February 25, 2018 » by Dino » Theme: Red

Tandoori-Style Chicken

Recipe from J. Kenji Lopéz-Alt at Serious Eats – The Food Lab

Notes

The moment that Red theme was drawn my gut instinct was to make Tandoori Chicken. When it was determined that Red theme night would be held at our place, I went straight to the Serious Eats site figuring that they may have a recommendation as to how to make the dish without owning a Tandoor oven.

Serious Eats noted that the special feature of the oven is that it can get to 900°F which you can achieve at home using a conventional charcoal grill. I used these Weber Char Baskets to bundle the coals just an inch or so under my grill to get it the hottest possible temperature. I was very happy with the results, and the marinate seemed to be spot-on to replicate this dish.

The spice blend calls for toasted ground cumin, toasted paprika, and toasted ground coriander seed. We toasted these ourselves in a shallow frying pan until the oils were released and then allowed them to cool.

Ingredients

- 4 Cornish game hens, about 1½-pounds each
- 2 tablespoons toasted ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons toasted paprika
- 1 tablespoon toasted ground coriander seed
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon achiote or a few drops red food coloring (optional)
- 8 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane grater
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated on a microplane grater
- 2 cups yogurt
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- Thinly sliced raw onion
- ½ cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
- 2 lemons or limes, cut into wedges

Directions

Toast the ground cumin, paprika, and ground coriander seeds in a shallow frying pan until the oils are released. Move to a bowl and allow to cool.
Using sharp kitchen shears, remove the backs from the Cornish hens. Press down firmly on center of breasts until wishbone cracks and they lie flat.
Peel skin off of hens, then using a sharp knife– Tandoori chicken is traditionally cooked with the skin off. While for most methods of cooking chicken this would be a bad idea (skin is an insulator that prevents dry breast meat from becoming tough or stringy), with tandoori chicken, the thick yogurt-based marinade helps to prevent the meat from drying out.
Make deep incisions at 1-inch intervals all over the flesh. By slashing it with a sharp knife at regular intervals along its surface (make sure to slash against the grain), you greatly increase the area in which the marinade can flavor it.
Arrange legs so that they are pointing up towards the top of the breast. Use two long metal or wooden skewers (don’t expect them not to burn in the high heat needed for this type of cooking) to secure legs and breasts in place. Place in a large rimmed baking dish.
Combine cumin, paprika, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, achiote or red food coloring, garlic, ginger, yogurt, lemon juice, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Pour marinade all over Cornish hens, using hands to coat every surface. cover loosely and refrigerate. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 8, turning occasionally.
Ignite a large chimney starter full of charcoal and allow to burn until all coals are ignited. Spread coals evenly under one side of grill (or use char baskets) and set grill grate in place. Cover and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Brush grill grates clean.
Wipe excess marinade off of hens then place meaty-side down directly over the coals. Cover partially and allow to cook until deeply charred on first side, 7 to 10 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until hens register 145°F in the thickest part of the breast and 165 to 170°F in the legs, about 5 minutes longer (for larger chickens, transfer to cooler side of grill, cover, and continue cooking until desired temperature is reached). I use a wireless dual-probe thermometer for cooking on the grill– I put one probe in the largest breast, one in the largest thigh, and set my receiver to the appropriate temperatures.
Remove hens to a large cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and allow to rest for five minutes. Remove skewers and using a heavy knife or cleaver, chop each hen into 8 serving-sized pieces. Serve immediately with onions, cilantro, and lemon wedges.

August 8, 2015 » by Michael » Theme: On a Stick

Spiced Salmon Kebabs

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Active Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Bon Appétit | June 2013

by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen

Ingredients

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds skinless salmon fillet (preferably wild), cut into 1″ pieces
2 lemons, very thinly sliced into rounds
2 tablespoons olive oil

Special equipment: 16 bamboo skewers soaked in water 1 hour

Preparation

Prepare grill for medium heat. Mix oregano, sesame seeds, cumin, salt, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl to combine; set spice mixture aside.

Beginning and ending with salmon, thread salmon and folded lemon slices onto 8 pairs of parallel skewers to make 8 kebabs total. Brush with oil and season with reserved spice mixture.

Grill, turning occasionally, until fish is opaque throughout, 5-8 minutes.

August 8, 2015August 8, 2015 » by Michael » Theme: On a Stick

Grilled Chicken Kabob

Gas-Grilled Barbecued Chicken Kebabs

Published May 1, 2011. From Cook’s Illustrated.

Why this recipe works:

We grilled each side of the kebabs until the meat was almost fully cooked and then brushed our prepared barbecue sauce recipe onto the kebabs, leaving them on the grill until the sauce had a chance to caramelize.

To ensure that the meat in our barbecued chicken kebabs recipe stayed moist, we started by tossing the chicken pieces with salt. After allowing the salt to penetrate the meat, we coated it in sugar, spices, and pureed bacon, which kept the chicken kebabs moist and flavorful as they cooked. We grilled each side of the kebabs until the meat was almost fully cooked and then brushed our prepared barbecue sauce recipe onto the kebabs, leaving them on the grill until the sauce had a chance to caramelized.

Stripped of protective fatty skin, barbecued chicken kebabs don’t stand a chance on a fiery grill. But what if the chicken gets a little help from a pig?

Serves 6

We prefer flavorful thigh meat for these kebabs, but you can use white meat. Whichever you choose, don’t mix white and dark meat on the same skewer since they cook at different rates. If you have thin pieces of chicken, cut them larger than 1 inch and roll or fold them into approximately 1-inch cubes. Use the large holes on a box grater to grate the onion.

Ingredients

Sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup light or mild molasses
2 tablespoons grated onion (see note)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
Kebabs
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes (see note)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 12-inch metal skewers

Instructions

FOR THE SAUCE: Bring all ingredients to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce reaches ketchup-like consistency and is reduced to about 1 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer 1/2 cup sauce to small bowl and set aside remaining sauce to serve with cooked chicken.
FOR THE KEBABS: Toss chicken and salt in large bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Turn all burners to high, close lid, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape cooking grate clean with grill brush. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).
While grill heats, pat chicken dry with paper towels. Combine sweet paprika, sugar, and smoked paprika in small bowl. Process bacon in food processor until smooth paste forms, 30 to 45 seconds, scraping down bowl twice during processing. Add bacon paste and spice mixture to chicken; mix with hands or rubber spatula until ingredients are thoroughly blended and chicken is completely coated. Thread meat onto skewers, rolling or folding meat as necessary to maintain 1-inch cubes.
Place kebabs over primary burner and grill, covered, turning one-quarter turn every 2 to 2 1/2 minutes until well browned and slightly charred, 8 minutes for breasts or 10 minutes for thighs. (If flare-ups occur, slide kebabs to cool side of grill until fire dies down.) Brush top surface of kebabs with ¼ cup sauce; flip and cook until sauce is brown in spots, about 1 minute. Brush second side with remaining ¼ cup sauce; flip and continue to cook until brown in spots and instant-read thermometer inserted in center of meat registers 160 degrees for breasts and 175 degrees for thighs, about 1 minute longer. Remove kebabs from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve, passing reserved barbecue sauce separately.

Making Bacon Play Nice

In an effort to give lean chicken a little protective fat and smokier flavor, we played around with bacon until we hit upon an approach that worked.

TOO FLABBY Bacon pieces wedged between the chicken chunks never fully cooked.

TOO BACON-Y Whole strips of bacon wrapped around the chicken overpowered the chicken flavor.

TORCHED Basting the chicken with bacon drippings led to flare-ups.

WINNING SOLUTION Coating the chicken in a paste made of finely processed bacon did the trick.

Technique

Bacon Paste: Weird—But it Works

To create a protective coating that keeps the chicken moist on the grill, we chop two slices of bacon, pulse them in a food processor until smooth, and then toss the resulting paste (along with sugar and spices) with the raw chicken chunks.