Rusty Chicken Thighs – What’s in a Name?

When I first came up, dishes had cool names, but that eventually went out of fashion, and chefs just started listing all the ingredients on the menu instead. That’s all well and good, but the problem for recipes like this “Rusty Chicken,” is that if I called it “Grilled Chicken Thighs marinated with Garlic, Soy, Maple Syrup, Chilies and Rice Vinegar,” you’d be thinking about all those parts and not the sum (of the yum?).

Since no one flavor dominates this beautifully balanced, all-purpose grilled chicken marinade, I’d prefer it just be called “rusty chicken” – celebrating the color of the marinade and meat, instead of the individual ingredients. I guess what I’m getting at is this doesn’t necessarily taste like the ingredients sound.

Besides, I think recipes with unique names take on their own personality, and it only takes a few tall tales to build a mythology around it. One reason Buffalo chicken wings taste so good is because they’re called “Buffalo wings,” and not “hot sauce & margarine-glazed wings.” Anyway, call this what you want, just make sure you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 or 2 cloves garlic sliced

2 tsp to 2 tbsp hot chili sauce or paste, or to taste

1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp mayonnaise

salt and pepper to taste

*Of course you should taste and adjust this marinade before pouring over the chicken!

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