May 17, 2011: Drunken Chicken Recipe

Here’s another grilling recipe that might be just the thing for your Memorial Day barbecue. It’s best to marinate chicken in this liquid overnight so that it really soaks up all the great flavors. When you grill it up, the skin will get incredibly crispy on the outside but leave the meat on the inside really tender and juicy.

For accompaniments, consider guacamole, salsa and chips, a tossed green salad, quesadillas, and black beans tossed with red bell peppers, green onions, and jalapeno slices.

Drunken Chicken Marinade

2 cups tequila (a cheap variety is just fine)
Juice and zest of one large or two small limes
1/3 cup kosher salt
1 T. black peppercorns
3 sprigs fresh cilantro
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 T. red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in a large, nonmetallic container. Add the chicken (whole or in pieces) and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

An hour before eating, heat the grill to medium. Place the chicken on the grill, indirectly over the heat so it doesn’t flame up. Cook for 45 minutes to one hour.

May 7, 2011: Wine Burger Recipe

There’s a neat restaurant/bar up here in the White Mountain that calls itself famous for its wine burger. I’ve had it before, and it really is good – but not something I’d go out of my way to get.

Because my husband’s favorite meal is hamburgers but he doesn’t enjoy experimenting with the recipe – he’s all for plain burgers with McCormick steak seasoning and that’s it – I decided that from now on, I’d doctor up my burger a bit. I started with this concoction, based on what I tasted in the wine burger from The Lion’s Den in Pinetop.

Tip: Since Memorial Day is the official start of grilling season, this recipe is one to keep in mind for the holiday weekend.

Wine Burger Recipe

1 pound lean (93%) ground beef
¼ cup butter, melted
¼ cup dry red wine
1 T. minced dried onions
2 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
Coarsely ground black pepper
Salt, to taste
Sharp cheddar cheese
Condiments of your choice

Mix together all ingredients except the cheese and condiments. Form into patties and let rest for half an hour.

Grill over medium-high heat until done to your liking, topping with a thick slice of cheddar cheese and condiments of your choice (I like French fried onions, ketchup with a splash of fish sauce, and fresh lettuce, as shown in the photo here).

April 20, 2011: Brined Barbecued Chicken Recipe

It’s a good thing my husband really likes chicken as I’ve been cooking a lot of this month in order to take pictures for the recipes. But frankly, I’m getting just a bit tired of it. When he selected chicken as his choice for dinner last night and wanted to barbecue it, I wanted to try something a bit different.

The one thing about putting chicken on the barbecue grill is that if you use a sauce, it always burns. Always. It drips off and sparks a flame and before you know it, your chicken is charred beyond recognition.

In order to prevent that from happening, I decided to prepare our chicken much like I do for our Thanksgiving turkey – by brining it. I took one big breast and two thighs that were semi-frozen and added them to the brine solution for about an hour before cooking. Presto! Each piece came out perfectly moist with crispy skin and not a trace of blackness anywhere.

Brined Barbecued Chicken

3 – 4 pieces frozen chicken (you could also brine a whole roaster; just increase ingredients proportionately)
¼ cup kosher salt
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 slices fresh lemon (the ends work great)
About 1 T. each of:
Black peppercorns
Coriander
3 cups water

Mix together the salt and all ingredients following in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken pieces. Add more water, if necessary, to cover the chicken. Let sit at room temperature for at least an hour or overnight.

Prepare grill. Take the chicken straight from the brine and place on the grill, away from direct heat. Cook for about 50 minutes, or until done, turning occasionally.