Lemon Chix

GRILLED LEMON CHICKEN

Serves 6 to 8. Published May 1, 1998.

The 1 1/2-hour brining time is highly recommended, but not essential; skip it if you’re in a hurry. It’s fine to use chicken parts, such as eight leg/thighs, separated or not, or eight breast/ wings, separated at the joint connecting wing to breast. Grilling whole chickens is also an option, if you remove the backbones and butterfly each before brining. If flare-ups threaten to char the skin of the chicken, move the pieces temporarily to the cooler side of the grill. If you have it, 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary makes a nice addition to the lemon sauce.

INGREDIENTS

3/4	cup kosher salt or 1/2 cup table salt
2	whole chickens (about 3 1/2 pounds each), cut into legs, thighs, breasts, and wings; backs reserved for another use
	Ground black pepper
1/4	cup extra-virgin olive oil
4	large cloves garlic , minced and made into paste (see illustrations below)
1	cup lemon juice from 5 lemons
1	tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Dissolve salt in 2 quarts water in large bowl or two 1-gallon zipper-lock plastic bags. Add chicken parts (seal zipper-lock bags, if using), and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove chicken from brine, rinse very well, dry thoroughly with paper towels, and season with pepper to taste.
   

2. 2. Half an hour before cooking, ignite about 5 quarts hardwood charcoal or charcoal briquettes in a chimney and burn until completely covered with thin coating of light gray ash, 20 to 30 minutes. Dump out coals and following illustration 1, below, spread coals over 2/3 of grill bottom, leaving 1/3 with no coals; position grill rack over coals and heat for 10 minutes. Coals should be medium-hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above the grill surface for 4 seconds).
   

3. 3. Heat olive oil and garlic in small saucepan over low heat until garlic starts to sizzle but not color, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; mix with lemon juice in large, shallow, nonreactive 13-by-9-inch baking dish or similar pan; set aside. (Dry herbs may be added at this point; fresh herbs should not be added until just before coating chicken.)
   

4. 4. Place chicken skin side down on rack directly over hot coals; grill, pulling chicken over to empty side in case of flare-ups or if skin starts to char, and turning and moving pieces to ensure even cooking, until chicken is dark golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes for legs and wings and 18 to 20 minutes for thighs and breasts. When chicken pieces are well colored, place them in lemon sauce and roll to coat completely, following illustration 2, below. Return pieces to side of grill with no coals; heat until lemon sauce flavors meat, about 5 minutes longer, turning each piece and brushing with sauce once or twice more. Return chicken to pan and roll in lemon sauce once more; serve warm or at room temperature.

Planning

Spending my lunch hour picking wines and making potential menus for the in-law visit. I think I only have 8 nights or less to worry about...

* Lasagna, salad, bread (do we really need salad?)

* Bistro: french onion soup, roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, something vegetabley

Cheese souffle, arugula salad

Grilled pizza (do we need salad? farro? Saturday lunch, maybe?)

* Barefoot Contessa stew, popovers

Fresh pasta (sauce?)

* Pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, spinach

Steak, baked potatoes, spinach

* Blow-torch beef, potatoes

* Chicken tikka, rice, naan, cauliflower

* chinese

* meatloaf

*suitable for guests (if a little unimaginative)

Desserts:

Tarte tatin

lemon bars (with meringue)

brownies

Meringues with lemon curd & berries?

not quite memorial day BBQ

We might be having a party just so I have an excuse to make this, but I'd never admit it. Also on the menu:

Baked Beans, Farro Salad, Grilled asparagus, Grilled skirt steak and something for dessert. And probably cole slaw. Maybe homemade bread for the sandwiches. Pickled red onions?

INGREDIENTS

Chicken

• 8bone-in, skin-on chicken leg quarters (about 7 pounds total), trimmed of backbone (see illustrations below) and excess fat

Sauce

• 1large onion , peeled and quartered
• 1/4cup water
• 1 1/2cups ketchup
• 1 1/2cups apple cider
• 3tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4cup molasses
• 1/2teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1 1/2tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2teaspoon cayenne pepper
• hot pepper sauce , such as Tabasco

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. FOR THE CHICKEN: Soak four 3-inch wood chunks in cold water to cover for 1 hour; drain.
• 2. Using large chimney starter, ignite about 4 1/2 quarts charcoal, or about 80 individual briquettes, and burn until fully ignited, about 15 minutes. Empty coals into grill; divide coals in half, creating piles on opposite sides of grill. Place 16 by 12-inch disposable aluminum roasting pan in center, between coal piles. Nestle two soaked wood chunks on top of one pile (reserve remaining wood chunks). Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat until hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grate clean with grill brush.
• 3. Meanwhile, sprinkle both sides of chicken legs with salt and pepper. Place chicken legs skin side up in single layer on center of grill over roasting pan. Cover and cook 30 minutes (internal grill temperature should register about 325 degrees after 30 minutes).
• 4. Working quickly to prevent excess heat loss, remove cover, and, using tongs, rotate each leg so that side facing inward now faces coals; do not flip chicken pieces. Add remaining wood chunks to either pile of coals; cover and cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thighs registers about 185 degrees, 30 to 40 minutes longer (internal grill temperature should register about 310 degrees). Transfer chicken to cutting board; let rest until cool enough to handle.
• 5. FOR THE SAUCE: While chicken is cooking or cooling, process onion and water in food processor fitted with steel blade until pureed and mixture resembles slush, about 30 seconds. Pass mixture through fine-mesh strainer into liquid measuring cup, pressing on solids with rubber spatula; you should have 3/4 cup strained onion puree. Discard solids in strainer.
• 6. Whisk onion puree, ketchup, apple cider, Worcestershire, mustard, molasses, pepper, and 3 tablespoons cider vinegar together in medium bowl. Heat oil in large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat until shimmering; add garlic, chili powder, and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup mixture; increase heat to medium-high, bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, until flavors meld and sauce is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. You should have scant 4 cups sauce. Transfer about 2 cups sauce to serving bowl; leave remaining sauce in saucepan.
• 7. Remove and discard skin from chicken legs. Using fingers, pull meat off bones, separating larger pieces (which should fall off bones easily) from smaller, drier pieces into two equal piles.
• 8. Place smaller chicken pieces in food processor and pulse until just coarsely chopped, three to four 1-second pulses, stirring chicken with rubber spatula after each pulse. Transfer chicken to sauce in saucepan. Using fingers or two forks, pull larger chicken pieces into long shreds and add to saucepan. Stir in remaining tablespoon cider vinegar; cover saucepan and heat chicken over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 10 minutes. Add hot sauce to taste and serve, passing remaining barbecue sauce separately.
• 9. BARBECUED PULLED CHICKEN FOR A CROWD: This technique works well on a charcoal grill but not so well on a gas grill.
• 10. Follow above recipe, igniting 6 quarts charcoal briquettes, using 12 chicken legs, and slotting them into V-shaped roasting rack set on top of cooking grate over disposable roasting pan (thigh end down, two legs in each slot -- see photo below. Increase cooking time in step 3 to 45 minutes and cooking time in step 4 to 45 to 55 minutes. In step 6, remove only 1 cup of sauce from saucepan. In step 8, process chicken in food processor in 2 batches.

Food Wars

My losing food wars recipe...

Tea-infused Bread Pudding Bites

4 cups half & half

Loose black tea

8 eggs

less than 1 1/2 cups sugar (yes, I'm not terribly precise)

Brioche

Jam or homemade orange "marmalade" (dice 2 oranges, simmer with equal amount of sugar until it tastes good)

Combine Half & Half with 2-3T tea, bring to simmer, allow to steep. Whisk eggs with sugar, then add half & half.

Line 9 x 13 pan with thin slices of brioche (I aimed for a little less than half an inch). For the strawberry version, spread slices with jam. Pour about 2 cups of the custard mixture over the sliced bread. Cut remaining bread into cubes, and allow to soak in custard for 15 minutes.

For the orange version, add a few scoops of candied oranges (use a slotted spoon - you don't want too much syrup) to the brioche mix.

Pour/spread brioche mix over the sliced bread. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until it starts to souffle and get really puffy.

Refrigerate overnight, cut into bite size pieces, and garnish at will.

Garnish ideas:

Make a glaze with the orange syrup from the marmalade and powdered sugar. This is easy and delicious.

Whip mascarpone with a little honey and cream. Pipe dots on top of bites and top with a candied orange wedge or freeze dried strawberry.

jammies day

Tomorrow has been officially designated a day to stay home, watch the rain, and cook.

David asked for something with pork and chipotles. I found this from Tyler Florence:

• 2 ancho chiles
• 2 dried chipotle chiles
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 (3 to 5 pound) bone-in pork shoulder
• Salt and pepper
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand crushed
• 1 orange, halved
• 1 lime, halved
• Corn tortillas, recipe follows
• Avocado, sliced thin, for garnish
• Radishes, sliced thin, for garnish
• Tomatillo Salsa Verde, for garnish, recipe follows

Directions

Put the chiles into a small bowl and cover with hot water; set aside. In a large heavy bottomed pan with a tight fitting lid, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil. Generously season the pork with salt and pepper. Brown the meat well on both sides, about 5 minutes per side; remove the meat and set aside. Add the onion, pepper, garlic, cumin, thyme, and bay leaf; fry until softened, about 5 minutes, scraping up the browned bits in the pan. Stem and seed the soaked chiles reserving the soaking liquid; hand tear them into the pot. Return the meat to the pan along with any accumulated juices. Top the meat with the tomatoes. Pour in the chili soaking liquid, straining out any seeds, until it almost covers the meat; add water if you need more liquid. Squeeze the orange and lime juices into the pot and add the rinds. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the pork is very tender. Remove the meat to a platter and cover to keep warm. Strain the braising liquid and reserve.

Shred the pork. Add some of the reserved braising liquid if the meat is dry. Take a tortilla and place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture on top. Garnish with the avocado, radishes, and Salsa Verde; fold the sides up and serve.

Corn Tortillas:

4 cups masa harina

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups warm water

2 teaspoons honey

Put the masa harina in a bowl and mix in the salt. Add about 1 cup warm water and mix with your hands; add more water as needed until the dough comes together. Knead for a few minutes to smooth the dough out. The dough should be firm and springy and should not stick to your hands. Test by forming a small disk, if it cracks around the edges you need more water.

Place a piece of heavy plastic (like from a garbage bag) onto a tortilla press. Form a 1 1/2-inch ball of dough and place it in the center of the press. Top with another piece of plastic, close the press, and push the lever down to form the tortilla. (Alternately, the dough balls can be rolled between plastic sheets with a rolling pin.) Open the press and remove the top layer of plastic. Carefully peel the tortilla off the bottom plastic and place it onto a hot, ungreased cast iron skillet; cook for about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the tortilla and place it on a clean tea towel; keep it covered to keep it soft and pliable. Continue until you have used up all the dough.

Yield: 20 (6-inch) tortillas

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Tomatillo Salsa Verde:

1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed

1 jalapeno, stemmed

1 small Spanish onion, quartered

3 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

1 lime, juiced

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the tomatillos, jalapeno, onion, garlic, and 1 tablespoon salt. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes until the tomatillos are soft but have not burst. Add the cooked vegetables to a blender with the cilantro leaves and lime juice. Pour in 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and process to a coarse puree. Taste and adjust seasoning with more cilantro, lime juice, or salt.