Tag Archive for 'grill'

Grilled Lemon Chicken with Garlic & Herbs

Published on October 5, 2011 in Recipes. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

While I love Autumn, I’m not ready to surrender to it just yet. And this summery dish is my silent protest to the cold weather that has come upon us pretty quickly here. Cold weather won’t keep us from the grill. Of course, easy for me to say – my husband is the one standing over the grill. But he will gladly do it for this fabulous grilled lemon chicken recipe we discovered recently. It’s the perfect blend of lemon, garlic, and rosemary, and it’s so simple.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite sources, Cuisine at Home. Cuisine at Home sends out weekly recipes via e-mail and offers a magazine subscription filled with kitchen tips and techniques. I have yet to go wrong with a single one of their recipes. I’ve simplified this recipe a little bit – pairing it down for one chicken and cutting out a few steps, marinading for example.

The recipe calls itself a marinade, but honestly we have yet to actually marinate the chicken for any significant length of time. Once we’ve made the dressing, we baste the chicken and it might sit for 10-15 minutes while the grill heats up, but that is all it takes. So many other versions of lemon chicken that we’ve tried left us with very little flavor, but this lemon chicken has a wonderfully light and refreshing lemon flavor without the need to sit around for hours. The key to that refreshing flavor is fresh ingredients – fresh herbs and fresh lemons.

Bottled lemon juice just ain't the same

This dish is fantastic with grilled vegetables for a meal reminiscent of summer or roasted vegetables or potatoes for a meal more conducive to the fall weather. And if the weather isn’t amenable to grilling, just turn the oven to 425F and roast the chicken instead.

Grilled Lemon Chicken with Garlic & Herbs

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, cut into parts, rinsed and patted dry*
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon black pepper

*Or whatever part of the chicken suits your taste buds.

Preparation:
Preheat one side of the grill to medium-high, leaving the other side unlit.

Toss everything in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.

Kitchen tip: To get the most juice out of a lemon, microwave it for 15-20 seconds, and then roll it on the counter under the palm of your hand before slicing and squeezing.

Using your hands, rub the herb mixture all over the chicken parts, and let stand in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to an hour.

Sear the chicken pieces over high heat and once you have nice grill marks, move the chicken to indirect heat and grill, covered until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the breast registers 165° and thighs 175°, though we typically pull them a little before as they will continue to cook while resting.

Whole leg and thigh parts should take about 16 to 20 minutes more to cook, or 12 to 16 minutes if separated. Breasts should take about 10 minutes and then should be turned and grilled about 5 minutes more. The timing really depends on the size of the meat, so just watch the temperature. When ready, remove the chicken from the grill, cover with foil, and let rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Alternatively, preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the chicken in a single layer in a glass baking dish, skin side up, and bake until the skin is browned and the chicken is cooked through (see temps above).

Enjoy!

Make ahead tip: Prepare the marinade and chicken parts, and place in a freezer-safe bag or dish in the freezer. Remove the chicken and marinade to the refrigerator in the morning to thaw for dinner that evening.

Juicy, Flavorful Hamburgers for the Grill

Published on August 31, 2011 in Recipes. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

I admit it. My husband and I are burger snobs. We’re pretty particular about our hamburgers. A plain old beef patty just won’t do. It’s got to be thick, juicy and flavorful and topped with fresh, crispy lettuce, ripe tomatoes, and pungent red onion. And at the hubby’s insistence, on a toasted kaiser roll.

That’s why when we saw an episode of America’s Test Kitchen claiming to have mastered the art of the juicy burger, our ears perked up. We were not disappointed. These burgers are juicy, melt-in-your-mouth good. Even when they’re well-done.

With ground beef, it’s important to cook them thoroughly, particularly for children, because surface bacteria on beef gets spread throughout the meat during grinding. With this recipe, you can pretty much char the heck out of your burgers, and they’ll still be tender on the inside. What’s the secret? A panade.

A pa-what, you say? A panade is a paste made of bread and milk often used in meatballs and meatloaf to keep them moist. It does a fantastic job with burgers too. Another key to a juicy burger is using meat with a higher fat content. More fat means more moisture and more flavor.

We’ve since adapted ATK’s recipe a little bit to punch up the flavor even more and played with some variations as well. For instance, if you’re craving a bacon cheeseburger, try this option: Freeze 4-6 slices of bacon for about 10 minutes (makes them easier to chop). Dice the bacon or pulse it in the food processor, and mix it into your burger mixture. You’ll want about 1/4 cup of bacon per pound of ground beef. This way, you get the fantastic flavor of bacon right in your burger. When using bacon, you can use a leaner ground beef because the bacon will add the necessary fat.

Juicy, Flavorful Hamburgers for the Grill

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 slice sandwich bread, crust removed and discarded – torn into small pieces (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons whole milk
3/4 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 medium clove garlic, minced or crushed (about 1 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon steak sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 lbs 80 percent lean ground chuck

Vegetable oil for cooking grate

Cheese, sliced
Tomato, sliced
Lettuce, torn
Red onion, sliced
Condiments: mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup
4 hamburger buns or rolls, preferably Kaiser rolls

Preparation:

Prep your grill. Turn the burners on your grill to high, close the lid, and heat until very hot, about 15 minutes. Use a grill brush to scrape the grate clean. Holding a wad of paper towels with tongs, lightly dip it in vegetable oil and then wipe the grill grates. Leave the main burner on high, and turn the others to low.

Prep the meat. While the grill is heating up, mash milk and bread together in a bowl with a fork until it begins to form a paste. Stir in the salt, pepper, garlic, and sauces.

Add the ground beef, breaking it up over the mixture, and then mix together gently with your hands until the panade mixture is spread evenly through the meat.

Divide the meat into 4 portions. Form each portion into a ball and then gently flatten into a patty about 3/4″ thick. Your patties will be huge – about 4 1/2″ around. Don’t worry – they shrink on the grill.

Now you’re going to make a slight indentation in the middle of each patty with your finger tips so the center of the patty is about 1/2″ thick. This gives you a nicely shaped burger that doesn’t puff up in the middle.

See the video at this link for an illustration from America’s Test Kitchen.

Grill those babies. Wipe the cooking grate again with a wad of paper towels dipped lightly in oil. Place the burgers on the hot side of the grill, covered, until well seared, about 2-4 minutes per side. Do not press If you’ve added bacon, you may want to leave the grill open as the fat from the bacon can cause your grill to flare up.

If you’re going to add cheese, top the burgers with cheese during the last 1-2 minutes of cooking, and cover to melt the cheese. Meanwhile, toast the buns on the cooler side of the grill.

Enjoy!

And don’t forget to serve up your burgers this Labor Day with some crisp, homemade dill pickles. Mmm, mmm!

Freezer meal-friendly: These patties freeze really well, and they can be put right on the grill frozen. Makes for a quick weeknight meal. Just be sure to place a couple of pieces of parchment paper between the patties, and store them in a freezer-safe container.

 

Roast & Store Your Own Red Peppers

Published on March 30, 2011 in Recipes. 7 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Since I discovered a fantastic recipe for roasted red pepper hummus, I’ve taken to roasting my own red bell peppers at home. It is so incredibly easy, and the result is something so much more fresh and flavorful than you would bring home in a jar from the grocer.

Roasted red peppers have a distinctively smokey, yet sweet flavor that lends itself well to many dishes. You can add it to pasta, salad, sandwiches, or serve it in the spotlight on top of crusty bread with a little goat or fresh mozzarella cheese, olive oil, and salt and pepper. There are also a variety of dips it complements, including the yummy hummus recipe I’m about to share. Mmmm, I really shouldn’t write this on an empty stomach.

<Break for lunch>

Ok, so a little bit about red bell peppers before we get started. Did you know that a red bell pepper is just a green bell pepper that has been ripened on the vine? And that extra time on the vine gives red bell peppers an extra punch of nutrients. Red bell peppers have three times as much vitamin C and 11 times as much beta carotene as their green counter parts! One large bell pepper has 209 mg of vitamin C, which is actually more than double the 70 mg of an average orange. How’s that for surprising?

Bell peppers are available year-round, but the peak season for red bell peppers is in the fall at the end of the green pepper’s peak season, as you might have guessed. This fall, stock up, roast your own peppers, and freeze or jar them for later use as I’ll show you below. Bell peppers are on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of fruits and vegetables that contain the most pesticides, so in order to get the maximum health benefits from bell peppers, make sure to buy organic whenever possible.

Roasted Red Peppers

You actually have several options for roasting red peppers: grill them, broil them, bake them, or roast them over a gas stove. After trying several of these options, my preferred method is to grill them. Nothing beat the smokey, sweet smell as I brought them in from the grill. The grill also seemed to be the quickest method. If it’s too cold out or you don’t have a grill, I’d consider broiling the next best alternative.

Preparation:

First, wash peppers thoroughly. Place the peppers directly on the grill with the flames on high. As each side blisters and begins to blacken, turn the pepper to roast another side.

Remove the pepper from the heat. Place it on a cutting board or other surface and then place a glass bowl over it to trap the steam, and let it sit for about 10 minutes. The build up of steam will help soften the skin and the flesh pull away, making it easier to peel.

By now, the pepper should have cooled enough that all you need are your fingers to pull the charred flesh away from the pepper. It’s okay if you don’t quite get all of the skin. Whatever you do, do not rinse the pepper, as you’ll wash away much of the roasted flavor.

Remove the stem and seeds. In most cases, a simple tug on the stem will pull it all out, but you may need to use a paring knife to cut away the stem and scrape out some of the seeds. Voila, you now have a lovely roasted pepper ready to eat or store for later.

Doesn’t that look lovely? Now if you choose to broil your pepper, set the broiler to low and move the oven rack to the top third of your oven. Place your pepper directly on the oven rack and place a baking pan underneath the pepper on the rack below to catch any juices. Leave the door ajar and watch your pepper, turning as each side blisters and chars.

Another alternative is to bake your pepper. Set the oven to 425°F and place the pepper directly on the rack with a pan below. Turn the pepper approximately at 10-15 minutes, roasting for a total of 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the pepper.

Finally, you can roast your pepper over the gas flame on your stove, but this is certainly not preferred if you’re roasting more than one pepper. And I don’t think it looks nearly as good as the other methods either.

Storing Roasted Red Peppers

There are a couple of alternatives for storing roasted red peppers, depending on how long you’d like them to keep and how you plan to use them. In any case, you’ll want to slice your red pepper into strips for easy portioning later on.

Refrigeration:

If you plan to use your peppers within a week or two, place them in a jar and cover them with olive oil and, if you like, add a few garlic cloves. One source I found compared methods and found that olive oil provided the best flavor as opposed to a vinegar solution which is more like what you might find in commercial jars of roasted red peppers.

On the Shelf:

Alternatively, you could seal the jar using proper home canning techniques, but because peppers and olive oil both have low acid content it is recommended that you use a vinegar solution to prevent bacteria growth. Peppers sealed in a jar using this technique should last on your shelf up to 12 months.

Freezer:

Slice peppers and place between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-proof container. Peppers frozen this way should keep up to 9 months. They may lose some texture but should retain their flavor.

Enjoy!

-Jasmine

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