Bobby Flay's Grill It! (3 page)

To hard-boil eggs

Place the eggs in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat on the stove or grates of the grill. Cover, remove from the heat, and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain the eggs, cover with cold water, and let sit for 5 minutes; drain again. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

The thrifty Italians may have invented panzanella as a way to use up stale bread, but I buy bread and put it out for the sole purpose of making this hearty salad. Grilled asparagus adds another dimension to the play of sweet cherry tomatoes and basil with briny olives and capers.

Serves 4 to 6

1. Heat your grill to high.
   
2. Grill the bread on both sides until slightly charred, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the grill and cut each slice into 1-inch cubes.
   
3. Whisk together the vinegar, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and the oil in a large bowl until combined. Add the asparagus, red and yellow tomatoes, onion, olives, capers, grilled bread, and basil and mix until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before serving.
   

I love cold crisp asparagus just as much as I like hot-off-the-grill asparagus. This is a perfect recipe to take on a picnic. Serve alongside
Three-Chile Glazed Grilled Tuna
.

Serves 4

1. Whisk together the vinegar, honey, chile sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, pepper, canola oil, and sesame seeds until combined.
   
2. Place the grilled asparagus in a baking dish, pour the vinaigrette over, and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours before serving.
   

To toast seeds or nuts

Put a single layer of seeds or nuts in a sauté pan and toast over medium-low heat (either on the grates of the grill or on the stovetop), shaking the pan every couple of minutes to prevent burning, until lightly golden brown and fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool completely.

This flatbread pizza is a wonderful option for a satisfying vegetarian appetizer or main course. Grilling asparagus intensifies its already pronounced flavor and gives this pesto a slightly smoky taste. Asparagus, basil, and lemon are a match made in heaven and one that works especially well here as the bright, acidic lemon and sweet and herbaceous basil keep the asparagus-based pesto tasting fresh.

For this particular recipe it is best to use the thinnest asparagus stalks you can find and to overcook them ever so slightly to make the smoothest pesto. To achieve this without turning the asparagus gray, remove the asparagus from the grill, place them on a platter, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and let them steam for 10 minutes before proceeding with the pesto recipe.

Serves 4 to 6

1. Heat your grill to high.
   
2. Combine 1 pound of the asparagus, the basil, lemon zest of 1 lemon, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times to coarsely chop. With the motor running, slowly add the ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil and process until the mixture is smooth; season with salt and pepper. Transfer the pesto to a bowl and stir in ½ cup of the Pecorino Romano cheese.
   
3. Brush the tops of the flatbreads with the 2 tablespoons olive oil and place oiled side down on the grill. Grill until slightly crisp, about 1 minute. Remove the flatbreads from the grill, turn right side up, and spread each with the pesto. Top with the fontina and the remaining ¼ pound of asparagus. Return the pizzas to the grill, close the cover, and continue cooking until the cheese has melted, 2 to 3 minutes.
   
4. Remove the pizzas from the grill and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup Pecorino Romano cheese and lemon zest. Garnish with basil leaves. Cut into slices and serve immediately.
   

Makes 2 (8-inch) flatbreads

1. Mix the water and yeast in a medium bowl and let stand for 5 minutes until foamy. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the flour, and salt and stir until combined.
   
2. Transfer the mixture to a lightly floured flat surface and knead until the texture of the dough is smooth. Grease the bottom and sides of a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil. Add the dough and turn to coat in the oil. Cover with a cloth and place in warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
   
3. Heat your grill to high.
   
4. Gently press on the dough to release some of the air and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and roll each into an 8-inch circle. Brush the tops with 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil, place on the grill, and cook until golden brown and lightly charred on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Brush the top side of the flat breads with the remaining 1½ tablespoons of olive oil, turn over, and continue grilling until lightly golden brown on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
   

Demo version limitation

Demo version limitation

Perfectly Grilled Chicken Breasts

Individual Grilled Chicken “Muffuletta” Sandwiches with Spicy Olive Relish

Grilled Chicken with Roasted Garlic–Oregano Vinaigrette and Grilled Fingerling Potatoes

Apple-Ginger Glazed Chicken

Sixteen-Spice–Rubbed Chicken Breast with Black Pepper Vinegar Sauce and Green Onion Slaw

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Tangerine-Maple–Black Pepper Glaze

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Green Olives and Sherry Vinegar–Orange Sauce

Spanish Spice–Rubbed Chicken Breasts with Parsley-Mint Sauce

Sweet-and-Sour Grilled Chicken

Chipotle-Honey–Glazed Chicken Wings with Toasted Sesame Seeds and Green Onion

We love chicken. It’s high in protein, low in fat, inexpensive, and adaptable to a myriad of flavors and preparations. Chicken legs, wings, thighs, breasts…you can do so much with this bird that you could feed it to your family for weeks on end without anyone getting bored.

I can’t imagine that there are many people out there who could find fault with a juicy grilled chicken breast. (A dry, charred-on-the-outside, raw-in-the-middle one maybe, but in this chapter I’ll give you the tips to ensure that never happens to you again.) The great thing about chicken is how many different ways you can season and flavor it. Chicken is a global kitchen staple and is therefore a perfect match with most ethnic cuisines imaginable.

While I would guess that most people prefer (or at least think that they do) white breast meat, there are so many other options to consider. Grilled chicken thighs are a personal favorite. The meat is tender, juicy, and flavorful. Their popularity is on the rise and you can find them in your supermarket aisles both bone-in and skin-on and boneless and skinless. Pound for pound, thighs are also less expensive than breasts. Regardless of the cut, I generally prefer to cook my poultry on the bone as it makes for a juicier end result.

When it comes to shopping for chicken, I look for one of two kinds: either kosher or free-range. These may be a bit pricier than your standard brands, but what you get in return—a more flavorful, juicier, and better-tasting bird—is worth the extra cost. You should be able to find one or the other, if not both, at most major supermarkets. There are also great shopping resources available on the Web (see
Sources
).

I would say that one of the most frequent cooking questions I am asked is, “What’s the secret to cooking moist chicken?” And though it may sound flip, my answer is always: don’t overcook it. It’s really that simple. While it is true, for safety reasons, that chicken must be cooked all the way through, that doesn’t mean that it has to look and taste like leather. Boneless chicken breasts take fewer than 10 minutes to cook and need to rest for about 5 minutes before slicing, to allow the juices to recirculate through the meat.

It will also help if you pound the chicken to an even thickness so that it cooks evenly and keep the skin on to add extra moistness while cooking. If you are watching your weight or don’t want to eat the skin, just remove it after you cook the chicken. Finally, make sure the grill is good and hot. Since the breast will cook quickly, you want to make sure you get a good crust on the outside before the inside is cooked.

When you buy boneless chicken breasts they have a tapered shape and a tenderloin attached. For grilling purposes it is best to remove the tenderloin, since its thin shape will cook much too fast to be any good before the rest of the chicken is cooked. Grill the tenderloins together for about two minutes per side until just cooked through.