Posts Tagged ‘chicken’

THAI-INSPIRED SWEET-N-SPICY CHICKEN

Posted: July 29, 2022 in Carnivore!, CHARCOAL, chicken, Food, grilling, Recipes
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I love chicken because it reheats really well for leftovers. When I make this recipe, I make a good amount to last me through the week. These sweet, spicy and sticky Thai-inspired chicken wings and drumsticks are just delicious!

 

 

6 lbs. chicken pieces
1 1/3 cups soy sauce
1 cup fresh cilantro
4 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes or crushed dried chiles
2 teaspoons salt

For the marinade, combine the soy sauce, cilantro, canola oil, garlic and white pepper in a food processor and let it run. Place the chicken pieces in a Ziploc bag and pour half of the marinade in. Save the other half for basting later. Seal the bag and let the chicken marinate in the fridge overnight, or at least a few hours at room temperature, squishing the bag around so that all the chicken gets marinated.

For the sauce: In a saucepan, combine the sugar, white vinegar, pepper flakes and salt. Bring it to a boil and make sure the sugar dissolves. Remove it from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

After marinating, discard the used marinade in the Ziploc bag. Place the chicken pieces over a hot hardwood fire or bake them in an oven at 350, basting them with the leftover marinade until fully cooked. If the coal fire gets too hot, move the chicken to a cooler part of the grill to prevent burning. If using the oven, switch to the broiler at the end to give the chicken a nice char.

Serve the chicken pieces with the sweet pepper sauce drizzled on top.

thai chicken LTL

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OMFG CHICKEN SALAD

Posted: April 8, 2022 in Carnivore!, chicken, Food, Recipes, Southern New England
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Here in Southern New England, the most popular brand of chicken salad is called Willow Tree. They’ve made it for over 50 years, and people crave it like crack. And it’s good: moist and “mayonnaisey”.

But I’ve never been a fan of “secret” ingredients, and Willow Tree is full of ’em, so my task was to make something that was as good as Willow Tree, with known ingredients. I got close…real close! As always, I use pastured chicken and organic veggies when possible. And since I use chicken breasts only, I found that boiling the breasts in stock instead of water keeps the meat more flavorful.

Another option: I like to roast a whole chicken, devouring the dark meat, then using the breast meat for the chicken salad. I use the carcass and scraps for chicken stock. Nothing goes to waste!

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1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 pints salt-free chicken stock (I use home-made)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I live on Hellman’s)
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons finely chopped Vidalia onion
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Heat the chicken stock in a large pot. Bring it to a boil and add the chicken breasts. Bring it to a boil again, then simmer uncovered for about 7 minutes.

Turn the heat off, cover the pot with a lid, and let the breasts sit in the pot for 10 minutes to cool a bit. After 10 minutes, remove the breasts to a cutting board. Save the chicken stock for another use, like soup. (See below.)

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, celery, onion, brown sugar, granulated garlic, salt and pepper. Mix them thoroughly to combine.

When the chicken has cooled, shred or chop the breast meat into bite-sized pieces and then transfer it into the bowl with the mayonnaise mixture. Mix thoroughly and chill before serving.

I love my chicken salad on a Martin’s Long Roll.

 

BONUS: I don’t waste the chicken stock left over in the pot. I chop some carrots, celery and onion and throw them in there. I reserve some of the chicken breast meat–just a bit–and throw it in there, too. I add a little salt and pepper, and a pinch of dried Bouquet Garni. I bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the veggies are al dente. Pasta or potatoes optional. Makes an awesome chicken soup!

If you want to freeze the soup, I would leave the potatoes or pasta out, adding them only when reheating the frozen soup. That keeps them from getting mushy.

JAMAICAN JERK CHICKEN FOR WUSSES (LIKE ME)

Posted: December 5, 2021 in Uncategorized
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I’m a wuss. I can’t do heat. But I’ve always been fascinated by jerk chicken: it looks amazing and smells fantastic. So I decided to try making a kinder, gentler version by eliminating the number one high-heat ingredient: Scotch bonnet peppers.

On the scale of hotness known as the Scoville scale, Scotch bonnets reach anywhere between 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville units. To give you an idea how hot that is, jalapenos only reach 2,500 to a maximum of 8,000 Scoville units! That means those suckers are 40 times hotter than jalapenos! And that’s why I leave them out of my recipe.

I found that when I left the Scotch bonnets out, there was still plenty of fragrant, hot and smoky flavor in my jerk chicken.

 

Jerkalicious.

 

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 medium scallions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 tablespoon allspice berries, coarsely ground
1 tablespoon black pepper, coarsely ground
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 lbs. chicken, parts or whole birds quartered

 

In a food processor, combine the onion, scallions, garlic, five-spice powder, allspice, pepper, thyme, nutmeg and salt. Process it into a coarse paste.

With the machine on, add the soy sauce and olive oil in a steady stream.

Place the chicken pieces in a large Ziploc bag, and pour the marinade in. Zip the bag up and squish it around to make sure the marinade touches all parts of the chicken. Place the bag in a bowl (to prevent accidental leaks) and place the bowl in the fridge overnight.

Bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking.

Indoors: Place the chicken on a baking sheet and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes. At the end, move the baking sheet under the broiler and cook a few minutes more, to get some caramelization going.

Outdoors: Light a grill and cook the chicken over a medium fire, turning it so it doesn’t burn. Cover the grill if you like, for smokier flavor. Make sure the chicken is cooked through before serving.

 

 

 

IT’SA NOT KFC, BUT IT’S CLOSE ENOUGH!

Posted: October 22, 2021 in Carnivore!, chicken, Food, frying, Recipes
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It’s never a healthy option to eat fast food. Michael Pollan said it best: “It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.”

A few years ago, the nephew of Colonel Sanders revealed the 11 secret herbs and spices that made KFC‘s original recipe chicken a worldwide success. He claimed he worked for his uncle for many years and had to make huge batches of the seasoning mix.

For me, KFC is like crack. Although I’m a big proponent of grass-fed this and pastured that, my kryptonite is KFC‘s original recipe chicken. There’s a KFC right next door to a local Home Depot in my area and my car literally drives itself to the pick-up window…I can’t help it. I justify the consumption of this heavenly grease by asking for no sides–no biscuit, no nothing. I get one breast and one thigh, and I drive off, steering my car with my knees as I indulge in my dirty secret, the hot grease dripping down my chin, a roll of paper towels at my side.

Making the KFC chicken recipe at home means I do have some control over product quality. I can use pastured or organic chicken. I can use clean oil. I don’t have the fancy pressure fryer they use at KFC, but I can use the healthier option of oven-frying. That means I fry my chicken in oil until golden brown, then finish the cooking process in the oven.

I have to say, the recipe really works! Maybe if I placed the real KFC side-by-side with my home-made chicken, I’d notice a big difference. But my brain said it was pretty damn close and absolutely delicious! If I could change one thing, I would use smaller chicken pieces next time. I used large pieces and the meat-to-breading ratio was off. Though it was mighty tasty, I was craving more breading per bite.

The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but if you follow a gluten-free lifestyle, using Cup4Cup GF flour works just as well.

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon dried mustard
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons basil
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
5 lbs. chicken pieces…your choice
oil, for frying

Combine the flour and the “11 herbs and spices” in a bowl. Mix well.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk and the egg. Add the chicken pieces to this bowl and let the chicken soak in it for 10 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pour a couple of inches of the oil into a pan with high sides and heat it to 340 degrees, using a thermometer. Don’t fill it with too much oil, because oil expands when hot and it could spill over.

Take the chicken pieces out of the milk and egg mixture and coat them with the seasoning mix one at a time, making sure you coat them well. Carefully place the chicken in the hot oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan…work in small batches. Too much chicken could cause the oil to spill over the top.

Fry the chicken pieces just until golden…no need to cook them all the way through. Place the pieces on a baking sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil. When all the chicken has been fried, place the baking sheet in the oven and cook until the chicken pieces reach an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees.

Make a lot! Leftovers are great, and they re-heat really well in the oven! (Don’t use a microwave…the oven is best.)

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH TOMATO, GARLIC AND OLIVES

Posted: October 15, 2021 in chicken, Food, Recipes
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It was cool day, and I was craving comfort food. I didn’t want to go to the store, so I looked in the pantry and fridge for tasty ingredients, and went this route. There are many similar versions of this dish out there, using different cuts of chicken–or a whole bird cut up. I just happened to find a great deal on organic drumsticks at the store, so I went with that. But you should use any cut of chicken that is your favorite.

 

 

It takes about an hour to prepare this dish from start to finish, so it’s something you could even cook on a weeknight…and it’s certainly easy enough to double the recipe if guests are coming over.

 

It starts in the pan!

 

Traditionally, this is cooked in a large cast iron skillet, started on the stovetop, then placed in the oven. I choose to cook mine in a baking pan that fit my smaller convection oven, so I started everything on the stovetop, then made the transfer to the baking pan.

 

Now that the chicken has seared, we start the veggies.

 

I’m on a diet, so calories matter. Chicken drumsticks aren’t all that bad in the calorie count: about 100 calories for a medium-sized drumstick (whatever medium is)…and that’s with the skin on. No need to get into exact gram weight measurements here, but the real calories come later when you add a starch to the dish. It does go really well with pasta, rice or potatoes. (My choice would be fresh Italian bread to really sop up the sauce!) But alas…I had none of those. Just a salad on the side. I’ll bring the bread out once my diet’s over.

I go with organic ingredients whenever possible, especially kale, which is on the “Dirty Dozen” produce list almost every year. (Along with strawberries, potatoes, apples, and others, kale is one of the most heavily sprayed produce items you can buy. I always go organic.)

 

If sodium is not a problem for you, add more olives!

 

3–4 lbs. organic, pastured chicken drumsticks (about 12 medium)
salt, pepper and paprika
olive oil
2 small yellow onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, squeezed through a press
1 teaspoon each: dried oregano, parsley, and thyme
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock (homemade is best)
dry white wine (optional)
1/4 cup olives, sliced in half (I like green olives from Greece)
4 cups organic chopped kale (optional)

 

Pre-heat an oven to 350 degrees.

Season the chicken drumsticks with salt, pepper, and a bit of paprika.

Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a hot pan. Add the chicken to the pan, and sear the drumsticks on all sides, getting them nice and brown. It’ll take about 10–15 minutes.

Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and add the chopped onions to the same pan. Let them cook for a few minutes until they’re translucent, then add the garlic. Let the garlic cook for about 10 seconds, then add the oregano, parsley, and thyme. Now add the tomato paste and stir it all around, cooking it for just a minute to caramelize it and give it more flavor.

Pour in the can of tomatoes and the chicken stock, stirring well. (A splash of wine is optional at this point.) Add the olives and let the sauce cook for a few minutes.

 

The sauce is all happy, and ready for the baking pan.

 

Pour the sauce into the baking pan. Add the chicken drumsticks to the pan, nestling them in the sauce. (I like to roll them around in it to cover all sides.)

Place the pan in the oven to cook.

After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, and remove the drumsticks from the sauce, moving them onto a plate.

 

It looks like a lot of kale, but it withers down. Remember: go organic!

 

Take the kale and place it in the baking pan, tossing it around in the sauce. The sauce is hot, so the kale will start to wither and meld into the sauce in about a minute.

 

The kale’s withered down, and the chicken goes back in.

 

Now return the chicken drumsticks back to the baking pan, nestling them in the sauce again. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the pan rest in the oven until you’re ready to serve.

 

Turn the oven off, but keep the door closed to keep the chicken warm.

 

Where’s that bread?…

 

 

CHICKEN ABC BURGER

Posted: September 18, 2021 in bacon, chicken, Food, frying, Recipes
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September 18th is National Cheeseburger Day!

Instead of the usual beef, here’s a great recipe using ground chicken. I rarely use ground turkey, because I think it’s nasty and flavorless. But ground chicken has a better flavor, and doesn’t seem to dry out as quickly. Adding avocado to the mix gives each bite of this burger a creamy, fatty richness the ground chicken needs.  Chicken and ABC (Avocado, Bacon and Cheese) is a winning combination. My Awesomesauce puts it over the top.

I cut the avocado in small cubes. I don’t make guacamole out of it. When the burger cooks, it melts into the meat, giving it that luscious fattiness I’m looking for. The egg and the breadcrumbs bind it all together.

 

chicken2

 
1 lb. ground chicken
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 ripe avocado, sliced into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pinch granulated garlic
1 raw egg
slices of bacon, cooked
Awesomesauce (recipe below)

 

chicken1

 

Combine the chicken, breadcrumbs, chopped avocado, salt and pepper, garlic and egg in a bowl and mix them thoroughly but carefully so that you don’t squash the cubes of avocado.

Get a sheet pan covered in non-stick foil. Rub a little vegetable oil on the foil before measuring out the patties. Using a 1/2 cup measuring scoop, spoon out the burger meat onto the sheet pan, then gently press down on it with your hand to form patties. Place the sheet pan in the freezer for the burgers to firm up a bit.

 

Firming up the burgers in the freezer. The little meatball in the middle is a leftover…and a nice extra bite for the chef to enjoy!

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

I used to cook the burgers in a pan first, but I’ve found that placing the sheet pan right in the oven works just as well. Let the burgers sear on one side, then flip them. (Make sure they sear well and get a nice crust on them, or they’ll fall apart when you try to flip them.) Get a nice sear on the other side, then add cheese to the burgers, and cook until it has melted and the burgers have cooked all they way through.

Remember: it’s chicken…you don’t want to undercook your burgers!

When they’re ready to serve, place the patties on a toasted bun, add a couple of slices of bacon and slather with my Awesomesauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon dill pickle relish
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Refrigerate covered for a few hours to blend the flavors.

If you don’t want to make the Awesomesauce, Thousand Island dressing is a good substitute.

 

HONEY GLAZED CHICKEN WINGS

Posted: August 17, 2021 in chicken, Recipes, wings
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I can’t get enough of chicken, and I cook it at least a couple of times a week. So I have to keep coming up with new flavors to challenge my taste buds as well as myself.

This recipe works with wings, but if you’re experiencing a wing shortage in your area, any other chicken parts you like will work.

Here’s a hint with fresh ginger: buy a nice looking root and keep it wrapped well and in the freezer. When you need some, simply grate the frozen root, skin and all, and then place it back in the freezer until next time. It will last a lot longer than in the fridge.

 

honey glazed chicken

 

 

 

4 lbs. chicken wings
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce (I like Frank’s Red Hot)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade

 

Thaw chicken wings and place in a Ziploc bag.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all the other ingredients, except chicken stock, to make a marinade. Pour this marinade into the Ziploc with the chicken and seal, squeezing the air out of the bag. Squish the bag around so that the marinade thoroughly covers all the chicken wings. Place the bag in the fridge to marinate for at least 4 hours, but overnight is even better. Place the bag in a bowl to prevent accidental leakage in your fridge.

Pre-heat the oven to 325.

Carefully pour the marinade out of the Ziploc bag into a saucepan, adding the chicken stock, and reduce until it becomes a thick, gooey glaze. Be careful not to burn the sugars in the honey. Honey can also foam up and overflow if you’re not watching it.

Remove the chicken pieces from the bag and place them on a baking sheet covered with non-stick aluminum foil. Bake for about 30 minutes.

The reduced marinade glaze should be ready right around the time the chicken has cooked for 30 minutes or so. Brush the glaze on to the chicken, and place back in the oven to cook 15 more minutes.

 

ASIAN STYLE CHICKEN WINGS

Posted: June 26, 2021 in chicken, Food, marinade, Recipes, wings
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 Over the years, I’ve tweaked this Asian marinade recipe, adding more ingredients. Feel free to use more or less according to your own taste. After all, that’s how any recipe becomes truly your own.
You’ll notice I have two bottles of soy sauce below. I sometimes mix half regular soy sauce with half lite soy to cut the sodium.
And, of course, with the chicken wing shortage we’re experiencing, chicken thighs make an excellent substitute.

10 lbs. chicken wings, the larger the better (or skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs)
1 cup soy sauce
1 small can (6 oz.) pineapple juice
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon peanut satay sauce (optional)

Place the chicken pieces in a large  Ziploc bag. Whisk all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Add the marinade to the bag, seal it well, then squish the bag around so that the marinade makes contact with all of the chicken pieces.
To prevent accidental spills, place the bag in a clean bowl. Marinate the chicken for several hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge, turning the bag once in a while to make sure everything gets even exposure to the marinade.
The next day, pour off the marinade and discard it, removing the chicken from the bag. Place the wings (or thighs) on a baking sheet lined with foil (I use Reynold’s non-stick) and bake at 325 degrees for about 30–45 minutes for wings…longer for thighs.

CRISPY OVEN-FRIED CORN MEAL CHICKEN WINGS

Posted: June 19, 2021 in buttermilk, chicken, corn, Food, frying, Recipes, Rhode Island
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Every Rhode Island home needs to have a box of corn meal in case of Johnny Cake emergencies. If you’ve never had a Johnny Cake before, you’re missing out on a simple, delicious Rhode Island treat. But that’s a topic of another blog. The point is, I always keep a box of white corn meal in my pantry, and I used it to make the coating for my chicken.

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Corn meal is great, because it adds a wonderful crunch while keeping this recipe gluten-free, which may be an important factor for some. But even if you don’t have to be on a GF diet, corn meal adds great flavor.

To keep the batter light, I add flour to the corn meal.

2 cups buttermilk (whole milk is fine, too)
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I use Frank’s Red Hot)
4 lbs. chicken wings
1 cup white corn meal
1 cup flour (or use Cup4Cup, a gluten-free flour, to keep it GF)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/2 teaspoon paprika
oil, lard or a combination of the 2 for frying

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Pour the buttermilk or whole milk into a large Ziploc bag. Add the hot sauce. Drop in the chicken wings, seal the bag,  and let them soak in the mixture in the fridge for at least several hours…overnight is better. Place the bag in a bowl to prevent bag leakage accidents.

In a separate bowl, combine the corn meal, flour, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and paprika. Mix well.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

I like to use a combination of grapeseed oil and pork fat (if I have it) when frying. Heat the oil to about 325 degrees.

Take the wings out of the bag one by one, and drop them in the bowl with the cornmeal mix, coating the chicken well on all sides, then shaking off the excess. Place the chicken wings in the hot oil carefully to avoid splashing hot oil on yourself.

Cook the chicken in the oil on both sides for just a few minutes, until golden. You’re not trying to cook them all the way through.

Place the chicken pieces on a foil-lined baking sheet. when you’ve fried all the chicken, place the baking sheet in the oven and cook until the wings are done, about 25 minutes.

DEVILED EGGS WITH BBQ CHICKEN AND COLE SLAW

Posted: June 2, 2021 in barbecue, chicken, Food, Recipes
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This dish was a huge hit when I brought it to a neighborhood party a while ago. Imagine the best of a deviled egg and a BBQ chicken sandwich, and you’ve got this appetizer that rocks in more ways than one….and you can make it ahead of time.

I boil the eggs and make the cole slaw the day before, then keep them in the fridge. Even the chicken can be cooked the day before and then warmed through before assembling right before your guests arrive. Be sure to make a lot of them…they’ll go faster than the hard-boiled eggs in “Cool Hand Luke!”

This recipe is gluten-free, as long as you use GF soy sauce.

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For the chicken and BBQ sauce:
3 cups ketchup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce (I use Frank’s Red Hot)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
For the cole slaw:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
For the deviled eggs:
6 hard-boiled eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard (I use Gulden’s)

Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees.

Combine the ketchup, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, hot sauce, and brown sugar in a oven-proof pot with a lid. Mix well, then add the chicken breasts, making sure they’re immersed in the sauce. Cook low and slow in the oven for about 2 hours.

When the chicken is cooked through, shred the meat with 2 forks. Set it aside, but keep it warm.

Combine all the cole slaw ingredients in a bowl, mixing well, and place them in the fridge.

For perfectly hard-boiled eggs, place the eggs in a pot of cold water, and turn the heat on high. Just before the water starts to boil, put a lid on the pot and turn the heat off. Let the eggs sit in the hot water for 15 minutes. Once cooked, keep the eggs in the fridge.

Slice the eggs in half and place the yolks in a bowl with the mayonnaise and mustard. Mix well and keep in the fridge.

To assemble, take a teaspoon of the mayo/mustard/yolk mixture and place it in the cavity of one of the egg halves. Place another teaspoon of the shredded chicken on top (I like it warm, to counter the cold of the mayo and cole slaw), drizzling a little of the BBQ sauce that you cooked the chicken with on the meat. Then place a teaspoon of the cole slaw on top of the chicken.

Serve immediately!

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