Grilled Chicken Breasts!

The weather here has given us some teasers, you know the little taste of spring that is coming our way!  My daughter Sherie, dusted off the grill and got going on a delicious, wonderful grilled meal. We used the Marinade from my Nappa Chicken Salad Recipe, that makes a killer salad but is versatile enough to use here in this dish!

Here’s how she did it!

Marinated Grilled Chicken

Marinade:

Marinade:
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Lite Soy Sauce
1/3 Cup Honey
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger (Or use fresh)
1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
1/3 Cup Apple Juice

Mix all ingredients together and marinade Chicken at least 2 hours or more. The longer you marinade it, the more flavorful the chicken becomes.  Grill chicken until done throughout.  We made a pasta salad to go along with our meal that you can find here.  Add a package of Bird’s Eye Cauliflower in Cheese sauce (or your favorite veggie) and your meals complete.  Delicious!!

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Finger Lickin BBQ’ed Chicken

Chicken Brine:

Chicken Pieces, of your choice

1/2 Cup Kosher Salt, do not substitute (Mixtures would be different)

1/4 Cup Sugar

1 Quart of Water

In a bowl, combine water, salt and sugar. Stir well to dissolve the salt and sugar. Add chicken pieces and brine for at least an hour, but no more than 4.

BBQ’ed Chicken

Seasoned Salt

Pepper, freshly ground

Garlic Powder

Thyme, dried (rubbed between fingers as sprinkled)

Barbecue Sauce, your favorite

In a large bowl, combine brine ingredients. Add chicken pieces, making sure all chicken is submerged in water. If it’s not, mix up more brine. Let chicken marinate (refrigerated) for at least one hour, preferably 2 to 3.  But do not brine for more than 4 hours.  Remove chicken from brine, rinse and pat dry. Season with seasoned salt, pepper, garlic and thyme. Follow manufacturer’s directions for grilling on your grill type. Cook chicken until it registers 165 degrees. Baste with BBQ sauce 15 to 30 minutes before chicken is done, so it makes it nice and sticky! Serve at once!!

Pasta Salad

1 Box (16 oz.) Garden Rotini

1 Onion, diced

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

1 English Cucumber, diced

2 Thick Slices (1/4 to 1/2 inch) Salami, diced

Zesty Italian Dressing

Salad Supreme

1 tsp. Dried Dill

In a large pot of salted (make your water your cooking your pasta in, taste like the sea) boiling water, add pasta and cook until al dente.  Remove from heat and drain. Rinse with cold water. Set aside.  Dice the vegetables, and add to your pasta. Pour zesty Italian over the pasta and stir with a spoon, add the salad supreme and the dill. Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours. You may need to add more zesty dressing.

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Cocoa Cola BBQ Ribs

This recipe comes from Chef David Lawrence’s Blog.  I am not really into par-boiling my ribs, I like to put them on the grill and give them a nice slow long roasting period! However, I decided to give this recipe a go.  The entire family loved it. I only had a couple of ribs left. These had Great taste and were falling off the bone tender. Would I make them again? Yep, you bet!

Cocoa Cola BBQ Ribs

From: Forking Delicious (Chef David Lawrence)

This is the ONLY rib recipe you will ever need. Sticky and sweet. Absolute perfection!

Serves 6

FOR THE RIBS

1 (1.5 liter) bottle of Coca-Cola (not diet!)
1 large onion, quartered
6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 racks baby back ribs (about 4 pounds)

FOR THE SAUCE
2/3 stick unsalted butter
1 small white onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
1½ tablespoons yellow mustard
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (12 ounce) can Coca-Cola (not diet!)
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large pot, add the (1.5 liter) bottle of Coca-Cola, onion, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns. Add the ribs and, if necessary a bit of water just to ensure the ribs are submerged completely. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, turning the ribs occasionally, until the meat pulls away from the bone, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, to make the sauce combine the butter, onion, garlic, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and (12 ounces) Coca-Cola in large heavy sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for about 25 minutes stirring often until sauce is thickened and reduced. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let cool slightly. Using a blender, puree the sauce.

Note: Sauce can be made up to 5 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

Preheat the grill to high.

Remove the ribs from the pot, pat dry, season with salt and pepper and brush liberally with the sauce. Grill, turning often, until charred on the outside, about 8 minutes. Loosely tent the ribs with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into individual ribs. Serve extra sauce on the side for dipping.

Garlic Roasted BBQ Potatoes

8 Large Potatoes, peeled, cut into desired sizes

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Chardonnay Wine

3-5 Heads of Garlic, tops cut off to expose garlic

1/2 tsp. Rosemary

1/2 tsp. thyme

Seasoned Salt

Black Pepper

Peel potatoes. Cut into desired bite size pieces and place in a large bowl.  Combine Olive oil, chardonnay,  rosemary, salt and pepper.  Stir to coat well. Spread contents out onto a cookie sheet, add garlic heads, drizzle with olive oil than cover with foil, and throw them in the BBQ Grill (350 degrees) while your ribs are simmering. Stir, every so often, or let them be, and they will have a nice, crispy crust on the bottom of them. Check potatoes at about 50-60 minutes. When they’re fork tender they’re ready to serve. Remove from grill, squeeze garlic cloves out and serve at once.  (If you’re not serving them right away, tent with foil and put into a 200 degree oven to stay warm, while you finish up the ribs. Serve as soon as possible).

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Grilled Steak & Trio of Veggies

For an EXCELLENT marinated Steak, go here.

I love grilling and I love a steak with the above veggies. Grilled Asparagus, Portabella Mushrooms and Grilled Onion Slices. Nothing else is needed!

Grilled Portabella Mushrooms

1 Each Portabella Mushroom per steak, washed, cleaned and patted dry

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Wash mushrooms and pat dry. Turn the mushroom over and with a spoon, scrape the gills from the mushrooms.  Lightly coat the mushroom with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill  about 5-6 minutes on each side, just until cooked through.

Grilled Asparagus

Asparagus

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Grated Parmesan (Optional)

Clean the asparagus, wash and pat dry. In a container with a lid, drizzle olive oil over asparagus. Season with salt & pepper.  Put lid on container and shake the asparagus up, coating all sides of the vegetables. Grill, turning several times to ensure even browning and grill to crisp tender. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired and serve at once.

Grilled Onion

Large Sweet Onions (Or whatever your choice is, Spanish Onions are fine) (depending on how many your serving. I like to have at least 2 onion slices per person), cut into slices about 1/2 inch

Olive Oil

Seasoned Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

Garlic Powder

Oil both sides of the onion slices. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients and grill until crisp tender,  turning to cook both sides. (I like to put aluminum foil on the grill so the onions don’t fall through the grates. Makes for easy removal too!  I love these things they are so good!

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Alabama BBQ Chicken

Recently I subscribed to Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country and have been enjoying my subscription to both!  I came across a recipe for Alabama BBQ Chicken on Cook’s Country. The recipe intrigued me, using mayonnaise as the base to a Barbecue Sauce. I must admit that I have never had a BBQ Sauce that used mayonnaise as the base of the sauce. The chicken came out looking as good as it tasted! It was delicious and I will definitely make this again.

Alabama BBQ Chicken on a gas grill

Slightly Adapted From: Cook’s Country

Serves: 8

White BBQ Sauce:

3/4 Cup Mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. Cider Vinegar

2 tsp. Sugar

1/2 tsp. Prepared Horseradish Sauce

1/2 tsp. Table Salt

1/2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp. Celery Seeds

1/4 tsp. Onion Powder

1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

Chicken:

1 tsp. Table Salt

1 tsp. Ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

2 Whole Chickens, (3 1/2 – 4 Lb.) patted dry and split (I used chicken thighs)

1. For the Sauce:

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Refrigerate sauce in an airtight container for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

2. For the chicken:

Mix salt, black pepper, garlic powder, celery seeds, onion powder and cayenne in small bowl. Rub spice mixture all over chicken.

3. Soak wood chips in bowl of water to cover for 15 minutes, place chips in small aluminum tray, and place tray directly over primary burner. Light grill, turn all burners to high, and close lid, keeping grill covered until wood chips begin to smoke, about 15 minutes. Oil cooking grate. Turn all burners to medium-low. Place chicken skin side down on grill, and cover.

4. Grill chickens until skin is well browned, 35 to 45 minutes. Flip chickens skin side up and grill, covered, until breast meat registers 165 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes longer.

5. Transfer chickens to cutting board, brush with 2 tablespoons sauce, tent with foil, and let rest 10 minutes. Remove foil and brush chicken with 1 tablespoon sauce. Carve and serve, passing remaining sauce at table.

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Sopping Sauce for Grilling

Grilling season is upon us, and it feels soooo good!!  Although we grill all year long, about this time of the year our grilling escalates!  I want to share with you a REALLY good mopping sauce that I use all the time. It enhances the taste of your grilled food, making whatever your serving even better!  This sauce is especially good with pork, although it can be used for whatever you would like.

Razorback Sopping Sauce

1 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Vinegar

1/2 Cup Butter

4  Tbsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Pepper

2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

2 Tbsp. Prepared Mustard

2 Thick slices Lemon

2 Medium Onions, sliced and peeled

4 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Combine water, vinegar, butter, sugar, pepper, salt, cayenne, mustard, lemon and onions in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce and baste is ready.

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Steak & Salad

My husband, (Mark) makes the best steaks ever!! Well at least to me and those that have tried his specialty! He has the method down to a science! These are so good, they don’t need steak sauce at all with the marinade glaze he uses. This is one of my favorite meals! Take a look:

Grilled T-Bone Steaks

2 well marbled T-Bone Steaks (Or my Favorite – Rib Steaks)

Marinade
1/4 to 1/2 Cup Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki (Depends on how big the steaks are)
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce  (Or to taste)
Dash of Lite Soy Sauce (Or to taste)
1/4 Cup La Choy Teriyaki Stirfry Marinade
3-4 Drops Liquid Smoke
1/4 Cup Pickapeppa Sauce

Mix all marinade ingredients together and pour over steaks.  Turn steaks over to cover the other side. Bring steaks to room temperature while marinating for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour, turning them over occasionally.  (Steaks should always be grilled at room temp, however if you are not going to grill them after that time, marinate in the refrigerator and take them out at least 30 minutes before grilling).
Grill steaks as you normally would to  your liking, using the marinade as a basting sauce.
Serve at once! We made ours with a salad!

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