Save a Pig, Eat a Chicken

Over the summer, Nate and I spent way too much money on meat. We get so excited about grilling, we tend to overdo it a little for roughly five months. And anyone who knows me well, knows how much I love all things pork. Pork chops to be specific. Recently, we've realized that chicken is much more affordable. Typically I detest chicken. However, my good friend Jen opened our eyes to the magic of a roaster chicken (i.e. a whole chicken). My brother then sent me the most amazing chicken recipe that we'll be making tonight for some friends. My brother, Luke, is one of the best cooks I know. He makes a lot of stuff from scratch, so we try to exchange recipes whenever we think of it.

While pork will probably always be my number one love (I'm pretty passionate about it), chicken is starting to make some inroads. So tonight, we'll save a pig and eat a chicken.

Senegalese Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces (leave the skin on) (or 8 pieces of chicken of the type you prefer, i.e. legs and thighs)
2 tablespoons olive oil (or any other vegetable oil)
4 medium-sized onions, sliced crosswise
8 tablespoons lemon juice (about 3 large lemons)
8 tablespoons vinegar (cider vinegar is best)
1 bay leaf
8 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons regular or Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons black pepper

Optional Spices:

1 hot chile pepper, cleaned and finely chopped -OR-
cayenne pepper powder

Optional Vegetables:

1 small cabbage, cut into chunks
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 bell pepper, cut into chunks

Instructions

Poke holes in the chicken pieces with a fork to allow the marinade into the meat.

Mix all the ingredients (except the optional vegetables) and allow the chicken to marinate in a covered glass dish in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours. Remove chicken from the marinade and SAVE the marinade. Cook according to one of the following methods:

Cooking method 1: Grill chicken on a gas or charcoal grill until skin is crispy and meat is cooked through.
Cooking method 2: Broil the chicken on high in an oven using a wire rack or a broiler tray (About 40-45 minutes. Turn over at 20 minutes.)

While chicken is browning, Remove onions from marinade and sauté them in a large saucepan for a few minutes. Add remaining marinade and the optional vegetables and bring to a slow boil and cook at a boil for ten minutes. Cook the marinade into a sauce. Reduce heat.

Serve with boiled white rice. Garnish with sliced vegetables or a green salad.