Sunday, June 20, 2010

Grilled Wonder Chicken

I have been exceptionally neglectful of my blogging duties, especially since LF has been down due to server migration issues on our host's end. That should have freed up time to blog, but I generally stayed offline instead. Guess I needed a break or somethin'.

So, in order to have something new to post, I'll tell you about my latest kitchen kitbashing creation: Grilled Wonder Chicken, BBQ Style. Now, I'm generally a pretty simple cook in terms of spices. The only thing that goes on a steak for me is some EVOO, ground pepper and sea salt. I take a similar approach with chicken, because I just like the taste of chicken. However, I was in the mood for something different, so I messed around and got good results from this.

I'm not a skilled cook, I just know how to prepare meat with fire so that it's not undercooked and dangerous. I found that I was getting a little bored with what I already had going on, so I tried this: as usual, I rinsed some boneless skinless thighs, and set 'em out to get to room temperature, which didn't take very long at all. Next I gave 'em a touch of oil so the spices would have something to stick to, and because I like the taste. Next I dusted both sides with Weber's Smokey Mesquite seasoning, and gave 'em a shot of Dillo Dust while I was at it. It was close by, so on it went. I let it sit a bit so it'd stick to the bird better.

I got the grill hot, after warming it up and running a gas canister dry, and tonged the yard bird onto the high heat grill. After searing for a bit, I flipped 'em so as not to burn the spices already attached. I reduced the heat a bit to medium, and then started basting el pollo with some Jack Daniel's Spicy Original barbecue sauce, and closed the lid. this let the sauce glaze on the Leghorn, which is something I haven't really done before. Normally, I'll salt/pepper/sauce 'em before they go on, but did it different this time and was quite pleased with the results.

Because the sauce cooked on the bird somewhat less, more of the flavor came through, and the little bit of heat from the Smokey Mesquite spices was a nice change. I'm gonna do 'em like this again, and see if there's another tweak I can do.

I added some corn and potato salad, and a huge glass of iced tea. That worked downright well.

What can I say? I'm an unskilled bachelor. We can't all be Emeril.