Grilled Escabeche (BRW)

• 1/2 cup red wine or other vinegar
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 fresh thyme springs or 1 teaspoon dried
• 5 fresh marjoram or oregano sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried marjoram or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 small dried or fresh chile, optional
• 1 large onion, white or red, cut in half and sliced into half-moons
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs [The original recipe called for two pork tenderloins but suggested that any cut of chicken could be used]

After running out of I think an edition of the JP Gazette to light my chimney starter, I think I tried three different types of paper that I could find in the basement or backyard to start it.  Including manga and, out of desperation, wet newsprint.  Frustrated, I ran back up into the house thinking I might actually need to run out to Washington St somewhere and grab a free paper before remembering I had art-quality newsprint in my room.

It's hard to see, but by the time I ran downstairs, I noticed that the chimney had actually started despite my assumed failures.  It was pretty weak so I crumpled a piece of dry newsprint and shoved it in underneath.

If you hadn't figured out by now, newsprint is the most effective kind of paper to light a chimney starter with.  Don't even dare suggest that I should use lighter fluid, folks.  Though I guess manga paper may be bad for cooking too.

Bring nearly all the ingredients to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.  Excluding the protein obviously.

Chicken liberally seasoned with salt and pepper.

Unlike ATK, I don't think Mark Bittman's recipes actually specify what kind of "fire" to build with the coals.  I just poured them out in one layer.

Grilling the thighs until I think they were cooked through.  They were so thin that it didn't make sense to gauge them with an instant-read thermometer.

If you got to eat right away, let the proteins marinate in the liquid for at least fifteen minutes though overnight would be best.  Escabeche is yet another method of cooking that people dreamed up in order to prolong spoiling.  As with my previous entry on menudo, I googled this dish as well.  All other references besides BRW described the meat being poached or fried, not grilled.

I figured I needed a side and made Grilled Eggpant out of CI's 2010 Summer Grilling issue.  One of the major problems with cooking eggplant is dealing with its moisture.

On the grill, all of it just gets vaporized.  The result was just sublime though even a short stay in the fridge kind of ruined this.  Seriously though, grilled eggplant is totally worth it.

 Escabeche is yet another thing I've heard parlayed about a lot and I had finally gotten around to putting it together and eating it for the first time.  Quite largely, I probably cooked this recipe since it seems relatively hard to find a recipe that I can actually execute on my baby Weber kettle grill.  It was certainly interesting and worthwhile.  Unlike the menudo, I didn't wind up tossing the lot of it in the trash.
It seems like escabeche more typically refers to fried fish treated in the same manner.  Maybe someday...