Making Mike’s Huli chicken -Hawaiian chicken from the O’ahu East Shore

One of the best things to do on O’ahu in Hawaii is to visit the east coast.  We hired a car and drove from Honolulu right up to Turtle Bay and down through the Pali Lookout. 

Food trucks in O’ahu

There are so many different food trucks along the main highway here but we had our focus on one in particular.  Mike’s Truck, the bright yellow truck is well known in these parts for his chicken, cooked over the coals.  When we arrived, there were trailers out the back, all loaded up with charcoal, slowly roasting the chickens over the top.  

There is a general eating area here, with chickens regularly running around under your feet.  Not the safest place for a chicken I would imagine!  It’s all very low key and casual.  If you’re lucky, you’ll see Mike in his truck serving customers just like us.  If you do, ask him for his photo.  He’ll gladly oblige.

Having enjoyed such a wonderful lunch at Mike’s truck on the Kamehameha Highway, I took inspiration from Mike’s Huli Chicken and gave it a try myself. 

It is a very easy Hawaiian chicken recipe to make and is absolutely delicious, with moist chicken on the inside and a glazed, crispy outside.  You could serve this with vegetables or salad, and it’s great for leftovers the next day.

If you have left over sauce, you can also freeze this for another time.

INGREDIENTS HULI HULI CHICKEN

BRINE

• Enough water to cover the chicken
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/4 cup sugar (you can use white or raw sugar here)
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves
• Whole chicken – around 2 kg (4.4 pounds)

HULI HULI SAUCE

• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce (ketchup)
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp malt vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground ginger

HULI HULI CHICKEN DRY RUB

• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp salt (or less if preferred)
• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp onion powder or onion flakes
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp black pepper

The rub and the sauce can be made a day ahead and any leftover sauce can also be frozen.  I tend to be heavy handed with the sauce when serving as the chicken really soaks it up.

Instructions for making Huli Huli Chicken

Brine the chicken

To make sure we have enough water in the brine, we put the chicken into the pot we are going to make the brine in, cover it with water, then remove the chicken.

Cook the brine ingredients until the sugar is dissolved and leave to cool down.

When it is cool, place the chicken back into the pot with the brine and allow to sit until it is ready to be rubbed. The longer the brining, the more moist the chicken will be.

If possible do this at least a few hours before. We leave ours for a minimum of four hours.

Make the Huli Huli rub

Mix all of the dry ingredients for the rub together in a bowl.

Remove the chicken from the brine and pat with paper towel until it is completely dry.

Before rubbing, the chicken needs to be butterflied.

Cover the chicken with the rub mix, getting it covered inside and into the cavity.

Make the Huli Huli sauce

Combine the pineapple juice, tomato sauce, soy sauce and vinegar in a pot and put on the stove over low heat.

Once simmering, add the sugar and ginger. Allow the sauce to thicken, ensuring it does not boil. Remove it from the heat and leave to cool.

Cook the chicken

Cook over a hot BBQ. Cook on one side for around 10 minutes and then on the other for a similar time.

Squeeze some lemon juice over the chicken as you are cooking it. Glaze the chicken several times, including just before you are ready to take it off the heat. We love to give the chicken a good char.

The chicken is cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of around 74°Celsius / 165° F.

Remove and allow it to rest. Serve with the remaining sauce.

Recipe inspiration from Guy Fieri.