It's a blog-a-thon

I just sat down and I can't stop blogging. I've been trying to think of things people would be interested in. But I just decided that I'll show what I'm interested in. And if you like it.... great.

We were invited over to a friends for the 24th of July and had a Bring your own Meat BBQ. We had chicken breasts in the fridge and I was having a conundrum (b: an intricate and difficult problem) If you ever have chicken at a BBQ, it's never cooked right. It is always overcooked. Everyone is so nervous about cooking it all the way through that they burn the outside. YUCK. Burgers have the same problem. Burned on the outside, they shrink into golf balls and the center isn't cooked. Sigh... people who can't BBQ shouldn't.

So I wouldn't embarrass myself. I studied up. I go to cooksillustrated.com (sadly you have to pay to use their recipes) I've never had a single problem with any of their recipes, and they are so informative. I signed up for it. If you ever need a recipe or information, please feel free to leave me a message and I'll help you out. I'm full of random knowledge... and I don't judge. I may not even know the answer... but I'll sure find it for you.


So anyways here is the recipe I found.

Grilled Lemon-Parsley Chicken Breasts on a Charcoal Grill

This chicken can be served with a simply prepared vegetable for a light dinner. It can also be used in a sandwich or tossed with greens for a salad. The chicken should be marinated no less than 30 minutes and no more than 1 hour.

Serves 4
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
Table salt and ground black pepper
3 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each), trimmed of excess fat
Vegetable oil for grill rack
Large disposable aluminum baking pan


1. Whisk together mustard, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, parsley, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in small bowl; set aside.

2. Whisk together remaining tablespoon lemon juice, remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, remaining teaspoon sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, garlic, and water in medium bowl. Place marinade and chicken in gallon-size zipper-lock bag and toss to coat; press out as much air as possible and seal bag. Refrigerate 30 minutes, flipping bag after 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, light large chimney starter filled with charcoal (6 quarts, or about 100 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Build modified two-level fire by arranging all coals over half of grill, leaving other half empty. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grate clean with grill brush. Dip wad of paper towels in oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate. Grill is ready when side with coals is medium-hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above grate for 3 to 4 seconds).

4. Remove chicken from bag, allowing excess marinade to drip off. Place chicken on cooler side of grill, smooth-side down, with thicker side facing coals. Cover with disposable pan and cook until bottom of chicken just begins to develop light grill marks and is no longer translucent, 6 to 9 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and rotate so that thinner side faces coals. Cover with disposable pan and continue to cook until chicken is opaque and firm to touch and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 140 degrees, 6 to 9 minutes longer.

5. Move chicken to hotter side of grill and cook, uncovered, until dark grill marks appear, 1 to 2 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and cook until dark grill marks appear and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160 degrees, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to cutting board, let rest, tented with foil, 5 minutes. Slice each breast on bias into 1/4-inch-thick slices and transfer to individual plates. Drizzle with reserved sauce and serve.



*So before I marinated the chicken, I pounded it between two pieces of plastic wrap getting it all even. I knew that Ben and Liz weren't going to have prepared a two level fire so I improvised. Pounding it flat, and cooking it with a metal cakepan over the top turned out just fine. Also when I cooked it, to test for doneness, I poked it with my finger. It's something I learned from the chefs at Magleby's. I've also seen that Mary Craft lady do it on TV. If it feels squishy, keep cooking. It's a learned art. When it feels firm with a little give, not hard (hard means overdone). It's done. I then took it off the grill, and covered it with the pan again and let it sit. So the juices redistribute. (Jon thinks I'm full of it when I say that, but all those chefs on Foodnetwork can't be wrong.) If you cut it right away the juices will all run out. After sitting I sliced it on the bias and we served it on italian herb wraps, with tomatoes and lettuce. Honestly, the chicken didn't need the sauce. It was wonderful without. But it was still very good with.

Also, if when you slice the chicken and it wasn't done... toss that baby in the microwave if you are at someones home. (Also some thing I learned from the chefs at Magleby's) If you aren't near a microwave, toss her back on the grill.