Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Grilled wings

Recently we had wings. Though I enjoy hot wings I wanted to try a different flavor. The wings on the left are honey barbecue and on the right hot wings.

For both sets I marinaded the wings in extra virgin olive oil before putting them on a hot grill. After cooking on both sides for about seven minutes I added the sauce. I used store bought sauce for both of them.

The more often I eat bone-in wings, the more I crave boneless wings!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Grilled Turkey

This afternoon I finally prepared the turkey. I decided to use an injectable marinade but did not have a syringe. My veterinarian offered to supply one but I never made it by his office. Since this was my first attempt in using an injectable marinade, I used a store-bought product along with instructions.
Following the directions on the bag, I cooked the 9 pound turkey for about three hours. I covered the bird in foil and put it in a roasting pan that I bought specifically for using on the grill. I cooked mostly on indirect heat but moved it to direct for the last twenty minutes. I also used some smoke chips and they produced some great smoke for half an hour.

Once the turkey reached an internal temperature of 165 I removed the foil cover and took it off the grill. I did a good job of keeping the lid closed. From the time I put the bird on the grill I only opened the grill four times. Twice to add more charcoal (and rotate the bird) and twice to check the temperature of the bird. Before cooking, I did have to remove the top rack from my grill in order for the turkey to fit. I hope to reinstall it tonight when the grill cools.
I carved the bird and you can see the great lines of marinade in the turkey. The flavor of the injectable marinade was "Creole Butter." I also used a small amount of Cajun seasoning on the skin of the turkey. The bird was moist and quite delicious. After this I may be drafted to cook the Thanksgiving turkey!
My two year old daughter had no objections! The rest of us were also pleased with the bird. I am excited about future attempts and making my own marinade.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Grilled Chicken Salad


I have never been accused of eating too many vegetables. Salad probably doesn't really count as a vegetable and a salad loaded with a sweet dressing probably isn't a "health" food. However, I enjoy grilled chicken salad.

I marinaded the chicken for about three hours in:

3 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon of orange juice
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste

After removing from the grill I diced the breasts into bite-sized pieces. I searched for grilled chicken salad and found tons of recipes. It seems there are a wide variety of ways to prepare a grilled chicken salad. I look forward to new experiments with this dish.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Frozen Turkey


The turkey is still frozen! I will have to allow it another few days to defrost. I will be firing up the grill this weekend. Seeing that there is still frost on my grill cover I am going to say it is a good thing!
Temperature is supposed to be much warmer this weekend and even into next week. Right now it is "run from the car into the house," type weather.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Roasted Turkey

Coming later this week...a roasted turkey. It is defrosting in the refrigerator now. Hope to prepare it Thursday night.

Any suggestions? Considering some sort of injectable marinade.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Grilled Asparagus



Since the start of the new year it has been extremely cold in the South. I have grilled about three times but have not updated the blog. I hope to do that in the next few days. One of the first grilling experiences was with friends and we grilled chicken and asparagus on the grill. I took a picture of the asparagus before placing them on the grill but forgot to take the "cooked" picture. They were great!

I marinaded the asparagus in:
3 tablespoons of bacon grease (previously saved)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
You can see that I wrapped two uncooked pieces of bacon around six shoots. I used two toothpicks to hold it all together.

Bacon always makes things better!