving, as desired: Mom’s huli huli sauce (below), rice, Hawaiian mac salad, etc.

Mom’s Huli Huli Sauce: 

  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (can sub regular brown sugar)
  • 2 teaspoons shoyu or soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • healthy pinch cayenne pepper
  • kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season

Instructions

Huli Huli Chicken Prep: Spatchcocking is a poultry butchering technique in which the poultry’s spine is removed so the poultry lays completely flat during the cooking process, which facilitates faster & more even cooking. While you can ask your butcher to spatchcock the chicken for you, it’s also very simple to do at home with a pair of sharp kitchen shears. I like to spatchcock chicken a day before I plan on grilling it, leaving the chicken to soak a pineapple brine, which results in seriously juicy & flavorful grilled huli huli chicken. Here’s what you’ll do:

  1. Spatchcock & halve the chicken: Use paper towel to pat chicken very dry. Place breast-side down on a large plastic cutting board. Using very sharp kitchen shears, carefully snip along each side of the backbone, until completely detached. With breast side of the chicken still facing down, use your hands to gently stretch open the rib cavity of the chicken. Place the heel of your knife at the center of the wishbone. Forcefully press down until the wishbone snaps and the breastplate cracks. Flip the chicken so it lays flat, breast side facing up – you just spatchcocked a chicken! For grilled huli huli chicken, take it one step further, slicing between the breasts to create two halves. Be sure to tuck the wing tips behind the breasts, as pictured, to ensure they don’t burn as the chicken cooks. For step-by-step photos & more tips & tricks, be sure to check out PWWB’s How to Spatchcock a Chicken tutorial post. Huli huli chicken ingredients arranged on a creamy white textured surface: Whole chicken that has been spatchcocked and halved, pineapple, dark brown sugar, ketchup, kosher salt, and ground black pepper.
  2. Brine the chicken: In a large bowl, whisk together the pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup (if using), & 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Transfer 1 cup of the brine to a small airtight container & reserve for basting. Place the halved chicken in a large bowl, airtight container, or resealable bag. Pour the remaining pineapple brine over top, submerging the chicken as much as possible. Cover or seal, then transfer to the refrigerator to brine for at least 12 hours & up to 48 hours.How to make grilled huli huli chicken, step 2: Brine the chicken. Spatchcocked and halved whole chicken rests inside of a clear glass baking dish inside of a huli huli chicken brine. The baking dish sits atop a creamy white textured surface surrounded by a small bowl of brine, a wooden pinch bowl filled with kosher salt, and a small ceramic pinch bowl filled with ground black pepper.

Grilled Huli Huli Chicken:

  1. Grill prep: At least 60 minutes before grilling, take the brined chicken out of the refrigerator to allow it to come to room temperature before grilling. Remove the chicken from the brine, discarding any excess brine, then use a paper towel to pat the chicken as dry as possible. Set aside. This is a great time to preheat the grill & prep the huli huli sauce (Step 2, below). Prepare your grill for indirect cooking, creating a zone of direct high heat & a second zone of indirect heat. If using a gas grill, begin preheating at least 15 minutes before grilling. If using charcoal, light the charcoal at least 30 minutes prior to grilling. (To learn more about zone grilling, be sure to check out this post.)A shot of a Weber Genesis II Grill prepped for grilling Lemony Grilled Greek Chicken wings. The grill burners are set such that the left side of the grill is ready for indirect heat grilling, while the right side of the grill is ready for direct heat. The grill sits on top of a wooden deck. In the background there is a tree, white cafe lights strung, & beige siding shown of a house behind the grill.
  2. Prepare the huli huli sauce: Add all listed ingredients to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt & whisk to combine well. Once the huli huli sauce comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring the sauce occasionally, for 20 minutes to reduce & thicken. Remove from the heat & set aside for serving.Huli huli chicken sauce for grilled huli huli chicken fills a small metal sauce pan that sits atop a creamy white textured surface. A metal whisk rests alongside the saucepan.
  3. Grill the huli huli chicken: Place the chicken on the indirect heat side of the grill, breast side up, as close to the fire as possible without being over the direct heat. Close the grill lid. Cook the chicken, stopping to rotate it 180 degrees every 15 minutes. With each rotation, use a pastry brush to generously baste the surface of the chicken with the reserved pineapple brine from Step 2. The huli huli chicken is ready once an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast (without hitting the bone) registers a temperature of 160 degrees F. Depending on the size of your chicken & the temperature of your grill, this could take as little as 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.A side angle shot of grilled huli huli chicken sits atop gas grill grates while being basted with reserved pineapple brine.
  4. Rest the grilled huli huli chicken: Remove the huli huli chicken from the grill. Transfer to a large plate & set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes. Carryover heat will cause the internal temperature to continue to rise as it rests. The chicken is ready to serve once an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken (without hitting the bone) registers a temperature of 165 degrees F.An overhead shot of grilled huli huli chicken atop a white ceramic plate that sits atop a creamy white textured surface.
  5. Serve: Carve the huli huli chicken as desired & serve immediately, drenched in huli huli sauce & paired with whatever sides you like. We like serving our huli huli chicken plate lunch-style, with white rice and Mom’s Hawaiian mac salad. Enjoy!Grilled huli huli chicken halves arranged atop a white oval serving platter that sits atop a creamy white textured surface. A small white ceramic bowl filled with huli huli chicken sauce with a small wooden spoon inside sits atop the platter alongside the chicken. The huli huli chicken is garnished with thinly sliced green onion and the serving platter is surrounded by a small plateful of more sliced green onions and a small ceramic bowl filled with Hawaiian mac salad. A white and black window pane patterned linen napkin is tucked underneath the platter and a carving fork and knife are resting on the edge of the platter.

Equipment

Notes

  • Storage & Reheating: Leftover grilled huli huli chicken will keep, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through. Once you’ve enjoyed all of the chicken, sure to hang on to the grilled chicken carcass to make homemade chicken stock or broth!
  • Recipe Variations & Alternate Cooking Methods: 
    • Other cuts of chicken: While whole chicken is the most common way you’ll find huli huli chicken in Hawaii, this recipe also works well using any cut of chicken you love most. Refer to the following recipes for guidance on grill temperatures & cook times:
    • Alternate cooking methods: If you don’t have access to an outdoor grill, you can prepare this huli huli chicken recipe a few other ways – refer to the blog post, above, for a quick how-to on oven-roasted huli huli chicken & smoked huli huli chicken (cooked on a pellet grill like the Traeger). 
  • 25-Minute Meal Prep: While grilled huli huli chicken is a great weekend cooking project, there are a couple of things you can prep ahead of time to eliminate almost all active prep at dinnertime:
    • Prep the huli huli sauce according to Step 4 of Recipe Directions, above. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. (10 minutes active prep)
    • Spatchcock the chicken & brine in buttermilk according to Chicken Prep Steps 1-2, above, up to 2 days ahead of time. Store, covered in a large airtight container, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. (15 minutes active prep)
       

Find it online: https://playswellwithbutter.com/grilled-huli-huli-chicken/