Jolly Ox Charbroil Chicken

  My friend Caramia knows good recipes.  Not only has she gathered a plethora of recipes to feed her family of five nutritious, homemade meals nearly every night of the week (usually very, very busy weeks), but she was a chemist in her former life so she really gets the science behind why some recipes work so well.

   Several years ago Caramia offered to share her family's Hawaiian Chicken recipe with me and I eagerly waited for it to arrive in my email box.   I do not like thick, gunky teriyaki recipes and Caramia assured me that this was not that kind of recipe. When it finally arrived, it improved my whole family's life.  We now eat this chicken at least every other week in the summer because it tastes so good grilled.  I currently have about 12 lbs. of it frozen in the marinade in bags in my deep freezer.  I love being able to just thaw it the night before and have it turn out full of flavor.

  Let's talk about the name of this recipe for just a moment because I so love the history behind it.  Even though Caramia calls it Hawaiian Chicken, when she sent it to me it arrived with the name Jolly Ox Charbroil Chicken. I had never heard of this restaurant so I did a little research and found an article on the website for The Chattanoogan.  It turns out that the Jolly Ox and Steak and Ale were one in the same.  At the time the chain was growing around the US, it was illegal in Tennessee to use any reference to alcohol in the name of a restaurant.  It seems this was a hold over from Prohibition.  Apparently there was a Jolly Ox in Knoxville as well.

  My husband and I share many great memories of dining at Steak and Ales while we were dating and newly married.  I never tried the chicken because, well, I was there for the steak!  Luckily for all of us, though, the chicken recipe lives on and is a great one to keep in your recipe box.

  While I sometimes serve this chicken as it is with a couple of sides, my favorite thing to do with it is to place the grilled meat on a fresh Kaiser bun and top it with cheddar cheese, grilled pineapple slices, and a little mayonnaise.

I almost always bake some sweet potato fries (only Alexia brand for our family!) and dip them in this AMAZING (really, really, really amazing) Raspberry Jalapeño Jam from Raven's Original.  You can order directly from the website or if you are lucky enough to have a Mast General Store near you, they usually have it.  My friend Gloria has treated me to 2 jars of this miracle find and we LOVE it.  It is delicious over cream cheese and served with Wheat Thins.

  However you choose to serve your Jolly Ox Charbroil Chicken, I feel certain you will love it!  Here is Caramia's recipe along with her original notes.  My only change is to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts as opposed to the whole chickens her original recipe called for.

Jolly Ox Charbroil Chicken

"The original recipe came from a restaurant that was in Knoxville many, many years ago.  This is an absolute family favorite that I have made with whole chicken pieces and with chunks of chicken that I then put on shish-ka-bobs with pineapple and red pepper pieces."

4 - 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( I use a mallet to flatten the larger pieces of the breast so that it will cook evenly)
10 oz. sherry (I just use cooking sherry from the grocery store)
14 oz. pineapple juice
1/2 C. red wine vinegar
3/4 C. sugar
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 C. soy sauce

Mix all ingredients together and pour over chicken.  Marinate for at least 24 hours.