Ok, so I'm not very creative when it comes to food AND i'm getting sick of eating the same old plain grilled chicken. Help me out! Anyone have any good suggestions for how to prep chicken for the grill that would add some new tastes to it? Maybe some marinades?
And with that, I have a question about how you calculate the value of marinades. I see some pre-made ones in stores, but I'm not sure how marinading the meat affects the caloric value of the meat when you cook it. Any thoughts?
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Start with thawed breasts, for best results (but sometimes, I'm too lazy).
Take a pan with a cover. Add chicken and dump a jar of salsa on it. Heat to a light simmer, cover, then let simmer for 20 minutes. I you want to shred for tacos, go for 30-40 minutes, but watch the liquid so it doesn't burn.
After it's cooked, you can chop it, slice it, add to salads, whatever. The now reduced salsa makes a good topping for the chicken, other meats, veggies, tacos, whatever.
Doesn't have to be salsa, either. Use any healthy, chunky pasta sauce, too.
Thighs and Drumsticks are easier to grill. Breasts are thick, and tend to overcook on the outside before they are done on the inside. So: two ways of doing breasts. Keep the temperature down, and consider moving them to the upper rack about half way through the process. Second, you can flatten them. Use a meat pounder, edge of a heavy dinner plate, or such.
Marinades. There are hundreds, but soy sauce is the standard for most of us. Its saltiness and other contents add flavor, and while the carb content is low, there is enough to enhance browning. I usually add lemon juice and zest, sometimes rosemary.
After much experimentation I arrived at this procedure for whole chickens. Cut the backbone out, maybe an inch and a half wide. Cut off tail, excess fat, wing tip, and finish cutting through the breast to form two pieces. The grill is preheated, and as soon as you oil (lightly or with Pam Spray), turn the grill to lowest setting. Watch carefully for flareups. Move the halves to the top rack early on. Check for doneness with knife or thermometer. Rob
Good points about the breasts. If you're buying chicken breasts to grill, it's also better to buy them with skin and bones intact. These two components keep moisture in when cooking. Pull the skin off before scarfing. The fat does not get absorbed into the meat.
My favorite Marinade is a mixture of 1 cup orange juice, 1/8 cup lime juice, small red onion diced , 1/8 cup tequilla, 3 cloves garlic, cilantro and olive oil. Throw all the ingredients in a blender and pour the end result over 6 bonless skinless chicken breasts that you have pounded to 1/2" thick. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 but no more than 3 hours. Grill over a hot fire for 4 minutes on each side.
I take the chix breasts put between some wax paper then wail on 'em with my tenderizer. then i marinate them in whatever I'm in the mood for. sometimes just a rub, other times honey/ginger/tamari, other times this unreal bbq sauce a guy my dad works with makes. it's so good that i'll drive 6.5 hours to Va Beach just to pick up a quart jar. talk about goodness.
oh, grill on low heat. you want tender, not charcoal.
Leaving the skins on does add fat to the meat. Enough to worry about? Depends on your goals.
Thighs and drumsticks take longer to cook as the bones absorb heat. They also have a higher fat content. They also have more connective tissue which means they are better cooked low and slow.
Castufari has the right idea, pound them thin for even/fast cooking. That or you can butterfly them.
Brining (soaking in salt water) will also help keep the meat moist.
I can't find the article online, but I read a study in a magazine that compared cooking with skin vs cooking without skin showed them to be almost identical, once the skin was eventually removed. Also, the fat comes right off with the skin of cooked breasts, while quite a bit is left behind when pulling it off of raw ones. You can get it all off, but it's pretty hard and most people don't trim the raw ones that well.
Also, if you're looking for a moist baked breast, it will be far tastier if you pull the skin off afterward. Fat be damned!
Another way to cook thick breasts or other cuts of meat is to use indirect heat.
If you are using charcoal, place a drip pan - you can make one out of foil - directly under where you will be grilling the meat. Spread the coals around the drip pan. Cover the grill. Cooking will take a little more time, but this method prevents burning as the meat cooks through. It also helps keep the meat juicier.
If using a gas grill, you can do pretty much the same thing, just leave one of the burners off and place your chicken, etc. over it.
For variety, you can add soaked wood chips (soak dry chips in water for about an hour) to the drip pan to add a smoke flavor. I've had good success with hickory and apple wood chips. You can also add various liquids to the drip pan to add flavor. A dry white wine is great with poultry and a cabernet, merlot, or pinot noir works well with beef. White wine with apple wood chips is a great combo for poultry. Experiment!
I found (through a friend's home party) tastefully simple makes some really great marinades for chicken/beef, etc. I think they have a website that you can probably order directly from.
Take a pan with a cover. Add chicken and dump a jar of salsa on it. Heat to a light simmer, cover, then let simmer for 20 minutes. I you want to shred for tacos, go for 30-40 minutes, but watch the liquid so it doesn't burn.
You could also bake this - 350 degrees ~1 hour (depending on thickness of breasts) and not worry about burning the sauce.
If you spray the dish with Pam, you'll have an easy clean up. (No, I don't sell Pam!) :p
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