Lemongrass and coconut white sauce chicken legs

  • Prep: 30m
  • Cook: 40m
  • Serves: 2

These chicken legs are based on a technique from Alabama, using Alabama white sauce (mayonnaise vinegar-based sauce). Cooking directly over hot coals charring the chicken then plunging it back into the white sauce then placing back onto the grill, this creates a wonderful caramelised / burnt coating (bark) that’s incredibly moreish. Here we do a mixture of this plunging and basting using sticks of lemongrass as your brush. Recipe from chef Matt Burgess and Coombe Farm Organic.

Method

  1. To make the lemongrass brush slice off ½ cm of the woody end and with a rolling pin/ hammer lightly bash the woody end until it frays. Now you have a lemongrass grill brush, as you brush the chicken the natural oils of the lemongrass coat the chicken and coconut baste.
  2. Place everything into the pan.
  3. Bring to boil on a medium flame, and reduce to medium heat so as not to boil over, thicken the coconut milk (around 8 minutes)
  4. Once thickened – should be same consistency as double cream.
  5. Now add the salt and lime juice
  6. Remove your chicken from the fridge, slash the skin side with 3-4 cuts and let it come to room temperature.
  7. Pat dry with a kitchen towel, set up BBQ for direct cooking over coals or wood, your target temperature should be 200°C-250°C.
  8. Place chicken legs directly on the grill skin side down once nicely charred turn over the leg, take your lemongrass brush and baste the skin side liberally, the fire may flare up and sizzle, don’t worry this is flavour.
  9. Keep repeating this process on both sides, once both sides have a good char, plunge chicken into the white sauce, keep cooking until the chicken is cooked (around 30 minutes) if the chicken is becoming too charred place chicken away from fire and close lid of BBQ, if you have a meat probe, internal temp should be over 70°C
  10. Finish chicken legs leaving to rest in drizzles of the coconut white sauce, sprinkle over your favourite garnish, I love spring onions and chilli flakes however coriander or Thai basil works just as well.

Ingredients

All to be sourced organic where possible

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