Fabulicious!: On the Grill (16 page)

3.
Preheat the grill for indirect cooking with medium heat (400°F).

4.
Place the chicken on a wire rack in a metal roasting pan just large enough to hold the chicken. There is no need to truss the chicken. Add the chicken fat and giblet to the roasting pan—they will help flavor the pan juices. Put the roasting pan with the chicken on the grill
over the unignited burner(s) and close the lid. Cook, basting quickly with the pan juices every 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F, about 1¾ hours. Remove the pan from the grill. Stick a large metal spoon into the chicken cavity and tilt it to drain the juices into the roasting pan. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Let the chicken stand for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

5.
Meanwhile, make the pan sauce: Pour the pan juices from the roasting pan into a small glass bowl and let stand 3 minutes. Skim off and discard the yellow fat from the surface. Heat the roasting pan over two stove burners on medium-high heat until the juicy residue in the pan is sizzling, about 30 seconds. (You can also do this on the grill side burner, if you have one.) Pour in the wine and degreased pan juices. Bring the mixture to a boil, scraping up the browned bits in the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon Boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

6.
Carve the chicken and arrange on the platter. Pour the pan sauce over the chicken, garnish with the herb sprigs, and serve immediately.

 

Makes 4 servings

Devilishly hot with red pepper flakes and spicy with garlic, this chicken is always butterflied to expose more of the skin to the heat of the grill so it gets nice and crispy. It's not hard to do with poultry shears or even a sturdy pair of scissors—just wash the scissors well before and after using them for this job. Like the whole chicken, I smear the seasoning under the skin. This is a good way to spread the flavor and also keeps the rub from burning, as it can do when on the outside of the skin.

1 (5-pound) chicken, giblets and liver discarded or saved for another use

6 garlic cloves, smashed under the flat side of a knife and peeled

1 teaspoon salt, divided

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

1.
To butterfly the chicken, use poultry shears or a clean pair of scissors, cut through the bones on both sides of the backbone, and discard the backbone. Place the chicken, skin-side up, on a work surface. Press hard on the breast bone that runs vertically between the two breast halves to crack it and spread the chicken. That's it!

2.
Coarsely chop the garlic on a chopping board. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt and continue chopping until finely minced. Smear the garlic on the board to make a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in 3 tablespoons of oil, the lemon juice, and the red pepper flakes.

3.
Remove and discard the pads of yellow fat at the tail. Starting at the tip of the breast, loosen the skin and insert your hand under the skin, loosing the skin all over the chicken as best as you can. Using a small rubber spatula or a dessert spoon, spread the red pepper rub under the skin and all over the flesh. Brush the chicken with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil on both sides and season all over with the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt and the pepper. Let stand at room temperature while preparing the grill.

4.
Preheat the grill for indirect cooking with medium-high heat (450°F).

5.
Place the chicken on the cooking grate, skin-side down, over the unignited burner(s), and close the grill lid. Cook until the skin is golden brown, about 40 minutes. (Do not move the chicken because the skin will stick to the grate if moved too soon.) Flip the chicken and continue cooking, with the lid closed, until the skin is crisp and brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F, 20 to 30 minutes more. If you wish, move the chicken to the heated side of the grill, skin-side down, and continue cooking to crisp the skin a bit more, about 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let stand for 10 minutes.

6.
Cut the chicken into serving pieces and transfer to a platter. Add the lemon wedges, and serve hot.

 

Makes 6 servings

We talked about how great pork tastes with apple flavoring, and the same is true of chicken. (In fact, you can use the apple-rosemary marinade with pork, as well.) This is one of my favorite grilled recipes.

Apple-Rosemary Marinade:

¾ cup apple cider or apple juice

¾ cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio

½ cup coarsely chopped onion

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

1½ teaspoons salt

1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Chicken Breast:

3 Red Delicious or Golden Delicious apples, washed but unpeeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch rings

6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (each 6 ounces)

1.
To make the marinade:
Whisk the apple cider, wine, onion, oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper together in a medium bowl.

2.
Place the apple rings in a 1-quart resealable plastic bag. Pour in about ⅓ cup of the marinade (including the onion and rosemary), and close the bag. Set aside.

3.
To make the chicken:
One at a time, place a chicken breast half between 2 plastic storage bags. Using a flat meat pounder or a rolling pin, pound the chicken until it is about ½-inch thick. Place the chicken breast halves in a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the remaining marinade and close the bag. Refrigerate the bags of chicken and apple, turning occasionally, for 1 to 2 hours.

4.
Remove the chicken and apples from the marinade, transfer to a plate, and discard the marinade. Let the chicken and apples stand at room temperature while preheating the grill.

5.
Preheat the grill for direct heating over medium heat (400°F).

6.
Place the chicken on the cooking grate and close the lid. Cook until the undersides are seared with grill marks, about 4 minutes. Flip the chicken over and cook, with the lid closed as much as possible, until it feels firm
when pressed with your finger, 4 to 6 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Add the apples to the grill and cook, with the lid closed, flipping once, until seared with grill marks and crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes total. Add the apples to the platter with the chicken. Serve hot.

 

Makes 6 servings

I love making fancy dishes on the grill that seem like they can only be made inside. Like stuffing a chicken breast with artichokes (my fave!) and fontina cheese. This is a great dish for when you have company. Just be careful not to overmarinate the chicken, or it will get tough from the acid in the artichoke marinade and the wine.

Basil-Rosemary Marinade:

1 (6-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts

¼ cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Chicken Breasts:

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (each 6 ounces)

½ cup (2 ounces) shredded fontina cheese

1.
To make the marinade:
Drain the artichokes hearts, reserving the marinade from the jar. Set the artichoke hearts aside. Whisk the wine, oil, reserved artichoke marinade, basil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper together in a medium bowl.

2.
To make the chicken:
Working with one chicken breast half at a time, use a thin sharp knife to cut horizontally through the center of the chicken, cutting almost, but not quite, to the other side. Transfer the chicken to a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the marinade and close the bag. Refrigerate, occasionally turning the bag, for 1 to 2 hours.

3.
Coarsely chop the reserved artichoke hearts. Transfer to a bowl and combine with the fontina cheese. Remove the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade. Open up a chicken breast half like a book. Place about one-sixth of the artichoke mixture on one side of the chicken, and close to cover with the other half. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and artichoke mixture. Let stand at room temperature while preparing the grill.

4.
Preheat the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (400°F).

5.
Place the chicken breasts on the cooking grate and close the grill lid. Cook until the undersides are golden brown and seared with grill marks, about 5 minutes. Carefully flip the chicken (the filling will stay in place) and continue cooking, with the lid closed, until the chicken feels firm when pressed on top with a fingertip, 6 to 8 minutes more. Remove the chicken breasts from the grill. Let the chicken stand for 5 minutes, then serve hot.

 

Makes 6 servings

One of the recipes from
Fabulicious! Teresa's Italian Family Cookbook
that I get complimented on the most is Gabriella's favorite meal: Chicken Parmigiana. It's hard to believe you can make such a succulent layered dish on the grill, but you can, and it's just as fantastic as the original oven version.

6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (each about 6 ounces)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup Italian-seasoned dry bread crumbs

⅓ cup (about 1½ ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese

3 cups “The Quickie” Tomato Sauce (
page 56
)

1.
One at a time, place half a chicken breast between 2 plastic storage bags. Using a flat meat pounder or a rolling pin, pound the chicken until it is about ½-inch thick. Brush the chicken on both sides with the oil, and season with the salt and black pepper.