Grilled Lime Marinated Chicken

Ingredients:
6 – 8 limes (to get about a cup of lime juice)

zest from 1 lime

2 jalapenos

1 clove garlic

1 bunch cilantro, just the leaves

1 tablespoon honey

3 teaspoons ground cumin

Directions:

Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a food processor and combine thoroughly. If you are using a whole chicken, flatten that sucker and then combine the marinade and chicken in a Ziploc-type bag, squeeze all of the air out and then seal.

Place the bag in the refrigerator and allow the chicken to marinade for 4 hours, turning the bag a few times to give the entire chicken equal marinade love.

Remove the bag from the refrigerator and place on the counter 45 minutes before grilling.  We want that chicken to warm up to room temperature so that it cooks evenly.

Light the grill for indirect cooking.  If you are using a gas grill, light half of the burners to high and leave the others off.

If you are using charcoal, pile all of the coals to one side of the grill. Place the chicken skin side down on the hot side of the grill to sear the skin.

Grill for about 5 minutes until the skin is charred to your liking. Keep moving the chicken around if it flares up too much. Once the skin is nice and crispy, flip the chicken over and move to the cool side of the grill with the skin side up and close the lid. Continue to grill until a meat thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast reads around 155 – 160 degrees.

It should take around 30 minutes on a 350 – 400 degree grill.  Keep the lid close as much as possible to retain your heat.  It’s skin side up on the cool side of the grill, so no burning worries, just leave it alone and drink one of those fruity drinks you made with the left over lime juice!

Once the breast registers 155 – 160 degrees, remove the chicken from the grill and place on a platter to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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Yogurt Marinated Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken split in half
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 inch piece of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions:
Scrape the paper-thin skin off of the fresh ginger using the edge of a spoon and then grate the ginger with a cheese grater.Combine the grated ginger, yogurt, salt and cumin in a bowl and whip to combine thoroughly.Place the chicken halves in a Ziplock bag, add the marinade, seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours, turning the bag at least once. Prepare your grill for indirect grilling by lighting one side on high and leaving the other side off.  We are going to sear the chicken to get some great crispy skin and then roast with the lid closed on the cool side of the grill.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and place skin side down on the hot side of the grill.  Watch for flare-ups at this point, that skin likes to drip its fat onto the coals and cause problems.  If flare-ups occur, just slide the chicken over until the flames go out.Continue to grill with the skin side down for a few minutes, until you get a nice brown skin. Flip the chicken over and move it to the cool side of the grill.Close the lid and maintain a temperature on the cool side of the grill of about 350 – 400 degrees.  This is where a great probe thermometer comes in handy.  Simply place the thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and roast the chicken until you hit 160 degrees.Once the breasts hit 160 degrees, you are done!  Remember to leave the lid closed as much as possible to maintain the heat.

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Balsamic Glazed Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:


1 whole chicken (around 4 – 5 pounds)
1/2 cup honey
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Light your grill for a two zone, indirect grilling session. If you are using gas, you’ve got it easy, just light half of your burners to medium high and leave the other half off (preferably the center burners should be off). For you charcoal folks, pile up a chimney full of charcoal on one side of the grill. Combine the honey and balsamic vinegar in a bowl and whisk thoroughly to form our glaze.

Generously salt and pepper both sides of your chicken.Once the grill is ready, place the chicken skin side down on the hot side of the grill. Stay close by, the fat from the skin is going to flare up! When it does, just move your chicken off the flame until the flare up goes out.Sear the chicken for 5 – 10 minutes (depending on the temperature of your grill). We are looking to crisp up the skin and create a little char, but not burn the entire skin.

Once you are done searing, flip the chicken over skin side up and move the chicken to the cool side of the grill.Using a mop or brush, baste the chicken with the honey balsamic glaze and close the grill’s lid.We want to keep the grill at as close to 350 as possible and only open the lid to baste the chicken. Just like your oven, the grill looses all of the heat each time you open the lid. Continue to baste the chicken with the glaze every 10 minutes or so and keep the lid closed in between basting.

Grill the chicken until a thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast reads around 160 degrees and the outside skin has darkened.Hit the chicken with a little more glaze and place on a platter to serve.Allow the chicken to rest for about 10 minutes before you carve.

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Grilled Honey Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken wings
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
3 cloves garlic
2 inch piece of fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions:
Peel and chop the garlic and ginger. If you haven’t worked with fresh ginger before, it can look a little strange and maybe somewhat daunting, so here's a few tips. There is a thin skin on the outside, sort of like an onion. All you need to do to remove the skin is to scrape the ginger with the edge of a spoon. It’s that easy! Freeze your unused ginger in freezer bags for the next time. Want another tip? Next time you use that frozen ginger, grate it with a cheese grater, it’s a lot easier than chopping! Ok, back to the show…Heat the sesame oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic and “sweat” them, just until you start smelling the aroma of both. Don’t brown that garlic! Add the soy sauce, honey and vinegar and reduce your heat to low.Let the glaze slowly simmer for a few minutes, stirring often and then kill the heat. Light your grill for medium heat. Grill the chicken wings over medium heat with the lid closed for about 4 minutes per side. These times always vary. What you are looking for is nice golden brown skin on all sides of the wings. A little charring never hurt anyone, but don’t burn them. Once the wings are nice and brown and crispy, shut the burner off on one side of the grill and turn the remaining burners up to high.

We don't want to glaze over an open flame. The glaze has honey and we all know honey and sugar burn, so keep the wings away from the flame! If using a charcoal grill, carefully remove the wings and the grate and pile all of the coals up to one side. Replace the grate and put all of the wings over the cool side of the grill.Now we glaze!

Continually brush the wings with the glaze and close the lid in between brushings until you create a great sticky glaze all over those beautiful wings.While that’s going on, toast your sesame seeds on a dry pan until you start to smell them cooking and remove from the heat.Once you are satisfied with the glaze (or you can’t stand it anymore and have to dig in), remove the wings from the grill and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.Serve the remaining glaze as a dipping sauce.

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Grilled Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

This grilled goat cheese and basil stuffed chicken is a really easy and quick grilling recipe.

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese
2 green onions, sliced thin
2 – 3 tablespoons of fresh basil chopped fine
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper

Directions
Create a pocket-hole in the chicken breasts by slicing them length-wise, but not all of the way through.  We don’t want to butterfly the chicken, just create a large pocket to hold our gooey goat deliciousness. Mix the goat cheese, green onions and basil together in a bowl and divide into 3 equal portions.

Stuff the pocket on each chicken breast with a portion of the stuffing.  Roll up your sleeves and use your hands to work the stuffing into the pockets and then press the ends together on the chicken to seal the pocket.Rub the outsides of the chicken breasts with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.Light the grill on high.Place the stuffed chicken breasts on the grill and grill direct for about 5 minutes per side or until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Serve and try to resist the urge to lick the excess stuffing off of your plate.

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Stuffed and Grilled Chicken Breast

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (halves)

2 cups of cubed day old white bread

2 ounces sliced ham

3/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cups dry white wine

salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Using a paring knife, carefully cut a 2 inch slit in the thick side of each breast, inserting the knife to create a pocket.  Be careful not to cut through to the other side or enlarge the whole more than the 2 inch slit.

2. Marinade the breasts in the wine with salt and pepper and a pinch of the sage.  Marinade in the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour.

3. Combine the remaining sage, ham, bread and cheese in a bowl.  Mix, then drizzle the oil over the mixture.  Season with the salt and pepper and mix again.

4. Stuff the chicken.  I love Alton Browns solution to use a large plunger with the end cut off to stuff chicken breasts.  This works great.

5. Oil, salt and pepper the outside of the chicken.  Grill on direct high heat for about 5 to 6 minutes per side until the breast reaches about 160º.

Let the chicken rest for a few minutes, then dig in.

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Grilled Chicken Cutlets

A great alternative to try on besides the common ol' fried chicken strips and nuggets.

Ingredients:
Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Italian style breadcrumbs
Olive oil
Directions:

Light the grill and heat to medium heat. Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board and cover with a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap (or put them in a resealable bag).Using a flat, blunt object like a pan or meat tenderizer, take out your frustrations on the chicken breast and pound them down to about 1/2 inch thick. The thinner the better. By the way, your children would love to help with this part, so get the kids involved with dinner! Pour the enough breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl to cover the bottom.Coat each chicken breast with Olive oil and then press into the bowl of breadcrumbs.Thoroughly cover the chicken breasts with the breadcrumbs, pushing the chicken down into the bowl to ensure the crumbs stick to the chicken. Place the chicken cutlets on the grill and grill with the lid closed for about 5 minutes over medium heat.Check the chicken.  The breasts are pounded thin, so you should be able to see the chicken turning opaque on the edges as the chicken cooks through.  If they look to be cooked on the first side and the breadcrumbs are golden brown, you are ready to flip them.  If not, crank up the heat to medium-high, close the lid and give them a few more minutes.Flip the breasts over, close the lid and grill for another 4 – 5 minutes on the second side.The chicken cutlets are done when the meat is firm and the breadcrumbs are golden brown on both sides.  To check the doneness of the cutlets, pick them up with tongs and they shouldn’t bend under their own weight like they did when they were raw. Remove from the grill, serve and enjoy!

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