Any recipe that involves pounding chicken flat is a winner for me.  For some reason it makes me think of Monty Python.  I’m not sure if there is actually a skit that involved flattening out a chicken with a large frying pan, but there should have been.

In this very easy recipe, we bring together the great flavors of prosciutto and Fontina cheese in rolled chicken.  This worked great on the grill, giving it another dimension of flavor than if you just baked it.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast halves

4 slices of Fontina cheese

4 slices of Prosciutto

1 tbsp butter

4 sage leaves

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Flatten each chicken breast individually.  On a large cutting board, on a strong, stable surface, place the chicken breast half between two pieces of plastic wrap.  Alton suggests that we put a little water on the chicken and on top of the plastic wrap to keep the chicken from sticking and let the plastic slide around a bit.
2. Using a large, heavy frying pan, or a mallet, or a rolling pin, or a can of soup (or a bowling ball?), pound the chicken breast until it is about an 1/8 of an inch to 1/4 inch thick.
3. Add a slice of prosciutto to the chicken.  Add a slice of Fontina on top of the prosciutto.
4. Roll up the chicken and use a few toothpicks to secure the roll.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Repeat for the rest of the chicken breast.
7. Prepare the grill for direct medium heat grilling.
8. Place the chicken rolls on the grill and cook each side about 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown and they reach an internal temperature of 165° F (use your instant read thermometer)
9. Fry up the sage leaves in the butter, a minute or so on each side ’til a bit crispy.  Top the chicken with the sage leaves for a nice touch.

Sriracha sauce is a magically hot and delicious hot sauce from Thailand.  Straight out of the bottle, this stuff will light your day on fire.  Balanced with a little honey, lime juice and butter and you have yourself a spicy, but not painful wing sauce.  I love to grill chicken wings, especially during football season, but I sometimes get tired of the typical Buffalo sauce.  This is a great alternative to switch it up every once in a while.  We get quite a few questions on our grilled chicken wings article about saucing before, during or after cooking the wings.  I have tried all techniques and I personally think the only thing you are doing by applying sauce beforehand is creating a mess in your grill’s drip pan.  When you order your favorite wings at the local Sports bar, do they put the sauce on them before they hit the fryer?  No, that’s crazy talk, they put the sauce on them while that skin is piping hot and ready to soak up the good stuff.  Same principle here.  Ok, enough of that, lets get to my favorite new Asian-inspired chicken wings.

Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter

1/3 cup sriracha (add another 1/4 cup if you like it hot)

1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 lime juice

chicken wings

fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat your grill to medium-high.
2. Combine all of the sauce ingredients into a small pan and heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
3. Simmer for about 5 minutes and then keep the sauce warm while we grill the chicken wings.
4. Trim the wing tips (the part you can’t eat) from the wings if you have limited space on your grill.
5. Sprinkle the chicken wings with some fresh ground black pepper.
6. Grill the chicken wings until cooked through, about 18 to 20 minutes total, turning every few minutes.
7. Remove the chicken wings from the grill and place in a pot or bowl large enough to allow you  to toss them around in the sauce.
8. Add the sauce to the wings and toss to coat thoroughly, allowing them to soak in the sauce for a few minutes.
9. Enjoy with a cool beverage!

This was the best chicken sandwich I’ve ever made.  Hands down.  Everything turned out great and came together perfectly.  The chicken was moist, ’cause I followed the basic instructions for grilling chicken breasts.  And then my first attempt at making a balsamic vinegar reduction turned out great (other than stinking up the whole house).  The reduction melding with the goat cheese and the mild flavor from the sautéed red onions was the perfect combination.  It’s good.  Damn good.   And follow that with a nice cold beer….aaah, heaven.

Ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 buns
6 tablespoons goat cheese
1 small red onion, sliced in thin rings
handful of spring mix lettuce
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar reduction
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Sauté red onion with olive oil in pan over low heat until translucent and tender.  Remove from heat.
2. Fire up the grill to high for direct heat grilling. Clean and oil your grates.
3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
4. Place the breast on the hottest part of the grill 2 minutes.
5. Using tongs, lift each breast, rotate 45 degrees and then place them back on the grill.
6. After 2 to 4 minutes, lift the chicken breasts with tongs and flip them over.
7. Grill for 2 more minutes and then rotate again 45 degrees to make our grill marks on this side.
8. Continue grilling for another 1 to 2 minutes until juices run clear and then add the cheese.  Cook until cheese is melted, about 1 minute.  Remove from grill and let rest.
9. Toast buns over direct heat until brown.
10. Assemble sandwich with spring mix on the buns, then add chicken and onions.  Add reduced balsamic vinegar as a final touch.

For the balsamic vinegar reduction:

Place three cups balsamic vinegar to a non-reactive,  heavy-bottomed pot, preferably stainless steal.  Heat on low, until it just begins to simmer.  Reduce until it thickens to the consistency of chocolate syrup, or to desired consistency, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.  Be careful not to burn near the end of the thickening process.

To test the consistency, drizzle a bit onto a plate and then check how sticky it is.  If  it is too thick, add a little water to the pot, stir it up, and retest.

If you have a side burner on the grill, this is a great item for outdoor cooking.  Otherwise, it will likely stink up the whole house.  But it is worth it.  This stuff is the nectar of the vinegar gods.  Enjoy.

I’ve had a long term love affair with the chickensandwich.  There really isn’t anything fancy or special about it, but sometimes, a basic chicken sandwich is all you need.  This recipe is one of my favorite versions on the classic grilled chicken sandwich.

Ingredients
1 Boneless skinless chicken breast
2 slices of bacon
1 slice Swiss or provolone cheese
1 bun
tomato slices
lettuce
honey mustard
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Fire up the grill to high for direct heat grilling. Clean and oil your grates.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Place the breast on the hottest part of the grill 2 minutes.
4. Using tongs, lift each breast, rotate 45 degrees and then place them back on the grill.
5. After 2 to 4 minutes, lift the chicken breasts with tongs and flip them over.
6. Grill for 2 more minutes and then rotate again 45 degrees to make our grill marks on this side.
7. Continue grilling for another 1 to 2 minutes until juices run clear and then add the cheese.  Cook until cheese is melted, about 1 minute.  Remove from grill and let rest.
8. Toast the buns on the grill.
9. Add the chicken to the buns.
10. Top with bacon cooked with the must-have cast iron skillet. You can follow our directions here for super crispy bacon.
11. Smoother in honey mustard and top with lettuce and tomato. Add bun lid and eat.

This week we bring you what has become my favorite combination for grilling lately, butter + basil.  This one is really easy and quick.  I have a TON of basil growing in my yard these days and it is a difficult herb for grilling because it burns so easily.  Rosemary is no problem, it holds up to the heat.  Basil though needs some sort of barrier from the flame and butter seems to be the perfect basil protector.  Butter makes everything better, right?  You bet!  Let’s take a look at this really easy and yummy grilled butter basil chicken.

Ingredients:

Boneless, skinless chicken breats

1/2 stick of unsalted butter, melted

1/4 – 1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

Kosher salt

Ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the grill to high.
2. Rub the chicken breasts with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.
3. Combine the melted butter with the basil and then brush it on both sides of the chicken breasts.  Make sure you leave some so we can baste the breasts later.
4. Place the chicken breasts on the grill and grill for about 4 – 5 minutes on the first side.
5. Flip the chicken breasts over and baste with the remaining butter and basil mixture and close the lid.
6. Grill the chicken breasts for 5 more minutes or until done (every grill is different!).

Seriously, it doesn’t get any easier to make delicious grilled chicken.  If you haven’t done so already, plant some basil out back this Summer.  It’s easy to grow and a great herb to keep on hand.  You can thank me later…

Ingredients

2 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons butter

1 1/4 cup milk

1 bay leaf

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 onion

2 cloves

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 1/4 pound lean ground turkey

1 medium sliced tomato

6 to 8 sliced white button mushrooms

3 hamburger buns

6 slices of bacon

salt and pepper

Directions

The Sauce

There is cheese sauce, and there is cheese sauce.  This is one of the best.  However, that means a bit more work.

1.  Add the milk, bay leaf, onion, clove and nutmeg to a small sauce pan and simmer over low heat, but don’t let come to a boil,  for 15 minutes.

2. In another medium sauce pan, add 2 tablespoons of the butter.  Melt over a low heat.  Once melted, add flour and stir until smooth.  Cook over medium low heat until a light golden brown, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove the onion, bay leaf and clove from the milk.  Slowly integrate the milk into the butter and flour (roux) by adding small amounts of milk and whisking into the roux.  Repeat until all the milk is incorporated.  But go slow or you wind up with lumps.

4. To this (Béchamel sauce), slowly stir in the cheeses.   Reduce heat to low and stir occasionally.

The Shrooms

1. In a saute pan, saute the mushrooms over medium low heat in the remaining butter until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.

The Burgers

These are just square patties with salt and pepper to taste.  I made them square to fit on the square buns.  If you have round buns,  round patties.

1. On a prepared grill, over high direct heat, place the patties and grill for 4 to 6 minutes per side (depending on thickness) until cooked through.

2. When you flip, add a tomato slice on each burger to let the tomato cook.

Since this is poultry, if you are unsure of doneness, best to observe the rules of cooking temps for poultry and make sure internal temp is 160º F.

The Buns

1. Slice ‘em.

2. Toast them on the grill.  Watch ‘em closely, they can burn real quick.

The Bacon

Follow the directions for cooking bacon.

The Assembly with optional broil

1. In a baking dish, lay out the toasted bun bottoms.  Add the burger with tomato on top, one on each bun.  Add the mushrooms.  Add two slices of bacon.  Pour a good sized glob of sauce all over each burger.

2. At this point, you can optionally put these in your oven (gasp, and oven on a grilling site?) and broil on the top rack until the cheese is brown and bubbly, about 5 to 10 minutes.  This is the traditional way of making the Hot Brown. And after doing that with the leftovers, I wish I had done so with the original burger.  Watch it closely, it goes from brown to black in a very quick period of time.

Top with the bun, or serve open faced as typical Hot Browns are served.

Enjoy this taste of Kentucky.

“Put de lime in de coconut….”, my son is singing at the top of his lungs in the car.  ”Put de lime…”. I don’t know who taught him the song, but I am going to find them and hurt them!  ”…in de coconut”, wait a second, limes, coconut, hmm…and CHICKEN!  Yeah!  That sounds delicious, so I whip the car into the supermarket parking lot and make a deal with my son.  ”Forget you learned that song and you can pick out whatever ice cream you want for dessert tonight”.  Done!  Now let’s start thinking about dinner.

This is a great marinade for grilled chicken, especially in the Summer months.  I don’t know about you, but the tastes of coconut and lime (and rum for that matter) make me feel like I am on vacation.  Throw this marinade together, let it soak for a few hours and you have a great Summer cookout.

Ingredient

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

14 ounce can coconut milk

2 limes, juiced

Zest from 1/2 lime

Kosher salt

ground black pepper

Directions

1. Combine the coconut milk, lime juice and lime zest in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
2. Place the chicken breasts in a glass dish just large enough to hold the chicken breasts and marinade.
3. Pour in the marinade, turn the breasts to coat and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 4 hours.  Relax, enjoy the sun, have a few drinks!
4. Preheat the grill to high heat.
5. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and pat each breast with a paper towel to remove some of the marinade, just so that too much doesn’t create a mess in the grill.
6. Season the marinated chicken breasts with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.
7. Place the chicken breasts on the grill and grill with the lid open for 6 – 8 minutes.  When the chicken breasts start to cook through, you will see the sides getting more and more opaque.
8. Flip the breasts over and grill for an additional 6 – 8 minutes on the other side, until the breasts are done (if you are using a meat thermometer, you are looking for 160 degrees).
9. Remove from the grill and serve with a Rum drink!

“Put de lime in the de coconut and you’ll feel better!”.  I’ll feel better once I have some of the ice cream my son picked out, Moose Tracks!

I’m pretty fired up this week!  I got a brand new gas grill with all of the bells and whistles, including a really cool built-in rotisserie system that tucks away when not in use.  I can already see a lot of meat spinning on this bad boy in the next few months!  Right after I got her all set up (yes, it is a she), I ran out to the grocery store and bought a whole chicken to break in the rotisserie.  I love this simple herb butter mixture for roasted chicken and it made an amazing rotisserie chicken.  Don’t even try to resist eating some of that crispy, golden brown, buttery skin.  All in moderation, right?

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon rosemary leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Combine the herbs, Kosher salt and pepper in a coffee grinder (obviously one that has been cleaned of all coffee) or food processor and grind into a fine mince.
2. Soften the butter slightly in the microwave or allow to soften on the counter (if you have the patience).  We are talking softened here, not melted.  We need the butter to stick to the chicken, not immediately drip off the carcass.
3. Combine the herbs and butter in a small bowl.
4. Rinse the whole chicken with cold water and make sure you remove all of the nasty bits from inside the cavity and then pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
5. Carefully separate the skin from the breast meat using your fingers and tuck some of the herbed butter mixture up under the skin of the chicken.
6. Rub the remaining herbed butter concoction all over the outside of the chicken.
7. Secure the chicken to the rotisserie, following the instructions of your model.
8. Use a piece of cooking twine to secure the chicken legs together and to the rotisserie, to keep your chicken from kicking your pan over or losing a limb during rotation.
9. Place a pan of water underneath the chicken to catch the drippings and to provide steam during the cooking process.
10. Light your burners to medium-high heat (per your rotisserie’s instructions) and cook with the lid closed until a thermometer inserted into the breast meat reads 160 degrees.  It will take about an hour and a half for a 4 pound whole chicken.
11. Carefully remove the chicken from the rotisserie and either carve or eat it whole with your hands like a Caveman (or Woman)!  Don’t forget that yummy skin.

There are so many great uses for beer.  It’s great when it it is hot or even when it’s not.  You can drink it on the coast or wherever you like it the most.  You can drink it here, you can drink it there, you can drink it (almost) anywhere!  Uh, sorry, my son is on a Seuss kick.  More importantly for grill recipes, you can soak meat in it!  This beer brined chicken produces a really great tasting, juicy and tender grilled chicken.  The chicken really doesn’t need much else after the brine soaking, but I’ll include a simple rub to make it look pretty and give it a little more barbecue taste.  If you don’t have all of the rub ingredients, just hit her with a healthy amount of fresh ground pepper and leave it at that.  The brine is the star of the show here.

Ingredients

1 whole roasting chicken

2 cups water

1/4 cup Kosher salt

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 12 ounce Lager beers

3 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Directions

1. Mix together the water, Kosher salt and brown sugar in a small sauce pan and heat on the stove until just before boiling.
2. Remove from the heat and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.
3. Stir in the two beers and allow the brine mixture to cool to room temperature.
4. Remove the bag of nasty gizzards and what-not from the cavity of the whole chicken and then rinse with cold water.
5. Place the whole chicken in a sealable bag and pour in the brine.
6. Place the bag o’ chicken and beer brine in a bowl large enough to catch any leaks (trust me on this one, my wife still won’t let me live that one down…) and then place in the refrigerator.
7. Allow the chicken to soak in the brine for 12 hours.
8. Remove the chicken from the brine and rinse thoroughly with cold water.  I know it’s tempting, but don’t try to salvage that beer, that’s just nasty.
9. At this point, I like to butterfly the chicken so that it cooks faster.  Don’t know how to do that?  Check out these instructions.  It’s easy and I even saw it as a challenge on one of those Food Network Challenge things, so if that ever comes up in your life, you’re welcome…
10. Preheat the grill, keep one side at low and the other at medium.
11. Combine the paprika, cumin, pepper, celery salt and onion powder in a small bowl.
12. Pat dry the chicken and then rub with the paprika rub.
13. Grill the chicken skin side down for about 10 minutes with the lid closed, moving it around if the fat produces flare-ups.
14. Flip the chicken over and continue to grill until a thermometer in the breast meat reads around 160 degrees, 170 in the thigh.  It should take around 30 – 45 minutes, but rely on the temperature and not the time.  Move the chicken over to the lower heat side if the skin gets a little too browned or burned.  You can always peel that skin off, so don’t sweat it if you burn a litte.
15. Remove the beer brined chicken from the grill and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
16. Enjoy with the rest of that beer you purchased!

I never knew I had a “thing” for coconut milk until the first time I sat down in a Thai restaurant.  The person I was with was from Thailand and she suggested I start with Red curry chicken, which is a Thai chicken dish of red curry, coconut milk and some form of magical “you can’t ever eat enough of this” Thai pixie dust.  Just the smell of this Thai chicken marinade almost brought me back to that first encounter, almost.  I’m still adjusting the flavors here, so let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions.  The marinade is pretty easy to throw together with stuff I usually have on hand, which is another huge bonus. Throw this Thai chicken marinade together in the morning, let it soak all afternoon and then fire up the grill in the evening.  The anticipation will be enough to drive you crazy all day after you get a whiff of this marinade.

Ingredients

2 lbs. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon lemongrass paste

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 inch fresh ginger, minced

1/2 of a bunch of cilantro, minced

Directions

1. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Place the chicken breasts in a Ziplock bag and pour in the marinade.
3. Seal the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible before completely sealing.
4. Place the bag in a refrigerator and marinate for 6 hours, turning the bag over halfway through.
5. Preheat the grill to  high heat and make sure you clean and lubricate the grates.  We don’t want our Thai chicken to stick!
6. Once the grill is nice and hot, remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and place on the grill.
7. Grill the Thai marinated chicken for 6 – 8 minutes on the first side.
8. After 6 – 8 minutes, flip the  chicken breasts over to the other side and continue to grill for an additional 6 – 8 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

All I can say is WOW.  This is one dinner where I really didn’t argue with my son too much when he didn’t want to eating what we were eating for dinner (yeah, we are in THAT phase).  After telling him he could be excused from the table (with no dessert), I inhaled his leftover chicken breast.  Goat cheese and basil jammed into poultry and then cooked over an open flame is one of the best things that will come off of your grill.  This grilled goat cheese and basil stuffed chicken is a really easy and quick grilling recipe.  Even easier if you are like me and grow your own basil (and REALLY easy if you have a goat in the yard!).  How easy?  Let’s take a look…

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese

2 green onions, sliced thin

2 – 3 tablespoons of fresh basil chopped fine

Kosher salt

Ground black pepper

Directions

1. Create a “pocket” in the chicken breasts by slicing them length-wise, but not all of the way through.  We don’t want to butterfly the chicken, just create a large pocket to hold our gooey goat deliciousness.
2. Mix the goat cheese, green onions and basil together in a bowl and divide into 3 equal portions.
3. Stuff the pocket on each chicken breast with a portion of the stuffing.  Roll up your sleeves and use your hands to work the stuffing into the pockets and then press the ends together on the chicken to seal the pocket.
4. Rub the outsides of the chicken breasts with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.
5. Light the grill on high.
6. Place the stuffed chicken breasts on the grill and grill direct for about 5 minutes per side or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
7. Serve and try to resist the urge to lick the excess stuffing off of your plate…

Stuffing a chicken breast almost always makes a boring boneless skinless more interesting (I say almost.  I’ll leave the story of the anchovy olive stuffed chicken breast disaster for another time).  In this recipe we stuff with ham, sage and some Parmesan cheese.

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (halves)
2 cups of cubed day old white bread
2 ounces sliced ham
3/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cups dry white wine
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Using a paring knife, carefully cut a 2 inch slit in the thick side of each breast, inserting the knife to create a pocket.  Be careful not to cut through to the other side or enlarge the whole more than the 2 inch slit.

2. Marinade the breasts in the wine with salt and pepper and a pinch of the sage.  Marinade in the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour.

3. Combine the remaining sage, ham, bread and cheese in a bowl.  Mix, then drizzle the oil over the mixture.  Season with the salt and pepper and mix again.

4. Stuff the chicken.  I love Alton Browns solution to use a large plunger with the end cut off to stuff chicken breasts.  This works great.

5. Oil, salt and pepper the outside of the chicken.  Grill on direct high heat for about 5 to 6 minutes per side until the breast reaches about 160º.

Let the chicken rest for a few minutes, then dig in.

I have been itching to try this yogurt marinade for a long time, so much so that I prepped the marinade and butterflied the chicken at 6AM last week before leaving for work.  I read on the Internet (so it has to be true!) that marinating chicken in yogurt results in a very tender and moist chicken and I really wanted to try it for dinner.  The results?  Well, it was a great tasting chicken but I don’t think it was any more tender than usual.  Don’t get me wrong, this recipe is still a keeper, but I don’t think I will clean a chicken at 6AM for it again (especially since I woke up the kids and got in trouble).

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken split in half

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 inch piece of fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions:

1. Scrape the paper-thin skin off of the fresh ginger using the edge of a spoon and then grate the ginger with a cheese grater.
2. Combine the grated ginger, yogurt, salt and cumin in a bowl and whip to combine thoroughly.
3. Place the chicken halves in a Ziplock bag, add the marinade, seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours, turning the bag at least once.
4. Prepare your grill for indirect grilling by lighting one side on high and leaving the other side off.  We are going to sear the chicken to get some great crispy skin and then roast with the lid closed on the cool side of the grill.
5. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place skin side down on the hot side of the grill.  Watch for flare-ups at this point, that skin likes to drip its fat onto the coals and cause problems.  If flare-ups occur, just slide the chicken over until the flames go out.
6. Continue to grill with the skin side down for a few minutes, until you get a nice brown skin.
7. Flip the chicken over and move it to the cool side of the grill.
8. Close the lid and maintain a temperature on the cool side of the grill of about 350 – 400 degrees.  This is where a great probe thermometer comes in handy.  Simply place the thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and roast the chicken until you hit 160 degrees.
9. Once the breasts hit 160 degrees, you are done!  Remember to leave the lid closed as much as possible to maintain the heat.

Do you own a lime squeezer?  No?  Well then, you’ll have forearms the size of Popeye after this recipe, but it will be worth it.  I just bought a lime squeezer and I can’t believe I’ve made it this long without it.  I’m juicin’ like crazy now, but this isn’t a commercial, so I’ll try and not talk about my favorite new kitchen gadget.  Don’t use one of those little plastic lime-shaped bottles either, you are better than that!  Suck it up and start squeezing…then buy a juicer tomorrow (it’s Summer and you need to make some drinks anyway).

This marinade is intense and really adds great flavor to the chicken.  We are using a whole chicken in this case, but you can use chicken pieces if that is easier for you.  If you try this with boneless, skinless chicken breasts though, cut the marinating time in half.  I leave the seeds in the jalapeno because I like a nice kick.  You can remove them if you don’t like the heat, I won’t make fun of you.  Are you ready for your forearm workout?  Let’s do this…

Ingredients:

6 – 8 limes (we need about a cup of lime juice)

zest from 1 lime

2 jalapenos

1 clove garlic

1 bunch cilantro, just the leaves

1 tablespoon honey

3 teaspoons ground cumin

Directions:

1. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a food processor and combine thoroughly.
2. If you are using a whole chicken, flatten that sucker and then combine the marinade and chicken in a Ziploc-type bag, squeeze all of the air out and then seal.
3. Place the bag in the refrigerator and allow the chicken to marinade for 4 hours, turning the bag a few times to give the entire chicken equal marinade love.  Remove the bag from the refrigerator and place on the counter 45 minutes before grilling.  We want that chicken to warm up to room temperature so that it cooks evenly.
4. Light the grill for indirect cooking.  If you are using a gas grill, light half of the burners to high and leave the others off.  If you are using charcoal, pile all of the coals to one side of the grill.
5. Place the chicken skin side down on the hot side of the grill to sear the skin.  Grill for about 5 minutes until the skin is charred to your liking.  As you can tell from the photo, I love some charred chicken skin, but that’s just me.  Keep moving the chicken around if it flares up too much.
6. Once the skin is nice and crispy, flip the chicken over and move to the cool side of the grill with the skin side up and close the lid.
7. Continue to grill until a meat thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast reads around 155 – 160 degrees.  It should take around 30 minutes on a 350 – 400 degree grill.  Keep the lid close as much as possible to retain your heat.  It’s skin side up on the cool side of the grill, so no burning worries, just leave it alone and drink one of those fruity drinks you made with the left over lime juice!
8. Once the breast registers 155 – 160 degrees, remove the chicken from the grill and place on a platter to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (around 4 – 5 pounds)

1/2 cup honey

6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Let’s disassemble a bird. Lay the whole chicken breast side down on your cutting board.
2. Feel around his (or her) back until you feel the backbone running straight down the middle. I haven’t read about any cases of scoliosis in chickens, so it should be straight down the center of the back.
3. Using kitchen shears or a knife, cut down both sides of the backbone. The bones are pretty thin in this area, so you should be able to cut through with little effort.
4. Remove the backbone completely and trim off any excess fat around where the tail used to be.
5. Ok, here’s where it’s a little tricky the first time. Spread the chicken open and locate the white piece of grissel you see here just to the right of my finger? Cut through it with the knife.
6. There is a bone starting under that piece of grissel called the keel bone and it runs down the length of the breasts. If you bend the chicken back a little farther, you’ll start to see the keel bone poke out between the breasts.
7. Work your fingers down each side of the keel bone to loosen and then pull it out. See why they call it a keel bone (boat reference..)?
8. Now you can either leave the chicken flat or cut all the way through where the keel bone used to be to form two half chickens. I prefer to work with two halves, easier to move around the grill.
9. Now light your grill for a two zone, indirect grilling session. If you are using gas, you’ve got it easy, just light half of your burners to medium high and leave the other half off (preferably the center burners should be off). For you charcoal folks, pile up a chimney full of charcoal on one side of the grill.
10. Combine the honey and balsamic vinegar in a bowl and whisk thoroughly to form our glaze.
11. Generously salt and pepper both sides of your chicken.
12. Once the grill is ready, place the chicken skin side down on the hot side of the grill. Stay close by, the fat from the skin is going to flare up! When it does, just move your chicken off the flame until the flare up goes out.
13. Sear the chicken for 5 – 10 minutes (depending on the temperature of your grill). We are looking to crisp up the skin and create a little char, but not burn the entire skin.
14. Once you are done searing, flip the chicken over skin side up and move the chicken to the cool side of the grill.
15. Using a mop or brush, baste the chicken with the honey balsamic glaze and close the grill’s lid.
16. We want to keep the grill at as close to 350 as possible and only open the lid to baste the chicken. Just like your oven, the grill looses all of the heat each time you open the lid.
17. Continue to baste the chicken with the glaze every 10 minutes or so and keep the lid closed in between basting.
18. Grill the chicken until a thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast reads around 160 degrees and the outside skin has darkened.
19. Hit the chicken with a little more glaze and place on a platter to serve.
20. Allow the chicken to rest for about 10 minutes before you carve.

See? Told you this was easy! Sure, you can buy half chickens, but they are little more expensive and you won’t be able to impress your family with your new butchering skills. With a little practice, you’ll disassemble that bird in no time flat (get it?)…

I love fried foods as much as everyone else, but lately I am just burned out on fried chicken strips and nuggets. Maybe it’s the fact that they are a daily staple of my kids’ diets or maybe it’s because my wife is Italian and it seems to be a staple at every big family “sauce cooked all day” dinner (sorry Honey).  Whatever the origins of my fried chicken fatigue, I just need a break from the heavy breading and grease.  Well, I have recently been cooking an alternative that still gives me that satisfying crunch, but much lighter. We recently did some breaded and grilled pork chops, so I wanted to carry that over to chicken to see if my kids liked this alternative to fried chicken strips. So far, it’s been a hit around the house. The key is to pound down the chicken so that it cooks quickly, so that the breadcrumbs don’t have a chance to burn. This is a great, quick recipe for any night of the week and thanks to those bags of frozen chicken breasts, they can usually be made without a special trip to the store.  Let’s get right to this really simple recipe.

Ingredients:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts

Italian style breadcrumbs

Olive oil

Directions:

1. Light the grill and heat to medium heat.
2. Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board and cover with a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap (or put them in a resealable bag).
3. Using a flat, blunt object like a pan or meat tenderizer, take out your frustrations on the chicken breast and pound them down to about 1/2 inch thick. To me, the thinner the better. By the way, my son loves to help with this part, so get the kids involved with dinner!
4. Pour the enough breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl to cover the bottom.
5. Coat each chicken breast with Olive oil and then press into the bowl of breadcrumbs.
6. Thoroughly cover the chicken breasts with the breadcrumbs, pushing the chicken down into the bowl to ensure the crumbs stick to the chicken.
7. Place the chicken cutlets on the grill and grill with the lid closed for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
8. Check the chicken.  The breasts are pounded thin, so you should be able to see the chicken turning opaque on the edges as the chicken cooks through.  If they look to be cooked on the first side and the breadcrumbs are golden brown, you are ready to flip them.  If not, crank up the heat to medium-high, close the lid and give them a few more minutes.
9. Flip the breasts over, close the lid and grill for another 4 – 5 minutes on the second side.
10. The chicken cutlets are done when the meat is firm and the breadcrumbs are golden brown on both sides.  To check the doneness of the cutlets, pick them up with tongs and they shouldn’t bend under their own weight like they did when they were raw.
11. Remove from the grill, serve and enjoy!

Have these chicken cutlets replaced the fried variety at our Italian family dinners?  Heck no, they won’t let me cook because I am not Italian.  That’s ok though, the kids love them at home and they are a great alternative to their usual fried chicken tenders.

I have an unhealthy (literally and figuratively) obsession with Buffalo chicken wings. To me, the hotter the better. I’ll have to admit though, lately I have been craving a new (to me) type of chicken wing, something a little different and a lot Asian. One of my son’s favorite grilling recipes is soy and honey glazed chicken skewers. He loves to eat them on the stick and we love to make them into delicious chicken wraps. Well, a slight modification to the soy honey glaze is awesome on chicken wings as well. The key is to get the skins of the chicken wings nice and crispy on the outside and then start basting on the cool side of the grill so that all of that delicious glaze soaks in and sticks to the skins. Let’s get right into my new chicken wing obsession….

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken wings

1 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

3 tablespoons honey

3 cloves garlic

2 inch piece of fresh ginger

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Peel and chop the garlic and ginger. If you haven’t worked with fresh ginger before, it can look a little strange and maybe somewhat daunting, so I’ll offer you a few tips. There is a thin skin on the outside, sort of like an onion. All you need to do to remove the skin is to scrape the ginger with the edge of a spoon. It’s that easy! Freeze your unused ginger in freezer bags for the next time. Want another tip? Next time you use that frozen ginger, grate it with a cheese grater, it’s a lot easier than chopping! Ok, back to the show…
2. Heat the sesame oil in a sauce pan over medium heat.
3. Add the ginger and garlic and “sweat” them, just until you start smelling the aroma of both. Don’t brown that garlic!
4. Add the soy sauce, honey and vinegar and reduce your heat to low.
5. Let the glaze slowly simmer for a few minutes, stirring often and then kill the heat.
6. Light your grill for medium heat.
7. Grill the chicken wings over medium heat with the lid closed for about 4 minutes per side. These times always vary. What you are looking for is nice golden brown skin on all sides of the wings. A little charring never hurt anyone, but don’t burn them.
8. Once the wings are nice and brown and crispy, shut the burner off on one side of the grill and turn the remaining burners up to high. We DON’T want to glaze over an open flame. The glaze has honey and we all know honey and sugar burn, so keep the wings away from the flame! If using a charcoal grill, carefully remove the wings and the grate and pile all of the coals up to one side. Replace the grate and put all of the wings over the cool side of the grill.
9. Now we glaze! Continually brush the wings with the glaze and close the lid in between brushings until you create a great sticky glaze all over those beautiful wings.
10. While that’s going on, toast your sesame seeds on a dry pan until you start to smell them cooking and remove from the heat.
11. Once you are satisfied with the glaze (or you can’t stand it anymore and have to dig in), remove the wings from the grill and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
12. Serve the remaining glaze as a dipping sauce.

I’m not saying this recipe will cure you from your own Buffalo sauce addiction, but it has definitely become a new favorite around my house. I may be weird, but I think these are even better the next afternoon straight out of the refrigerator…

When it comes to cloves, I’m a firm believer there is no middle ground.  Most people fall into two categories, those that love cloves and those that are repulsed by the hint of any taste even close to a clove.  I can’t really decide where I fall on the issue, but I tend to think cloves are “just ok” if they are part of the flavor profile.  I am, on the other hand, a huge fan of any simple rub I can make at the last minute with ingredients I always have on hand.  It’s great to be able to go into my Mad Scientist (a little of this, a little of that) role and whip up some great flavor for those bland chicken breasts.  I’m talking about cloves so much as a warning.  If you fall into the “clove hater’s” club, move on now and look for something else to cook on this grilling session.

Still here?  Ok, I warned you, I hope you like cloves…

Ingredients

3 – 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 teaspoons black peppercorns

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

2 dried bay leaves

3 whole cloves

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions

1. Light your grill to about medium heat (if your chicken breasts are real thin, high heat will do).
2. Place all of the spices in a coffee grinder and grind until everything is the same size.
3. Rinse and pat the chicken breasts dry and then rub them all over with the spice rub.
4. Once the grill is ready, place the chicken breasts on the grill over the hottest section.  We want a little sear, then move them over medium heat to finish if your breasts are a little on the thicker side.
5. Continue to grill the chicken for about 8 minutes per side over medium heat, or around 5 minutes per side over high heat (thinner breasts).  Note, these are guidelines for times, it all depends on your grill and the thickness of your chicken breasts.  Don’t overcook the chicken, but make sure it cooks all the way through.  One way to tell is by feel.  Push on the tops of the chicken breasts.  We want them to be firm, the indention from your finger should “spring back” relatively quickly.  If you can still see the indention after a few seconds, they probably aren’t done in the middle.  Takes a little practice, but the grilling by feel technique will prevent you from having to pierce the meat.
6. Remove from the grill, allow the chicken breasts to rest for about 5 minutes and then serve!

I think this rub has a nice little kick and just a subtle enough clove taste to make it interesting.  I warned you though, don’t try this at home if you have a clove hatin’ dinner table!

Mike was kind enough to share this with our readers.  Please return the favor and visit his site.  You’ll thank me for the suggestion.

Pesto Planked Chicken! Well it’s mid February here in southwest Ohio and the thrill of winter and experiencing the “changing of the seasons” is about 12 weeks old. In fact, the last time this cold weather and repeated snow was enjoyable was when it was still Fall, 60 degrees, and this winter imagery was just that, a mental image.

Nonetheless, the path to the grills is well shoveled and I was able to reset the GFI outlet on the deck which had rendered the deck lightless Thursday and required me at the time to grill by iPhone light. The cold weather has unfortunately stifled my creativity too (of course some will argue I have no creativity, but I will ignore my best friends for now). So, when I glanced at a plank grilling book at a bookstore over the weekend, I thought of adapting something different to the grill and voila, I have tonight’s dinner.

Everyone knows I hate boneless, skinless, chicken breasts. I would much rather take a fryer, cut it up/spatchcock it/roto it/whatever, than grill a nondescript breast. In fact, I’m slightly embarrassed Slashfood featured this picture in their Drool Over This feature. So, when I decided to grill chicken tonight, I decided to not only cut it up, but to grill it on a cedar plank.

The extra step that made dinner easy, was the pesto I had frozen in ice cube trays. I can’t remember where I picked this hack up, but it has paid off time and time again.

Ingredients:

Chicken Fryer cut into pieces
Pesto
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Cedar Plank

Directions:

1. Take your cedar plank and soak it in water for at least an hour. I talk more about planks here.
2. Preheat our grill to medium high
3. Cut up your chicken into pieces.
   
   
4. Rub your chicken pieces in olive oil and then season with salt and pepper.
   
   
5. Place your soaked plank on the grill over direct heat for approximately 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, the plank should start to smoke and burn. Remove it, and turn it over. Place your chicken pieces, equally spaced on the unburned side and return to the grill over low direct heat/medium direct. In other words, maintain a hood temp of 350ish, but keep the plank over burner(s) on low.
   
   
6. I will cook the breasts for approximately an hour over direct low. Because I cut my own planks, they are fairly thick and can take the low heat for an extended amount of time. If you buy thin planks from the store, you may be forced to go into indirect heat so you don’t end up with this.
7. During the last 20 minutes of grilling, smother the breasts with pesto.
8. Serve when the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.

Pesto is always good on chicken, but the cedar adds a really nice smokey flavor that not only makes this a great dinner, but the base for great pesto chicken salad the next day.

Who doesn’t like meat on a stick? It’s meat…with a handle! I watch that Bizarre Foods show and from that show alone have determined that there must be something psychological about skewering meat that will make people eat just about anything. “Scorpions? Uh, I don’t know…oh, they are on a stick? Heck yeah!” To further prove my theory that no one can resist a skewered piece of meat, I present my oldest son (5 years old). Most dinners around my house begin with a negotiation “how many bites do I need to take to get a Fudge Pop (which is ice cream, on a stick, by the way)?”. My son eats for dessert, unless dinner involves a stick as well. Case in point is this next recipe, which has become a favorite around the house for all ages. Skewer up some chicken breast slices, make a quick glaze and hope there are enough left over to make a few chicken wraps. Mr. “How Many Bites?” usually snags as many as he can before we can even chop up the garnish for the wraps.

Ingredients

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

6 – 8 wood skewers, soaked in water for about 30 minutes

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic chopped

3/4 cup honey

Directions

1. Light your fire. We want a direct, high heat grilling zone to cook the chicken most of the way through and then a medium, indirect heat zone to finish them off while we glaze. If using a gas grill, light two of the burners on high and the remaining burners on low. If using a charcoal (like me this time), pile all of the coals up to one side.
2. While the grill is heating up, heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil to medium heat.
3. Add the garlic and ginger and cook to soften, around 4 minutes, stirring occasionally so we don’t burn. We just want to soften, not brown or burn, so watch carefully.
4. Stir in the soy sauce and allow to simmer gently for about 2 minutes and then add the honey. Gently simmer the honey for another 2 minutes to melt, stirring frequently.
5. Remove the glaze from the heat and set aside.
6. Slice the chicken breast into long slices about 1 inch wide.
7. Skewer the chicken slices onto the soaked skewers.
8. Place the chicken skewers over the high heat and cook for about 5 minutes on the first side with the lid open/off.
9. After about 5 minutes, turn the chicken skewers over and move to the cooler side of the grill.
10. Continuously brush the chicken with the glaze for another 5 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Keep an eye on the chicken, all of that honey will burn over higher heat, so reduce heat or move the chicken away from the heat as necessary. Make sure you liberally brush on the glaze and keep the lid closed when possible, closing the lid will aid in the glazing process.

    

11. Once the chicken is done, sprinkle on the toasted sesame seeds and move to a platter.

We like to assemble wraps with the chicken, fresh cilantro, green onions, shedded lettuce and a drizzle of the left-over glaze (a little goes a long way, it’s sweet!). If you are worried about contamination, bring the glaze to a simmer to kill anything off. As long as you brushed the cooked side (as instructed), you should be fine. Watch that platter though, the meat on a stick tends to disappear quickly!

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts were on sale last week, so I bought 6 packages.  I am a cheap man with a lot of freezer space, so it just made sense to me.  So needless to say, my kids seem to be growing feathers this week from all of the chicken intake.  I knew I needed to switch it up quick or my family was going to walk out on me, so I decided to make one of our favorite family meals, only this time on the grill.

Chicken enchiladas are perfect for families.  Well, any meal I can cook one night and eat for the next 2 is perfect, and enchiladas definitely fit into that category.  Though I usually cook these in the oven, marinating and then grilling the chicken with the vegetables really adds great flavor to this dish. There are many recipes out there for enchiladas, especially the filling and sauce, but here is my simple recipe.

Ingredients

Easy Enchilada Sauce:
28 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
few drops of hot sauce (to taste)

Enchilada Filling:
Corn tortillas
3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 medium onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Chicken Marinade:
4 limes
1 jalapeno
1 cup of fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions

1. Let’s start out by marinating the chicken. This marinade is really potent, so you don’t need a lot of time to add great flavor. An hour will do it, 2 hours are even better. Throw all of the marinade ingredients into the food processor, pulse and then pour it over the chicken breasts in a bowl.
2. Let the chicken marinate for at least an hour, up to 3 hours, flipping the breasts once. The last 30 minutes should be on the counter at room temperature.
3. While the chicken is marinating, chop up your cilantro and slice the onion into thick slices. Try to keep all of the rings together so you don’t have to chase onions around the grill.
4. Heat the tomato sauce in a pot until it just starts to boil and then turn the heat down to low to slightly simmer.
5. Add all of the spices to the sauce and stir well.
6. Adjust the spices to taste. Enchilada sauce has a hint of cinnamon and I like mine with a little heat. Adjust to your liking…
7. Now that the chicken has been marinating for an hour, let’s move the party outside and fire up the grill!
8. Heat one side of the grill to medium heat, while leaving one burner on the other side completely off. The cool side will become our heating station for the tortillas. Heating them on the grill will allow us to pick up a little additional smoke taste from the chicken.

   

9. Grill the chicken over the hot (medium) side of the grill with the lid closed while cooking.
10. At the same time, grill the onions to soften them slightly and create some good grill marks.
11. Once the chicken has cooked through, the onions are slightly softened and the tortillas are warm, let’s move it back to the kitchen.
12. Slice or pull the chicken into thin pieces and place into a bowl.
13. Dice the grilled onions and add them to the bowl with the chicken.
14. Add your cilantro and cumin to the bowl and we’ve got an enchilada fiesta!

    

15. Taste the filling in the bowl. Want a little heat? Add some cayenne. Not salty enough? You know what to do…
16. Ladle enough sauce into a casserole dish to cover the bottom of the dish, just enough so that the tortillas don’t stick.
17. Scoop some of the chicken filling into each tortilla, roll the tortilla and place it with the fold down into the dish, on top of the sauce.
18. Once you’ve used all of the chicken filling (or ran out of room), pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the enchiladas.
19. Layer on some shredded Monterrey Jack cheese and place under a broiler until the cheese has browned slightly.
20. Serve with some rice and enjoy!

Sure, you can make this entire dish in the kitchen by cooking the chicken in a skillet. Once you try it though, I think you’ll agree that the marinade and the grilling adds some pretty awesome flavor to this Mexican fiesta.

There are good and bad things about having a kid with the flu on Thanksgiving.  Both the good and bad have to do with family.  The bad is that when you are quarantined with a sick kid, you can’t go hang out with the rest of the family.  The good is that you have an excuse to stay at home, sit on the porch, smell the sweet smoke from the smoker all day and watch football!  I’d by lying if I said I didn’t enjoy a nice Thanksgiving at home without rushing around to see two families.

The best part is that I used our quarantined situation as an opportunity to really plan and smoke a turkey in my homemade smoker this year.  I recently tried fried turkey, since everyone is always raving about it.  Although I love how fast you can fry a turkey, it didn’t really impress me in the taste department.  This smoked turkey, however, was a real winner and I think I’ll have to celebrate half-Thanksgiving this coming year, just to have leftovers.

Choosing and Brining Your Turkey

You really don’t want a huge, stork-like turkey for smoking.  A 10 – 12 pound turkey is the perfect size for the smoker.  Make sure you buy a “natural” turkey, not one that says it has been “enhanced”, or “self-basted” with juices of any kind.  It’s pretty easy to tell once you read the label.  If you do happen to get an enhanced bird, just skip the brining process because an enhanced turkey means it has already been injected or soaked in a salty substance.

Once your turkey has been thawed (make sure you take out the neck and gizzards, but save the neck for the gravy!), it’s time to brine that sucker.  Brining adds a lot of moisture and taste to the bird.  If you have never brined meats before, you are about to start.  Rather than repeating ourselves, wander on over to our article on how to brine a turkey for the brine process and recipe.  Meet me back here once the turkey has soaked in the fridge….

Fire Up the Smoker and Get the Bird Ready

Ok, the bird has been soaking for a while (if it wasn’t already “enhanced”) and getting itself ready for it’s journey to smokey deliciousness.  It’s time to get the smoker going and make some final preparations to the turkey.  We need enough charcoal to smoke this baby for around 4 hours.  For my smoker, that means about a half of a bag of charcoal.  To enable my smoker to burn nice and evenly for that long, I need to make a ring of unlit charcoal and then dump a chimney-full of lit charcoal into the middle.  Here’s a visual:

Once the charcoal is lit, get your smoker into the “zone”, we are looking for 250 degrees.  If it creeps up around 300, no worries, just make sure you have some foil around to cover the breast so it doesn’t cook too quickly…we’ll talk about that later.

Now that the smoker is heating up, let’s get the turkey ready.  If your bird has a little clip holding the legs together, go ahead and remove that.  Remove any excess fat around the bottom opening of the bird, along with the tail while you are at it, but save those for the gravy pan!  Now rub the whole turkey down with some olive oil.  Using your fingers, gently separately the skin from the breast and work your fingers all the way to the top of the bird.  Now make sure you rub the inside of the breast with some olive oil as well.  Mix together some fresh chopped rosemary, Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper and rub the entire bird down with the mixture.  Make sure you stuff some in between the breast meat and skin as well.  This is an optional step, but if presentation is a big thing for you, you’ll want to create some socks and gloves out of aluminum foil.  Gloves and gloves?  Yeah, wrap the ends of the drumsticks and wing tips so they don’t burn to a crisp, like this:

Let’s Talk Wood, Smoke, Moisture and Gravy

One misconception about smoking meats is that you need a lot of smoke throughout the cooking process.  Turkey does not need a lot of smoke and as a matter of fact, you can ruin a good turkey with too much smoke.  For turkey and chicken, I like to use a fruit wood like apple.  I also prefer chunks over chips.  If you can get the chunks, you only need one chunk the size of a baseball for smoking a turkey.  If using chips, just use the same amount.  Throw your wood right over the coals right before you put the turkey in the smoker.

A pan of water under your turkey serves multiple purposes when smoking a whole turkey.  For one, it keeps a lot of moisture in the smoke chamber, that’s good for obvious reasons.  The second and third benefits involve catching the drippings from the turkey during the cooking process.  We need those delicious juices for the gravy!  The other benefit is easier clean up.  Ever seen all of the juice coming out of a turkey?  Want to clean that mess out of a of 55 gallon drum smoker?  I think not.

So let’s give that gravy a head start.  Place the neck, 2 onions, a few carrots and a sprig of rosemary into the pan and heat it up on the stove.  Once it’s about to start boiling, shut off the stove and transfer the pan to the smoker.  I installed an additional rack 7 inches under the smoking rack of my ugly drum smoker for this exact reason.  As the turkey cooks, it deposits it’s juices into the simmering pan of deliciousness below, all the while taking in that great moisture to stay nice and juicy!  Oh man, I can almost taste it again as I write this…

Ok, Enough Already, Let’s Smoke This Sucker!

Ok, I think we have covered everything.  We have a hot smoker, we’ve got a prepped bird and a pan to start making our gravy.  Throw your wood onto the coals and place the turkey on the cooking rack directly above the gravy pan and close the smoker.  Again, we want to cook at around 250 degrees.

After about an hour, remove the aluminum foil from the legs and wings.  At this point, loosely place a sheet of aluminum foil over the breast so that it doesn’t get too brown.  If you think it needs more time to brown up, you can cover it at a later time, just a warning that the breast will brown quickly and at some point you are going to want to cover it with the foil to make sure it doesn’t get too brown (burnt).

A 12 pound turkey will take around 3.5 – 4 hours to cook at 250 – 300 degrees, but go by meat temperature and not time!  When a meat thermometer placed into the thickest part of the breast (without hitting the bone!) reads between 155 – 160, the turkey is done.  Once it’s done, remove the turkey from the smoker, making sure to dump out all of those great juices into the gravy pan and then transfer the bird to a platter.  Loosely cover the turkey with foil for at least 20 minutes before you even think about trying to carve this sucker.  We want those juices to have a chance to settle back into the meat.

Use the turkey stock from the pan to make some good gravy, slice your turkey masterpiece and enjoy!  It was a real hit around my house, for all ages, even the sick little guy:

I just recently discovered what has become one of my favorite ingredients (for now), sesame oil.  Sesame oil can be found in the Asian section of most grocery stores.  This little nutty wonder of an oil adds a distinct flavor to foods. Used mostly in stir fry ingredients, I have found that I like to add a little to some of my marinades as well.  This particular marinade has more than a little, it actually features my favorite oily friend on lead vocals and the flavor really comes through in the end product.  I love really potent marinades like this because I can add a lot of great flavor in under an hour of marinating, no need to plan ahead and marinate over night.  I think the jalapenos are actually optional.  The lime, soy and sesame oil is so strong that I can’t really taste the jalapenos.  I may play with the ratios at some point, or leave the peppers out altogether.  I have to mention them here since I already took the photos with the peppers from my garden!

Ingredients

1/4 cup jalapenos, very finely chopped

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Juice from 2 limes

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions

1. Mix all of the marinade ingredients together and place in a non-reactive (glass) dish just big enough for the breasts.
2. Pour in the marinade and turn to the breasts to make sure they are covered.
3. Allow to marinade for 45 minutes, turning the breasts over half way through (yes, at 22:30, exactly).
4. Preheat the grill to medium.
5. Place the breasts onto the grill and grill over medium heat, with the lid closed, for about 8 minutes per side.  NOTE: times vary, depending on your grill temperature and thickness of the breasts, obviously.
6. Once cooked, remove the chicken breasts from the grill and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Grab a little bottle of sesame oil and start playing around with this great ingredient.  I think you’ll find the nutty flavor adds something special to a lot of recipes.

I think I have about overdone it with my new homemade smoker.  Any time my wife mentions cooking I usually blurt out “why don’t we smoke it?” before she can even finish her sentence.  She finally let me light the coals again this weekend while we were just sitting around watching football.  There’s something about watching football that makes me crave grilled chicken wings,  so I thought I’d try smoking some wings this time.  The only problem though is that smoked chicken usually has a nice soft skin.  Chicken wings on the other hand should have a crispy skin that can soak up all that delicious sauce (if you are in to that sort of thing).  Ah ha!  A perfect excuse to burn even more fuel, I’ll fire up the grill and crisp up the skins once they have cooked on the smoker!  Overkill?  Nah, it’s beautiful in Florida outside this time of the year, so why not extend my outdoor cooking duties?  Let’s take a look at the process.

For smoking any kind of chicken, I like to make a quick dry rub.  A simple dry rub can be thrown together from stuff you should always have in your pantry anyway.  Experiment by adding your own favorite spices, but this one will get you a good tasty foundation:

Ingredients
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (start small and add more if you like spice)

Directions

1. First step is to fire up the smoker and get the coals burning while we get everything else ready.  Fill up a chimney starter with coals and let them burn down until you see ash forming on the top coals.
2. Once those have burned down, empty them into your smoker’s fire basket, open the ventilation and close the lid so she can heat up.  The wings only need about 45 minutes to cook at around 300 degrees, so no need to add unlit coals for a longer burn.
3. While the smoker is getting itself ready, throw together your rub and mix thoroughly.
4. I like to cut off the actual wing part of the chicken wings.  This is the wing tip that has no meat on it, but they somehow always leave it on when butchering the chicken.  It’s optional, but just takes up room on the smoker or grill.
5. Rub your wings down with the rub, throw a handful of wood chips on the smoker then place the wings on your smoker’s grate.
6. Get your smoker at a stable 300 – 315 degrees and let them smoke for about 45 minutes.
7. Once the wings have cooked on the smoker for 45 minutes, the meat should be cooked through.  Fire up your grill to medium.
   
8. Transfer your wings over to the grill and grill them for about 2 minutes per side.  This should be quick, we just want to crisp up the skin.  A little charring isn’t bad, but watch those flare ups!
9. Remove from the grill and either serve “dry” or toss them in your favorite wing sauce!
   

Don’t have any bottled wing sauce in your refrigerator?  It’s really easy to make with stuff you can just have sitting around the house.  Here’s a quick chicken wing sauce recipe:

Chicken Wing Sauce:
4 tablespoons Crystal or similar hot sauce (more to taste, depending on your preference for heat)
1 tablespoon white vinegar (increase a little if you add hot sauce)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly and that’s it!  I preferred the wings dry in this case actually.  I dipped a few in the wing sauce, but they were awesome with just the dry rub.  The smoky flavor combined with the spices were just right for my tastes, but the sauce also mixed well with the delicious smokiness.

If you are going to smoke, grill, or fry a turkey (yes, even if you are going to roast it in the oven), it pays to brine the turkey first.  Do NOT brine a turkey that says it has been “enhanced” with salt and turkey brother, further brining will make the bird too salty.  The turkey will be more moist, and by choosing some good aromatic herbs to add to the brine, the turkey will have a much better flavor.

There aren’t any hard and fast rules to what should go into your brine.  I sometimes add brown sugar (about 1/2 cup per gallon) or apple juice, to give it a little sweetness.  Search around the Internet and you will find many variations, but the salt content is pretty much universal.  Here’s a cool way to see if you have enough salt in your brine.  Once your brine has cooled to room temperature, drop a raw egg into the solution.  It should float if you have enough salt.  I know, weird…Here is a basic brine to get you started:

Ingredients:
1 thawed or fresh turkey – not frozen. Not Kosher or self-basting as these have high salt content already.
1 cup table salt
1 gallon of cold water
3 to 5 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 sprig of fresh sage
1 bunch of fresh thyme
1 large pot that is big enough to fit the turkey
enough room in the fridge to fit all of this

You can also use an oven bag from Reynolds if you don’t have a big enough pot to submerge the turkey, but you want to be careful (obviously) not to let the wings or a bone poke holes in the bag. Not enough room in the refrigerator? If you have a big cooler, they work great for brining as well. Just make sure you clean them well before and after (a little bleach water to kill all the bad stuff).

Heat a 1/2 gallon of the water over medium high heat. Add the salt. Stir until the salt is dissolved. Tie the herbs in a bouquets garnis (a what? yeah, that is what I said. It is a bunch of herbs tied with a string) and add to the water. Let it simmer for about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Add the cold water and stir.

Clean out the turkey (none of that giblet stuff inside the cavity). Rinse it inside and out.

Add the turkey and water to the container you are going to brine in and refrigerate for 10 to 15 hours or overnight. If you didn’t plan well enough ahead and have only 4 to 6 hours to soak, double the salt. This way you can time it with when you are going to cook.  Make sure it is fully submerged.

After the long soak, remove the turkey from the brine. Dispose the brine water safely. Remember, these birds can carry salmonella, so disinfect any spills. Rinse the turkey inside and out. Now your turkey is brined and ready to cook.  At this point, the turkey doesn’t need a whole lot of additional seasoning.  A little fresh ground black pepper is fine, but do NOT add more salt.

Check out some other tips on brining.

You can try a variety of other spices, herbs and even sweeteners (honey, molasses, brown sugar, etc) to get different flavored turkeys.  Tell us your favorite brine recipe.  Go crazy!

Since Halloween was on a Saturday this year, the neighborhood had a lot more time to plan a party.  At this point, most neighbors have been down to check out the new bbq smoker.  She’s now less ugly, with her new University of South Florida (Go BULLS!) paint job.   My wife decided to fully embrace my sudden smoking obsession for this occasion and proceeded to invite several people in the neighborhood to bring over their whole chicken to throw on the smoker.  Not that I mind, I just haven’t done a full load test on her (the smoker) yet and I wasn’t exactly sure how much meat I could smoke at one time.

As the 4th chicken showed up, I started to get a little nervous since it was the size of a small turkey.  I had to check the label twice, yep, it’s actually a chicken.  At this point, the smoker is all fired up and hovering around 250 degrees so I mixed up the following rub for the chicken:

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Kosher salt

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon sage

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

I then washed and rinsed the whole chickens, made sure I removed everything from the cavity (I have forgotten before) and then rubbed them down with the rub.  At this point, 2 more chickens joined the party, bringing the grand total to 6 chickens.  Yeah, I was pretty much planning to throw that last one on the grill at this point.

I was pleasantly surprised when I realized I DID have enough room for 6 whole chickens.  As you can see, without an inch to spare, she actually was able to handle all of the fowl.

Once I had all of the chickens arranged, I placed the lid on the smoker and opened the hole in the top.  To smoke a whole chicken, you want to be at around 250 degrees for about 4 hours.  The main thing to remember is that the internal temperature of the breast meat should reach around 170 degrees.  Check the temps after 3 hours using a meat thermometer.  You’ll know you are getting close to smoked chicken deliciousness when the skin gets nice and dark.  My chicken turned out awesome and was done at pretty close to the 4 hour mark.

I had a little trouble maintaining a constant temperature while smoking the chickens.  I wasn’t off by much, but the temps were fluctuating from about 250 up to 300 degrees.  I may have been over compensating and closing down the top air hole too much when the temperature got too high.  I need to get this right or smoking a brisket all day is going to be a little more of an interactive process than I would like…

Whenever I see fajitas on a menu, I can’t help but think back to the very first time my Dad ordered them in a restaurant.  It was at Chili’s, back when they first opened and my Dad said “I want to try some of them fuh-gee-tahs”.  Still cracks me up to this day, especially since he still pronounces them wrong…

Here’s a great recipe from contributor Bill Mitchell from Atlanta.

Ingredients

1 1/2 Lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
Fresh ground black pepper
1 Medium Onion, Sliced
1/4 Cups Vegetable Oil
1 Green Bell Peppers, Sliced
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 Red Bell Peppers, Sliced
1 Clove Garlic, Minced
Flour Tortillas
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Blackened Seasoning
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
1 Lime, Juiced, For Topping
Sour Cream
Salsa
Guacamole
1 Teaspoon Chili Oil
Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
Salt, To Taste

Directions:

Marinate the Chicken

In a heavy duty resealable plastic bag, combine 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili oil, blackened seasoning, salt, pepper and chicken. Seal and toss the bag around to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Prepare the Vegetables

Toss onions and peppers in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Add a few drops of chili oil if you are brave.

Grill the Chicken

1. Pre-soak “Mesquite” wood chips for 30 minutes.
2. Setup the grill for both direct and indirect grilling, by placing coals to one side of the grill.
3. Place chicken directly over coals for about 3-4 minutes each side until seared.
4. Move to other side of the grill, toss in a handful of wood chips and close the lid.  Replenish the wood chips after about ten minutes.
5. After 20-30 minutes the chicken should be done.
6. Let rest for 10 minutes and then slice the chicken into strips.

Grill the Vegetables

While the chicken is resting,  toss another handful of wood chips on the coals and grill the onions and peppers in a grill basket or wok directly over the coals until slightly tender.

Serve on Cast Iron Servers

Why, because they are cool!  Preheat your cast iron servers in a preheated 400 degree F oven for at least 20 minutes, to get a good sizzle when you plate the fajitas. Wrap the tortillas in foil and warm them in the oven with the cast iron servers for 15 minutes.

When you are ready to serve, remove the cast iron servers from the oven and quickly arrange the meat and peppers and onions on the servers. The meat and veggies will immediately start to sizzle from their fat and moisture. Serve sizzling immediately with the warm tortillas and other accompaniments and enjoy!

In this recipe we’ll walk you through the basics of frying a turkey.  But you should always follow your manufacturers directions.  Boiling oil over an open flame is no joke, so do what your dad always told you to do, but never did…read those instructions.

First, you need a turkey fryer.  Doesn’t have to by fancy.  Aluminum will do.  Stainless is nice, but costs more.  It will likely last longer (or at least look nicer), but we were happy with our aluminum pot.  If you buy a kit, it comes with all the extras and lets the pot serve multiple purposes, such as a fish fryer, gumbo pot, crab pot, etc., etc.  Here is an example of a turkey fryer kit from Amazon.  And you’ll need some good oven mitts (that you can also use for your lobster costume).

Second, you’ll need a turkey.  Since smaller birds work better for frying, we suggest you don’t go over 15 lbs.

Set up in the grass or dirt area away from any structures.  If the grass is very dry, doesn’t hurt to wet it down before starting.  If you fry on your driveway or sidewalk, you could wind up with oil stains that you will have a hard time getting rid of (if anyone has suggestions on how to remove oil stains from my sidewalk, let me know).

As for oil, you’ll need lots of it.  Peanut oil is expensive, but it works well due to its high smoke point.  Crisco Frying Oil seems to have started to show up at grocery stores and hardware stores (yeah, next to the turkey fryers) since it is that turkey frying time of year. You will need about 3 1/2 – 5 gallons of oil, depending on the size of the bird and the size of the pot.  Bigger pots need more oil since they are wider.  Bigger bird will displace more oil, but will be taller.  So, get more oil than you think you need so you don’t have to run to the store.

Before heating the oil, the best way to  determine the exact amount of oil is by placing the turkey in the on the hanger and placing it in the pot. Fill the pot with water until it is about two inches above the turkey. Next remove the turkey and mark the water level or measure from the top of the pot with a ruler. Empty and dry the pot and refill with oil to the mark or ruler measure.

I suggest you keep a fire extinguisher nearby.  If you do everything right, you won’t need one.  But it doesn’t hurt to have one handy.  Using the thermometer that came with your kit or a thermometer bought separately, heat the oil to about 325°F and no higher than 350°F. This will take about 30 minutes, depending on how windy it is, how cold it is, etc. Never leave the fryer unattended while you are heating it.

Optionally, prior to frying, you can inject the turkey with your favorite marinade or rub it with a dry spice rub before frying.   Even a good brine will enhance the flavor and moisture of the fried turkey.  If you inject, move the needle around, and use multiple injection points to get all parts of the turkey meat flavored.  Inject the marinade as you are pulling the needle from the turkey.

And remember, unless you want to be a statistic, use a fresh turkey, or completely thawed turkey.  Never NEVER use a frozen turkey.  If you do, make sure someone gets a video and send us a link.

Once the oil reaches the target temp, put the turkey on the turkey hanger and slowly, ever so slowly, lower it into the pot.  The oil gets pretty violent at first, and you may get some boil over.  Back out a bit if you do and then start to lower again.  Be sure you are wearing your lobster grill mitts at this point.

The turkey will take about three minutes per pound to cook. Best to check the temperature with a meat thermometer. The temperature should reach a minimum of 165° F  in the inner thigh, according to the USDA. Watch it closely when it gets near that temp. It will heat up quick in the last few minutes.

Careful with the turkey after you remove it.  It will be quite hot.  Slice it up and enjoy with your friends and family.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, fresh (not frozen), 3 to 4 pounds
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano (or 1/2 tablespoon dry)
1 lemon
salt and pepper
lemon pepper spice

Directions

1. Remove the stuff from the cavity of the chicken (what is a giblet anyway?). Wash inside and outside of chicken with running water.
2. At this point, you have options. You could brine with your favorite brine. Or marinade for a few hours. Or, as in this recipe, I just went safe with a lemon pepper chicken.
3. Pat dry. Rub inside and out with oil.
4. Salt and pepper lightly, again inside and out. Sprinkle with oregano and then use the lemon pepper very generously, again inside and out. Cut the lemon in half and put them in the cavity.  Bag the chicken and throw it in the refrigerator while you get the grill set up.
5. Following the grill’s instructions for using the rotisserie. In my case, I remove the grates and attach the rotisserie motor. Heat the grill on high, bringing the temperature to 450 degrees.  I added a pan of water to catch the drippings (prevents flair ups) and keep the chicken moist.
6. Add the chicken to the skewer (pierce the lemon halves if you have to). Tie that bad boy down with a cotton string (don’t use nylon, nothing good can come from that). Make sure you tie the wings so they don’t dip down into the flames. Tie the legs as well.
   
7. Put the chicken on the grill and add the weight. Adjust it until the chicken spins freely and is in balance.
8. Close the cover and rotate the chicken over indirect medium high heat until the juices run clear and the temperature is 180° in the thickest part of the thigh, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Don’t peak too often or you’ll let the heat out. Check after about 30 minutes to make sure the pan still has water and that the skin isn’t browning too fast (if it is, just turn the grill down a bit).  Remember, all of this will vary depending on your grill and the size of your bird.
9. Once done, carefully remove from the grill with big cooking mitts.   Let the bird rest for about 10 minutes before carving it up.

Mine came out quite yummy, and even moister than the store bought rotisserie chicken.  Next time I’m gonna try this with a brine and then baste with a barbecue sauce.  I’ve got a new bbq sauce I’ve been dying to try.  But more on that later.

Enjoy!

So for this experiment, I grilled and prepared one set of wings according to the method I described here.  For the other set of wings, I prepared a simple wing sauce and marinated the wings for 6 hours.  Here’s the sauce recipe, it’s super easy and great because all of the ingredients have a long shelf life in the cupboard:

4 tablespoons Crystal hot sauce (more to taste, depending on your preference for heat)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all the ingredients well, that’s it!

After 6 hours of marinating, I grilled the chicken wings just like the previous set of non-marinated wings.  About 8 minutes per side over a medium grill is all it takes, just watch for flare-ups (the oil in the sauce compounds this problem).

The Results

So how did they turn out?  The pre-marinated wings were very tender and juicy, but so were the wings grilled and then submerged in the sauce.  My wife is always the taste-tester for these experiments. As usual, I present her with a plate of my creation and then sit back and observe like a Scientist.  After finishing half of the marinated wing, she asked “where’s the sauce?”.  So needless to say we made another batch of the wing sauce and coated the marinated wings, the marinating process just didn’t cut it on it’s own.  In fact, I’m not convinced the extra waiting time was worth it at all.  I’ll continue to grill and then submerge my wings…it’s easier anyway and I am all for the easy route.