Chicken Under Bricks

RUB: 1t kosher salt, 1 t granulated garlic, 1/2 t granulated onion, 1/4 t freshly cracked black pepper. You will also need: 1 whole chicken excess fat removed, oil, 1 cup of your favorite BBQ Sauce

In a small bowl mix the rub ingredients. Place chicken, breast side down on a cutting board using shears cut along each side of backbone and remove it. Open chicken like a book, using a sharp knife make a 1/2 inch deep incision in each joint to flatten the chicken as much as possible.

Season the chicken all lover with the rub

place the chicken skin side down over indirect heat. Place a baking sheet on the top of the chicken and weight it down with bricks. Grill until golden brown on the edges, 30 to 35 mins. Using pot holders, carefully remove the hot bricks and baking sheet. Flip chicken over and place over direct medium heat and grill until skin is golden brown all over, 5 to 10 mins.

Transfer chicken to cutting board and let rest for at last 5 mins before serving.

Cut the chicken into serving pieces and serve warm with BBQ sauce for dipping.

Hope you love this recipe. It's one of my favorites!

Grilled Chicken Quarters

Grilled chicken quarters are my staple weekend grilling item. They are cheap & and easy and so versatile to use all week long.

The marinade I use is: Worcestershire, Tabasco, red wine vinegar, a squirt or 2 of Dijon mustard to thicken it, fresh garlic, fresh cracked black pepper & smoked paprika. I make the marinade in a big ziplock bag and then add thawed chicken quarters to it. (if you like a sweeter flavor on your grilled chicken add honey or brown sugar to this marinade)

Squish all around the chicken and let marinade, the longer the better...overnight is best.

I grill them skin side down first and let the skin get real crispy. I personally don't eat the skin, so it's a great barrier for me to get my chicken nice and cooked through fast on the hottest part of the grill....And if the skin burns, who cares cause I throw it out anyway! If you are a chicken skin eater (no judgement here) just move the chicken to a cooler part of the grill.

That foil pack was fill of onions and garlic. Gosh, that is one of my favorite flavors. Yyyuuuummmm.

A lot of time I grill enough chicken to share with mom, and still have enough to bring in my lunch during the week. Leftover chicken also make great, BBQ chicken pizza, quesadillas, chicken salad etc for other dinners during the week.

The beautiful finished product. Be sure and send us a comment or email of the delicious stuff you grilled this weekend!

Semi-homemade Grilling

Here are some really easy ideas for fast grilling with stuff you already have in your fridge

Italian or polish sausage, I slice mine down the middle, so both sides can get crispy. As a kid we had this a lot and usually had macaroni and cheese to go with it!

I marinated boneless skinless chicken breasts in italian dressing for a tangy, easy marinade!

These chicken breasts I basted with buffalo wing sauce for a spicy, easy "kick it up a notch" grilled chicken! Hopefully these will motivate you to get outside and grill this weekend!

Soy, Dijon & Garlic Drumsticks

Marinade: soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, lemon zest & juice, Dijon mustard, fresh garlic, cracked black pepper

Add about a tablespoon (or more if you like a certain flavor) of each into a big ziplock bag

Add thawed large drumsticks to bag of marinade and let soak for 30-60 mins, tossing to get both sides coated.

I use skin on, bone in chicken, because the skin keeps the tops moist & the bone keeps the bottom side moist.

I grill my chicken skin side down at first and let it get good and charred (BLACK) because it insures that it cooks through and I don't eat the skin anyway, so it's a great barrier to keep meat moist. {drumsticks obviously have skin on all sides, so this technique isn't necessarily for this cut of chicken}

I threw on some potatoes to go with the chicken

The finished product! Try this marinade, it's really yummy!

Grilling Friday

I grilled chicken quarters and veggies this week!
4th of July is the biggest grilling holiday of the year.
We hope you are bar-b-q'ing this holiday and if you do, PLEASE email us your recipe and pictures and we will feature your wonderful food in a future post.

Wishing you all a very happy 4th, that is fun & safe!

Chili-lime chicken thighs

Cast of Characters: Worcestershire, garlic, lime, hot sauce, chili powder, paprika & Lawry's season salt

Add Worcestershire to cover a shallow pan, then add juice of 2 limes, a few dashes of hot sauce depending on how spicy you like things, a couple of minced garlic cloves & a few shakes of the seasonings.

add chicken skin side down to marinade and completely cover in sauce

let marinade for about an hour

Make sure you shake off the excess marinade from chicken before you put on the grill to avoid flare ups! Add chicken skin side down and cover with lid and let cook, then flip and grill on other side.

Love that dark crunchy part!

Yummy finished product! I served with grilled zucchini for a well balanced dinner. YUM.

Buffalo chicken skewers

Cast of Ingredients: boneless, skinless chicken breast & store bought buffalo sauce wing sauce, salt & pepper & favorite veggies as the side item

Slice chicken into bit sizes cubes and let marinade in the wing sauce

add a pinch of salt & lots of fresh cracked pepper, then thread chicken onto metal skewers

place on screaming hot grill

cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the meat & how hot your grill is, flipping the skewers to make sure each side gets cooked through & those great grill marks

Finished product. Yummy, easy and with a veggie on the side a very healthy balanced dinner