Go Back
Szechuan Buttermilk Grilled Chicken
Print Pin

Szechuan Buttermilk Grilled Chicken

Chicken gets a buttermilk brineand a lively spice mix—Szechuan peppercorns, cumin seeds and Korean red chile powder—then is grilled instead of frying.
Course Main Course, Poultry
Servings 4 to 6

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns (see Kitchen Notes)
  • 3 tablespoons gochugaru (or any chili powder)
  • salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 8 chicken thighs, skin-on and bone-in, about 1/2 pound each
  • freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • In a dry medium skillet, toast peppercorns and cumin seeds over a medium flame, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes. You want them fragrant and toasted, but not burned. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely. Thoroughly grind in a spice grinder. The peppercorns may not completely grind, leaving shards of their husks. Sift mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove them.
  • Mix the gochugaru, 1 teaspoon of salt and the sugar into the ground spices.
  • Trim excess fat from chicken thighs and place them in a large zippered plastic food storage bag. In a large measuring cup or a bowl, mix 4 tablespoons of the spice mixture into the buttermilk. Pour the buttermilk over the chicken, seal the bag and turn to coat all of the chicken. Marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
  • Grill the chicken. Remove chicken from the fridge about 1/2 hour before you're ready to grill it to let it come to room temperature—if you're using charcoal, probably shortly before you start the coals. While coals are heating up, remove chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the marinade. Season chicken generously with more of the spice mixture, and with salt and black pepper.
  • Arrange grill for indirect grilling, putting the hot coals on one side of the grill. Oil the grates and place chicken skin side up away from the coals. Close the grill lid and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Turn chicken skin side down, still away from the coals, close the grill lid and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes.
  • Move chicken, skin side up, over the coals, close the lid and cook for about 5 minutes, checking for flareups after a couple of minutes and moving chicken as needed. Turn and cook skin side down over the coals for a few minutes, lid closed. Turn chicken occasionally and cook until just cooked through—an instant read thermometer should read at least 160ºF. This could take up to another 10 minutes or so.
  • Transfer chicken to a platter and sprinkle with yet a little more spice mixture. Serve.

Kitchen Notes

Finding ingredients. You can find Szechuan peppercorns online, including at The Spice House. You can also find the gochugaru online from various sources, including H Mart (and yes, we did buy a 1-pound bag).
Prefer to fry? Here is the Mark Bittman recipe that inspired this one.