When I was in Culinary School, the day we learned the technique of Grilling it was 110 degrees outside, and the air conditioning in our classroom has unexpectedly stopped working. The thermostat in the classroom read 120 degrees, and to say I wanted to melt on the floor was an understatement. I couldn’t even enjoy learning about the proper grilling techniques because all my brain could process was “must stay alive and not die of heat stroke”.

Due to this unfortunate introduction to grilling, I avoided grilling for the next few years, having flashbacks to the Sahara Desert Kitchen I was in, and assuming that all grilling experiences felt like you were on the surface of the sun. Silly as it sounds, that’s how traumatic that day in school was for me.

Fast-forward a few years now, and I LOVE grilling. Sitting outside in the fresh air, glass of cold wine in hand, smelling the amazing smells that only a grill can produce, it’s truly one of my favorite activities. When we moved down to New Jersey a few months ago, I was so excited to see that our new apartment building had the most beautiful state of the art grills that I could cook on. Last night, the weather seemed pretty iffy, but I was determined to make my new favorite chicken marinade recipe that I have been cooking on the grill. When it came time to cook, the rain decided to come too, and I was at a bit of a crossroads. This marinade I make is great because on the grill it chars up and the sugars crystalize and make a beautiful sweet crust, and this was just not something I could achieve in an oven.

Au Contraire.  Enter the Broiler in the oven (cue halleluiah chorus).

Your broiler on high is equivalent to a high setting on a grill….and while you may not get the grill marks, the broiler can do the trick when a grill is not available. Having cooked this recipe both on the grill and on the broiler, I can say the broiler was a great substitute in inclement weather! But I would also suggest trying this recipe out on the grill if you can!

Enjoy!