During our numerous trips to Mexico, John and I have always been able to find a bit of delicious solace in something quite simple: grilled chicken.
We discovered its delicacy 13 or so years ago, when we were coming up through Mexico after a year on the road in Latin America. There’d always be a simple grill set up by the bus stations, selling grilled chicken, cut up, in bags with tortillas, hot sauce and limes -- a very cheap and deliciously satisfying meal. Since we’ve been living here in Merida, we’ve found the exact same chicken meals throughout the city as well. Always cheap. Always delicious.
Let me further explain “delicious.” The chicken meat is tender, smoky, and moist, and the skin has just the perfect amount of char. The flavor permeates every bit of the meat, seeping from the surface all the way down to the bone. And the flavor itself is something we’ve always pondered, as it is unique to the country of Mexico and to every grilled chicken we’ve ever had here. We’ve wondered for years where the mild yet defining flavor comes from: “Is it a marinade? A rub? A blend of spices thrown on after grilling? What is the secret recipe and how can we replicate it at home? Maybe it has something to do with how chickens are raised here. Or maybe the spices used are only available in Mexico?”
Seriously, people, the flavor is THAT complex.
But I’m very happy to report that since arriving in Merida, we’ve finally cracked our 13-year question. Here was our process. First, we bought a barbecue grill and bag of charcoal -- or “carbon” as it is known here. (The grill cost $7 at the market, and is made from half of a small metal barrel and welded simply and somewhat unevenly to four crude metal legs made of re-bar).
Then, we readied our grill. John piled a bunch of carbon in the grill basin and, after copious amounts of matches and fanning (carbon is more difficult to start than our charcoal), eventually he was rewarded with a smoldering pile of coals.
Then we simply salted, peppered and lime spritzed our bone-in chicken breasts (that we got at Costco, a slice of heaven right here in Merida, by the way) and in about 25 minutes, we had our own version of the ever-delicious grilled Mexican chicken. We created the very same delicious flavor that we’ve always wondered about.
The answer, like the grilled chicken itself, is alarmingly simple: It’s the charcoal!
So the BIG question is: what is the difference between carbon (in Mexico) and the charcoal briquettes we use? Here’s what we found online, which is kind of interesting.
The mesquite tree is harvested for carbon (charcoal) in Mexico. Mexican carbon is made by putting mesquite into a pit, lighting it on fire, and then covering it in soil or earth. The wood continues to burn and turns into carbon -- literally, lumps of burned wood.
American charcoal briquettes are made by compressing sawdust and other wood by-products, with a binder, usually starch, as well as other additives. Briquettes may also include brown coal (a heat source), mineral carbon (a heat source), borax, sodium nitrate (an ignition aid), limestone (an ash-whitening agent), raw sawdust (an ignition aid), and other additives like paraffin and petroleum solvents to aid in ignition as well.
We discovered its delicacy 13 or so years ago, when we were coming up through Mexico after a year on the road in Latin America. There’d always be a simple grill set up by the bus stations, selling grilled chicken, cut up, in bags with tortillas, hot sauce and limes -- a very cheap and deliciously satisfying meal. Since we’ve been living here in Merida, we’ve found the exact same chicken meals throughout the city as well. Always cheap. Always delicious.
Let me further explain “delicious.” The chicken meat is tender, smoky, and moist, and the skin has just the perfect amount of char. The flavor permeates every bit of the meat, seeping from the surface all the way down to the bone. And the flavor itself is something we’ve always pondered, as it is unique to the country of Mexico and to every grilled chicken we’ve ever had here. We’ve wondered for years where the mild yet defining flavor comes from: “Is it a marinade? A rub? A blend of spices thrown on after grilling? What is the secret recipe and how can we replicate it at home? Maybe it has something to do with how chickens are raised here. Or maybe the spices used are only available in Mexico?”
Seriously, people, the flavor is THAT complex.
But I’m very happy to report that since arriving in Merida, we’ve finally cracked our 13-year question. Here was our process. First, we bought a barbecue grill and bag of charcoal -- or “carbon” as it is known here. (The grill cost $7 at the market, and is made from half of a small metal barrel and welded simply and somewhat unevenly to four crude metal legs made of re-bar).
Then, we readied our grill. John piled a bunch of carbon in the grill basin and, after copious amounts of matches and fanning (carbon is more difficult to start than our charcoal), eventually he was rewarded with a smoldering pile of coals.
Then we simply salted, peppered and lime spritzed our bone-in chicken breasts (that we got at Costco, a slice of heaven right here in Merida, by the way) and in about 25 minutes, we had our own version of the ever-delicious grilled Mexican chicken. We created the very same delicious flavor that we’ve always wondered about.
The answer, like the grilled chicken itself, is alarmingly simple: It’s the charcoal!
So the BIG question is: what is the difference between carbon (in Mexico) and the charcoal briquettes we use? Here’s what we found online, which is kind of interesting.
The mesquite tree is harvested for carbon (charcoal) in Mexico. Mexican carbon is made by putting mesquite into a pit, lighting it on fire, and then covering it in soil or earth. The wood continues to burn and turns into carbon -- literally, lumps of burned wood.
American charcoal briquettes are made by compressing sawdust and other wood by-products, with a binder, usually starch, as well as other additives. Briquettes may also include brown coal (a heat source), mineral carbon (a heat source), borax, sodium nitrate (an ignition aid), limestone (an ash-whitening agent), raw sawdust (an ignition aid), and other additives like paraffin and petroleum solvents to aid in ignition as well.
2 comments:
Mmmm...delicioso! Sounds like you're having fun. I am jealous!
We have to get the girls together when you get back.
Mmmmm. Chicken-y. We expect a hands-on demonstration in a couple of weeks. Be there march 17 for a pint.
jon tevlin
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