Currently on the Grill

Tonight, I'm trying an experiment. Tequila Lime chicken with grilled corn on the cob. It's about time to go turn it, so a full report shall follow shortly.

From Over-Done to Under-Done in 2 Nights Flat

Tonight:

Grilled Chicken breasts with a Whiskey marinade
1/2 Cup Bourbon
1/4 Cup Ketchup
2 tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

I wasn't actually planning on cooking tonight. There were still two burgers left from Saturday, but I had to stop by the store to pick up a few odds and ends, and decided that I really didn't feel like eating red meat for the third night in a row, so I picked up some Chicken Breasts. Of course, I neglected to actually pick up other ingredients. Brilliant planning, there. Once I got home, I started flipping through my Bible looking for a marinade I could do without having to go back to the store, and lo and behold, I happened across the one above. I did, however, have to make a couple of substitutions. I didn't have any Bourbon, so I used Jack Black. I was also missing white wine vinegar, which I initially thought was a deal-breaker, but I suspected that I could substitute Apple cider vinegar instead. Not willing to trust my dinner to a fleeting whim, I turned to Google, and was surprised to find that my instinct was right. Mustn't let this go to my head. The hot sauce, I omitted entirely, and yet again, I had to substitute the fresh garlic with dried.

From the moment I announced my intention until almost before I put the chicken on the grill, Zhi kept asking me, "Are you sure that's a marinade for chicken?" I have to admit, I was a bit concerned about it myself, as it seemed a little too flavorful for chicken, but who am I to question the almighty? After marinading the Chicken for an hour, I fired up the grill, being careful to not turn the gas on too high and put the chicken on. I grilled the breasts at 400 for 10 minutes, and took them off as soon as the timer dinged. When I turned them at the 5 minute mark, I thought to myself, "Maybe I should actually leave them on for a couple more minutes and let them cook for 12 instead of 10."

That was a good point, self. I should listen to you. Once the timer dinged, however, rigid obedience to the temporal overlord overrode instinct(...German.) and I pulled everything off of the grill. The marinade smelled really good, and so did the chicken when they came off of the grill. Sadly, the marinade didn't impart nearly as much flavor as I would have liked, but that's sort of what happens when you only let things marinate for an hour. The chicken was also not quite done all the way through, which was a little embarrassing, especially because if had I let it stay on the grill for a couple more minutes, it would have been fine. ;) Oh well, another learning experience, I guess.

Trust Your Instincts

So, I may have told lies when I mentioned that I was going to grill Shrimp or Steak next. That was my intention, however, for some reason, my stomach was dead set on burgers. So, burgers it was tonight. This time, I tried a little something different. First off, I only bought two pounds of ground chuck, and secondly, I turned on the grill to warm up while Zhi and I were preparing the patties. It turns out I'd set the temperature up too high, so I wound up having to turn the grill down and wait. Once the grill got to the right temp, I put the burgers on, and closed the lid. I was smelling burning, but it was way too early for the patties to be burning, so I'm guessing I didn't clean the grill quite as well as I thought I did the last time I cooked on it. Oops.

I closed the lid, and set my timer for 5 minutes. As soon as it dinged, I dutifully flipped the burgers and closed the lid again, completely forgetting to set the timer. Whoops. Upon realizing my mistake, I decided against belatedly starting the timer and just winging it. Once the German side of my brain stopped screaming at me in Plaudeutsch, I waited until something inside my head shouted, "Für Liebe des Gottes, nehm' sie jetzt auf!" so I did. Much to my relief, nothing smelled like it was burnt, so in my mind, dinner was already a marginal success. After turning off the grill, I went inside and chopped up the tomato and onion I'd bought to dress my burger with, and made up my burger, deciding to pair it with a Granny Smith WoodChuck Cider. (Sub-optimal, but I'll get to that later.) And lest you think I'm a bad husband for not chopping up any tomatos or Onions for Zhi, you should know that Zhi explodes on impact with tomato, and slays 1d10 husbands when subjected to onions.

Anyhow, I began eating my burger and it was... decent. It was actually a little over-done for my taste, but Zhi seemed to like it. When I fired up the grill, I think I turned the gas up a little higher than I should have, because the grill was pretty hot. As for the Woodchuck, I loves me my apple cider, but it just doesn't go with burgers to my liking. It's probably much better suited for Chicken or Pork. Monday, I think I'm going to go with Chicken again. Later in the week, I'll try my hand at a pork dish, and see how that goes. Until the next post, keep an eye out for mushroom clouds to Austin's NorthWest, and the CedarPark/Leander Fire Department on Speed Dial.

Zest First, THEN Cut!

Tonight's experiment:

Lemon-Oregano Chicken Breasts

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Grilling Time: 8 to 12 minutes

Marinade
1/4 cup Extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons paprika
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 6oz. each.

1. In a medium bowl whisk the marinade ingredients


2. Place the breasts on a large rimmed plate. Spoon or brush the marinade over the breasts, turning to coat them evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.


3. Grill under direct medium heat for 8 to 12 minutes, turning once or twice. Serve warm.
   

So, I got home tonight, and pretty much immediately set to work preparing the marinade. Sadly, I found we were out of paprika, and that all of our garlic was no longer good. Doh! Since I didn't want to go back to the store, I decided to nix the Paprika, and substitute the garlic for a sort of mixed-garlic spice. I had the marinade mixed, and was ready to pour it into a gallon bag along with the chicken breasts to marinate when I looked to my left and realized that I totally forgot to zest and juice the lemons! I had cut them, but I just hadn't bothered to zest and juice them. Determined to save Christmas, dinner and America, I started zesting the halves of the lemons. I am pleased to report that I retain skin on 3 out of 4 knuckles on both hands. Next time, I'll remember to zest the lemons first. With the lemons squared away, I put the chicken breasts in the bag, and shook them up to make sure they were well coated, and put them in the fridge for an hour. I had originally intended to marinate them for 2 hours, but hunger got the best of me. I fired up the grill and threw them on.

I wish I could tell you that I leisurely kicked back with a beer and after a while went, "Yup, better turn 'em!". Nope, I set a timer for 10 minutes, and watched it and the temperature gauge on the grill like a hawk, turning the breasts at precisely five minutes in. Why yes,I am German! Why do you ask? When the timer dinged, I was encouraged by the fact that they certainly seemed to smell good, but I've eaten far to many things that smelled good and wound up tasting horrible. Since there was no need to prolong the inevitable, I brought the meat inside, and made a side salad, and added a few croissants for a starch.

To drink, I poured a glass of 2008 Grape Creek Vineyards' Pinot Grigio. With dinner served, there was nothing left to do but take a bite and pray that the Salmonella killed me quickly and painlessly. Not only did I not die, it was actually good! The chicken was even still juicy! I'm very pleased (and amazed) with how it turned out. I really like this grilling thing so far. I think next time, I'm going to try grilling Shrimp or Steak.

Conspicuous Lack of Earth-Shattering Kaboom

Allow me to start by saying that I am not a good cook. Although, I suppose, in the spirit of unbridled honesty, it is more accurate to say that I am not a cook. Since I'm getting older (funny how that works), and good nutrition will become increasingly important in keeping my figure(svelte!), and achieving my goals, (jousting, eventing, and hitting people with sticks both on foot and on horseback.) I decided that it was high time I do something about that. To that end, I asked Santa for a Grill for Christmas. Why a grill? Well, there's several reasons. Some of which are even good.

1. I have it on good authority that grilling is a rather healthy way to cook.


2. Grilling is a fast way to cook.


3. Grilling is an easy way to cook.


4. Grilling is very Texan.


5. Cleaning a grill is easy.


6. It is my secret ambition to show up to a family gathering with awesome baby-back ribs.

Despite my many and varied transgressions this year, Santa very kindly put a Grill under the tree for me this year. And not just any grill, oh no sir. A Weber Genesis. As shown below:


I very happily took my new grill home and set it up, and for the five days let it sit, since I really didn't know what to do with it. So, yesterday, determined to not let my grill become one of those expensive kitchen gadgets that you buy, and never use, I want to Barnes and Nobles and bought a book. I spent the day studying the book, and decided that my first foray into the world of grilling would be the humble grilled burger. Simple, yet rewarding, and damn near impossible to screw up.

Or so I hoped. At about 18:00, I wrote a shopping list, and headed out to the store, bringing home 3lbs. Ground Chuck, chips, pickles, A1 and Worchestershire sauce. Once home with material components in hand for what I hoped would be an uncontested triumph, I jumped right to it before I lost my nerve. The first step was to light the grill. After double, and triple-checking the Grill's documentation for how to do so, I went outside, opened the grill cover, connected the pipe to the propane cylinder, turned on the gas and the first burner, crossed my fingers and hit the ignition button. And behold, there was flame! Encouraged by my first success, I tried the second and third burners. Both of which came alight without any problems, with the bonus effect of not reducing my grill, the house, or myself to a smoldering crater.

While the grill heated up, Zhizhu and I mixed in dried onion flakes, Worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper in with the ground beef, and set to work making patties. As it turns out, 3 pounds of ground chuck makes a lot of patties. Next time, I will buy no more than 2 lbs. Anyways, after forming the patties and putting each one on a square of wax paper, (see dad, I payed some attention.) I grabbed my grill spatula and the meat and headed out to the grill. After checking to make sure it was at the correct temperature, I placed the burgers on the grill before I lost my nerve. And then, I waited, resisting every single impulse I had to lift the lid and make sure I hadn't rendered Zhi and I's dinner to meat-flavored carbon. After about 5 minutes, something told me it was time to flip them now.

I pulled the cover of the grill up, and used the test that my new-found Grilling Bible taught me. The way it works is if you slide your spatula under the patty, and it will come loose without sticking, it's time to flip. All the patties passed, so they all were flipped. Shortly after I flipped them all, Zhi came out with a kitchen timer set of 5 minutes. So far, so good. I was still in possession of all my limbs and digits, the house was still standing, and the patties were beginning to resemble genuine, cooked food. Five minutes later, the timer dinged, and I took all the patties off the grill, and turned it off, leaving it to cool down before I put its cover back on it.

As I brought the meat in, I noticed that it certainly smelled good. Although, I didn't put it past my nose to tell me terrible lies, so I ignored it. Zhi and I each made up a burger and poured ourselves drinks. She went with Orange Juice, I went with a Malbec. I bravely and selflessly suggested that she take a bite of hers to tell me how it was.

I was prepared for everything from "We're ordering pizza." to "It's... interesting. But much to my surprise, she said, "It's good! Emboldened by the glowing review, and the fact that she did not immediately keel over from E. coli, I ventured a taste of my own burger. And holy shit, she was right! My first time grilling was an actual success! I would have been content with edible food, but actually producing something tasty was beyond my wildest expectations! Tomorrow, I am planning on trying my hand at grilling chicken. Assuming that I do not reduce my house to a smoldering crater, you can expect a full report here.