Hawaiian Rotisserie Huli Huli Chicken

[djami]

This is more than you want to know about huli huli chicken.

My favorite chicken in the entire world is huli huli chicken; often pronounced as hui hui chicken in Hawaii.  It is very simple to make but too many people put way more spices and junk on it and destroy the taste of real hui hui chicken.  Cook books and internet recipes provide a long list of ingredients such as brown sugar, pineapple juice, soy sauce, mustard, etc., etc.  Some recipes call for soaking chicken in a marinade overnight.  

That is all good and I have no problems with those recipes.  But in my mind’s eye, that chicken is not hui hui.  True hui hui chicken must be flipped over in wire racks or prepared on a rotisserie over coals, and not baked in an 8x12 glass dish in an oven.  I can not comment on the "true" nature of the marinades, rubs, or spices, but I believe they should be kept to a minimum to bring out the essence of the juice distribution from the flipping or rotisserie effect.

Real hui hui chicken is very simple.  We lived in Honolulu for many years and often drove on Nimitz Highway to Waikiki on Saturday mornings.  As we drove on Nimitz, we always passed a huge hui hui chicken operation.  We could see the smoke and smell the BBQ chicken blocks away.  From Nimitz, we could see people mopping the chickens with sauce and turning the chickens which were sandwiched between wire mesh resting on top of, as I recall, long cinder block fire pits.       

We learned later they mopped a certain teriyaki sauce on the chickens.  That place perhaps gets credit for being the original huli huli operation.  However, hui hui chicken has been prepared by other Hawaiians somewhat differently.  On Kauai, the best [my opinion] hui hui chicken is prepared using a certain Hawaiian wood to BBQ with.  I do not recall the type of Hawaiian wood, nor can I find mention of it on the internet.  But it is uniquely hui hui because it is fixed the traditional way of flipping the chicken in wire mesh over hot coals.  Some folks use rotisseries.   I doubt this technique is unique to Hawaii … but the special Kauai wood certainly is.

On my KK32, I prefer spit roasting chicken on a rotisserie with just light salt and pepper.  Even without the special BBQ wood, this chicken is absolutely the best!  It is amazingly moist and tender.  The key thing is when the birds turn on the rotisserie, they baste in their own juices ... and some of the juices drip on the coals.  Those drippings cause some smoke which also helps add taste to the chicken.  Al la hui hui rotisserie chicken. 

I am bragging in this video!  Not only am I rotisserie roasting at 350*, I am showing off my Jackery solar generator which I use to power the rotisserie motor since I do not have electricity to my lanai area.  Of course, I am enjoying Peter White doing “Groovin.”  Listened to tunes on Spotify for about two hours as the rotisserie chicken roasted.

Sorry to get carried away with the huli huli chicken stuff.  But what comes first - - the chicken or the egg ... KK!

           djami in northern Virginia

[MacKenzie]

Sounds delicious. 

[Bunji]

A couple of years ago I had to spend some time in Augusta, Georgia for work. A couple days into the trip I stumbled upon a Hawaiian BBQ spot near where I was working. I had never had Hawaiian food before, so I stopped in to try it out. I didn’t eat lunch anywhere else the whole time I was in town! I of course had my fill of kalua pig, but their chicken was also fantastic, although I’m not sure if it is true huli huli.

Since you’re in northern VA, if you ever get the chance to check out the food truck called Kam & 46, I would recommend it. They do Hawaiian and Filipino fare, and the women who run the show are absolutely lovely. They mostly show up in DC, but now and then they cross the river into Arlington or Alexandria. I try to make a point to show up whenever they do.

[tony b]

The cinder block pit and chicken wire rack reminds me of upstate NY's Cornell chicken. It's a staple at local fundraisers, fairs, etc. Very similar to Alabama white sauce chicken. 

Technique is also reminiscent of Jamaican jerk chicken, cooked on/over pimento wood. I used to be able to get pimento wood on Etsy, but the US Ag dept changed the requirements for importing it and it became too expensive for the folks that I bought it from to keep selling in the US. I think that you can get it on eBay, but it's a bit pricier. 

I'd always been lead to believe that to make "true" Huli-Huli chicken, that you had to have the red Hawaiian sea salt (same as used in Kalua pig). I've seen both Emeril and Fieri make it on TV. I have a recipe from Raichlen's BBQ Bible that I've used before. All use a similar mopping sauce - cross between ketchup-based BBQ sauce and teriyaki. I've not tried this twist, but I'm guessing that Yakiniku (yakitori sauce) would be excellent on it? 

Edited November 10, 2022 by tony b

[jeffshoaf]

Roger Mooking has made the trip to Hawaii on several episodes of Man Fire Food; I don't recall the name of the Hawaiian wood they use for some of the cooks, but I think they said it was similar to mesquite. I associate mesquite with Texas beef but I've never had any Hawaiian food except pineapple so I can't compare.

[djami]

On 11/10/2022 at 8:27 AM, Bunji said:

A couple of years ago I had to spend some time in Augusta, Georgia for work. A couple days into the trip I stumbled upon a Hawaiian BBQ spot near where I was working. I had never had Hawaiian food before, so I stopped in to try it out. I didn’t eat lunch anywhere else the whole time I was in town! I of course had my fill of kalua pig, but their chicken was also fantastic, although I’m not sure if it is true huli huli.

Since you’re in northern VA, if you ever get the chance to check out the food truck called Kam & 46, I would recommend it. They do Hawaiian and Filipino fare, and the women who run the show are absolutely lovely. They mostly show up in DC, but now and then they cross the river into Arlington or Alexandria. I try to make a point to show up whenever they do.

oh yea -- sounds like you have been exposed to some of the Hawaiian delicacies   Thanks for the food truck tip.  I will have to track them down.  Too bad we are running out of warm weather for awhile.

     djami

[djami]

20 hours ago, tony b said:

The cinder block pit and chicken wire rack reminds me of upstate NY's Cornell chicken. It's a staple at local fundraisers, fairs, etc. Very similar to Alabama white sauce chicken. 

Technique is also reminiscent of Jamaican jerk chicken, cooked on/over pimento wood. I used to be able to get pimento wood on Etsy, but the US Ag dept changed the requirements for importing it and it became too expensive for the folks that I bought it from to keep selling in the US. I think that you can get it on eBay, but it's a bit pricier. 

I'd always been lead to believe that to make "true" Huli-Huli chicken, that you had to have the red Hawaiian sea salt (same as used in Kalua pig). I've seen both Emeril and Fieri make it on TV. I have a recipe from Raichlen's BBQ Bible that I've used before. All use a similar mopping sauce - cross between ketchup-based BBQ sauce and teriyaki. I've not tried this twist, but I'm guessing that Yakiniku (yakitori sauce) would be excellent on it? 

Hey toni b -- wow - pimento wood.  Always thot pimento came in little jars!  That sounds fantastic.  My take on cookbooks and TV cooking shows is they are pimping their sauces, rubs, recipes, and theatrics.  Don't get me wrong - I like most of them.  Basic salt and pepper and chicken juice on a rotisserie is too simple ... keeping in mind the "real" hui hui chicken guys used a magic teriyaki sauce; which is good on almost anything.  In fact, I have been known to put teriyaki on peanut butter & jelly sam-iches!  We live on the mainland now but visit a few times a year.  Sadly, the famous huli huli chicken guys are no longer along Nimitz.  In fact, they may be "retired" or whatever the word is.  But I do not see their place when I return.

[djami]

17 hours ago, jeffshoaf said:

Roger Mooking has made the trip to Hawaii on several episodes of Man Fire Food; I don't recall the name of the Hawaiian wood they use for some of the cooks, but I think they said it was similar to mesquite. I associate mesquite with Texas beef but I've never had any Hawaiian food except pineapple so I can't compare.

Roger - thanks ... that could be the wood which I referred to.

   djami

[tony b]

3 hours ago, djami said:

Hey toni b -- wow - pimento wood.  Always thot pimento came in little jars!  That sounds fantastic.

It's the tree that Allspice berries come from. I use the wood chunks, leaves and berries when I do jerk cooking. I put the leaves and berries in a foil pouch with a couple of small holes punched in. The wood chunks just go on top of the fire. In Jamaica they actually put the meats on pimento wood branches for the "grate" over the fire. I can't replicate that unfortunately but do the best that I can with what I can buy.

[jeffshoaf]

3 hours ago, djami said:

Roger - thanks ... that could be the wood which I referred to.

   djami

I did a little googling - is it kiawe ?

[djami]

Jeff,

Thanks for doing the research.  That wood sounds familiar and is likely the wood often used for huli huli chicken.  I Googled kiawe and learned the State of Hawaii classifies kiawe as pest vegetation since its arrivial in Hawaii in 1978.  Not sure when the popular huli huli chicken gained its notarity; but it is quite likely the wood.  The name kiawe certainly sounds familiar. The kiawe pictures look very familiar.  Guess I need to return to Kauai and find out for sure🙂

          djami

[djami]

On 11/11/2022 at 1:04 PM, tony b said:

It's the tree that Allspice berries come from. I use the wood chunks, leaves and berries when I do jerk cooking. I put the leaves and berries in a foil pouch with a couple of small holes punched in. The wood chunks just go on top of the fire. In Jamaica they actually put the meats on pimento wood branches for the "grate" over the fire. I can't replicate that unfortunately but do the best that I can with what I can buy.

Tony B,

Thanks for sharing your consideration of allspice.  I would remember allspice because of many things.  The most likely place to see allspice trees in Hawaii is perhaps only in one place and that is at Foster Botanical Gardens in Honolulu.  That is a fantastic place and perhaps my favorite botanical gardens ever.  We used to visit the gardens often.  There are relatively few [from my observations - so not the gospel] allspice trees in the Hawaiian islands, but Foster Gardens was established in the 1800s and brings a vast array of tropical trees, bushes, and plants ... flora and fauna to Hawaii for research and sharing the gardens with the people.  By the way, agriculture is very controlled in Hawaii for many good reasons.  Most flower bulbs, seeds, etc are not allowed to be mail ordered or to be introduced into the state.  Please see Jeff's response about kiawe.  That is likely the unique wood many Hawaiian use for huli huli chicken.  Having said all of that and considering allspice is a Caribbean area tree, it sounds like a great BBQing wood providing special flavoring.  Thanks again Tony B.

           djami

[djami]

Jeff & Roger,

On Saturday, I emailed a long-time friend who lives in Hilo.  His family has lived there for well over 100 years.  One of his kids owns and operates two [?] Japanese restaurants.  This is an extract of his reply to my email ...  "Most common wood used for huli huli chicken is Kiawe which is well known in Texas, Arizona, and south-western US and Mexico as mesquite!  It’s a very dense wood that burns very hot and is also used for in making bar-b-que charcoal.

If it was on Oahu, it was probably kiawe.  As far as the aroma, it is a common practice to strategically channel some of the rendered drippings to some charcoal to create palu (chum) to trigger salivary glands!  You can use mesquite charcoal, but the kiawe wood just seems to give that extra spike of Onolicious!"

Mystery solved!  Thanks for your comments.

           djami

 

[tekobo]

Sounds like some good detective work all!  And very nice looking chook @djami.   Keep on jamming.