Oven-grilled chicken with corn sauce

I used to cook this dish by first frying the chicken pieces before stirring it into the sauce. Well, that was then. This is now. I cooked the same dish for tonight’s dinner by grilling the chicken in the convection oven. I prepared the buttered corn kernels and the sauce separately. In short, there were three cooking procedures involved (don’t worry–they’re all simple and fast). When all of them were done, it was just a matter of assembling the dish to make it look like what you see in the photo. Note that a substantial amount of butter was used in making this dish.

The best cut of chicken would be large cuts like uncut legs and thighs, thighs and backs (what I used), or wings with the little drumstick attached. If you use smaller cuts, the chicken meat might turn dry during the grilling.

The basic recipe is good with pork and fish too.

Ingredients :

For the grilled chicken:

6 large chicken pieces
salt, pepper and finely minced garlic

For the buttered corn:

2 cups of (canned) corn kernels, well drained
1/4 c. of butter

For the sauce :

1/4 c. of butter
1 c. of corn liquid (from the canned corn kernels)
1 tsp. of tapioca or corn starch
salt
1 small onion, thinly sliced

Cooking procedure :

Rub the chicken pieces with salt, pepper and minced garlic. Place is a covered container and let sit in the coldest part of the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 175^oC. Grill the chicken until the juices from the thickest part runs clear when pricked with a pointed knife. During the last 8 to 10 minutes of grilling, set the oven temperature to maximum to brown the outside of the chicken pieces. Take the grilled chicken out of the oven and arrange on a serving platter.

While the chicken pieces cook, prepare the buttered corn and sauce.

Melt 1/4 butter in a saucepan and heat until frothy. Cook the drained corn kernels in the hot butter just until heated through. Sprinkle with a little salt and stir to blend well. Set aside.

Heat another 1/4 c. of butter in another saucepan. Cook the sliced onion for about a minute. Dissolve the starch in the corn liquid and pour into the saucepan. Season with salt and a little pepper. Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens and clears.

To assemble, spoon the buttered corn kernels over the chicken pieces. Pour the sauce over them.

Serve at once.