Fabulicious!: On the Grill Read online

  3. Mix the potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsley, and red pepper flakes together in a large (turkey-size) disposable, aluminum foil roasting pan. Toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Arrange the lamb chops on the vegetable mixture and pour the white wine over all.

  4. Place the roasting pan with the lamb on the cooking grate over the unlighted burner(s) and close the lid. Cook for 1½ hours. Remove the lamb chops (you can put them on the grill for a moment), stir the vegetable mixture, and return the lamb to the pan. Continue cooking until the lamb is very tender, about 30 minutes more.

  5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lamb chops and vegetables to a serving bowl. Skim and discard the fat from the cooking juices in the pan, then pour the juices over the lamb and vegetables. Sprinkle with additional parsley and serve hot.

  * * *Kitchen ER* * *

  True story about why outdoor cooking is great: I had a friend of mine make Leg of Lamb Mediterranean Salad for one of his famous dinner parties so I could get some feedback from his guests. In the middle of his party, the kitchen sink sprang a major leak, and plumbers arrived to make an emergency repair. The dinner went on, without a hitch, because the casserole ingredients were ready and waiting in the fridge, and the lamb was cooked and carved outside. And the plumbers loved the leftovers.

  * * *Vinegar Wash* * *

  In Italy, they always give lamb a “vinegar wash” before cooking with it to help remove the gamey flavor of farm-raised sheep and to kill any surface bacteria. It’s not necessary for those reasons in America today, but we still do it in my house for the flavor.

  CHAPTER 6

  Pollo (Chicken)

  When Italians want to say they know what’s going on or what’s really up (especially when it comes to their children), they say, conosco i miei polli; literally, “I know my chickens.”

  While it’s great to grill big, juicy steaks on the grill, one reason why the Mediterranean diet is healthy is because we don’t eat a lot of red meat in Italy. Chicken is our main source of protein, because it’s inexpensive and plentiful. In fact, the ancient Romans were believed to be the first Europeans to breed poultry. Today there are more than twenty different breeds raised around Italy.

  Chicken does get a bad rap for tending to dry out on the grill, but there are a few things you can do to keep this from happening. You can choose juicier cuts of the chicken, like the thighs; you can cook with the bones in (this is true for all types of meat); or you can just not cook the hell out of it!

  People get spooked about chicken being raw on the inside, but heating it to a safe temperature doesn’t mean you have to cook it until it’s bone-dry. Even the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) website recommends using a meat thermometer not only to make sure you’ve cooked everything to the safe internal temperature, but also “to avoid overcooking” and ruining the flavor of your meal.

  USDA Recommended Safe Minimum

  Internal Temperatures:

  Beef, Pork, Lamb, Veal steaks, chops and roasts = 145°F

  All other cuts of Beef, Pork, Lamb, Veal = 160°F

  All Chicken = 165°F

  The USDA’s temperatures may be slightly higher than what you prefer. On most meat thermometers, 145° to 160°F is indicated as within the mediumwell to well-done range. A lot of chefs instead follow the “traditional” temperatures for doneness. Here they are, as well:

  Traditional (Chef) Internal Red Meat Temperatures:

  120°F to 130°F = rare

  130°F to 135°F = medium-rare

  135°F to 145°F = medium

  145°F to 150°F = medium-well

  150°F to 160°F = well-done

  While chicken has a higher internal temperature requirement than other meats, that doesn’t mean you have to cook it forever. In some chicken, like that from older birds, the juices won’t run clear until after it’s been overcooked, so the only real way to tell you have cooked your chicken correctly is to use a meat thermometer. And then you have to trust it! We’ve all heard the scary stories about food poisoning, but at 165°F, you’re safe. The former Under Secretary for Food Safety, Dr. Richard Raymond, states that at 165°F “consumers can be confident that pathogens and viruses will be destroyed.” Getting chicken to that temperature generally takes less than ten minutes on each side with direct cooking. You can also cook chicken over indirect heat just fine—if you want it to look a little browner, you can always move it over a lit burner at the very end.

  POUND AWAY

  One of the secrets to juicy boneless chicken breasts is to pound the fillets to an even thickness before cooking them. Put each piece of chicken, one at a time, between two sheets of plastic wrap and lightly pound them using a flat mallet, meat pounder, or a rolling pin until they are about half an inch thick. Notice that I said lightly pound. This is not the time to take out your aggression, as chicken is actually more easily torn than steak. And only use a flat pounder—not one of those mean, pointy metal hammers—or else you’ll wreck your meal before it’s started.

  * * *Wise Chickens* * *

  Chicken is a popular subject in Italian cuisine and in our proverbs. There are tons of sayings that have to do with poultry. When you have little kids prowling around your kitchen looking for food, you might say: I putei se sempre col beco a moia come le galine or “babies always have their mouths open like chickens!” Health advice? Per non stare male, va letto con le galline e alzati con il gallo. “If you don’t want to feel bad, go to bed with the chickens and get up with the rooster.” The exclamation Quanne piscia ’a gallina! is used to mean something will never happen, or that you’ll never do something—sort of like “over my dead body” in English. What it literally means in Italian? “When the chicken pees.” (Because chickens actually don’t pee!)

  But my favorite saying of all is la gallina vecchia fa buon brodo, which translates to “the old hen makes a good broth,” meaning older women are valuable and—I’m not even kidding—good in bed!

  Whole Roast Chicken with Herb Rub

  Makes 4 to 6 servings

  My family loves when I roast a whole chicken on the grill, and I love that it doesn’t heat up the house. The crisp brown skin is amazing and so is the tender meat underneath. You can serve the pan sauce on the side, but in Italy, we pour it over the carved bird to make the juiciest chicken you’ve ever had. If you have a bottle of white wine open, use it to make the sauce, but, really, the drippings are so delicious that you can simply use water. Serve with a big green salad full of lots of vegetables and crusty bread.

  Herb Rub:

  2 garlic cloves, crushed under the flat side of a knife and peeled

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

  1 tablespoon dry white wine

  1½ teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme

  1½ teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage or rosemary, or a combination

  ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

  Roast Chicken:

  1 (6-pound) roasting chicken, giblets reserved, liver discarded or saved for another use

  2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  1 teaspoon salt

  ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  1 small onion, quartered

  ½ cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio, or water

  Fresh sprigs of thyme, rosemary, or sage, for garnish

  1. To make the rub: Coarsely chop the garlic on a chopping board. Sprinkle with the salt and continue chopping until finely minced. Smear the garlic on the board to make a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the oil, wine, thyme, sage, and red pepper flakes.

  2. To make the chicken: Remove and reserve the pads of yellow fat at the tail. Starting at the tip of the breast, loosen the skin and insert your hand under the skin, loosing the skin all over the chicken as best as you can. Using a small rubber spatula or a dessert spoon, spread the herb rub under the skin and all over the flesh. Rub the chicken all ov
er with the 2 tablespoons oil and season inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff the onion into the body cavity. Let the chicken stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

  3. Preheat the grill for indirect cooking with medium heat (400°F).

  4. Place the chicken on a wire rack in a metal roasting pan just large enough to hold the chicken. There is no need to truss the chicken. Add the chicken fat and giblet to the roasting pan—they will help flavor the pan juices. Put the roasting pan with the chicken on the grill over the unignited burner(s) and close the lid. Cook, basting quickly with the pan juices every 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F, about 1¾ hours. Remove the pan from the grill. Stick a large metal spoon into the chicken cavity and tilt it to drain the juices into the roasting pan. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Let the chicken stand for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

  5. Meanwhile, make the pan sauce: Pour the pan juices from the roasting pan into a small glass bowl and let stand 3 minutes. Skim off and discard the yellow fat from the surface. Heat the roasting pan over two stove burners on medium-high heat until the juicy residue in the pan is sizzling, about 30 seconds. (You can also do this on the grill side burner, if you have one.) Pour in the wine and degreased pan juices. Bring the mixture to a boil, scraping up the browned bits in the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon Boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

  6. Carve the chicken and arrange on the platter. Pour the pan sauce over the chicken, garnish with the herb sprigs, and serve immediately.

  Chicken alla Diavolo

  Makes 4 servings

  Devilishly hot with red pepper flakes and spicy with garlic, this chicken is always butterflied to expose more of the skin to the heat of the grill so it gets nice and crispy. It’s not hard to do with poultry shears or even a sturdy pair of scissors—just wash the scissors well before and after using them for this job. Like the whole chicken, I smear the seasoning under the skin. This is a good way to spread the flavor and also keeps the rub from burning, as it can do when on the outside of the skin.

  1 (5-pound) chicken, giblets and liver discarded or saved for another use

  6 garlic cloves, smashed under the flat side of a knife and peeled

  1 teaspoon salt, divided

  5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

  2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

  ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

  1. To butterfly the chicken, use poultry shears or a clean pair of scissors, cut through the bones on both sides of the backbone, and discard the backbone. Place the chicken, skin-side up, on a work surface. Press hard on the breast bone that runs vertically between the two breast halves to crack it and spread the chicken. That’s it!

  2. Coarsely chop the garlic on a chopping board. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt and continue chopping until finely minced. Smear the garlic on the board to make a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in 3 tablespoons of oil, the lemon juice, and the red pepper flakes.

  3. Remove and discard the pads of yellow fat at the tail. Starting at the tip of the breast, loosen the skin and insert your hand under the skin, loosing the skin all over the chicken as best as you can. Using a small rubber spatula or a dessert spoon, spread the red pepper rub under the skin and all over the flesh. Brush the chicken with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil on both sides and season all over with the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt and the pepper. Let stand at room temperature while preparing the grill.

  4. Preheat the grill for indirect cooking with medium-high heat (450°F).

  5. Place the chicken on the cooking grate, skin-side down, over the unignited burner(s), and close the grill lid. Cook until the skin is golden brown, about 40 minutes. (Do not move the chicken because the skin will stick to the grate if moved too soon.) Flip the chicken and continue cooking, with the lid closed, until the skin is crisp and brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F, 20 to 30 minutes more. If you wish, move the chicken to the heated side of the grill, skin-side down, and continue cooking to crisp the skin a bit more, about 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let stand for 10 minutes.

  6. Cut the chicken into serving pieces and transfer to a platter. Add the lemon wedges, and serve hot.

  Marinated Chicken Breasts with Grilled Apple Rings

  Makes 6 servings

  We talked about how great pork tastes with apple flavoring, and the same is true of chicken. (In fact, you can use the apple-rosemary marinade with pork, as well.) This is one of my favorite grilled recipes.

  Apple-Rosemary Marinade:

  ¾ cup apple cider or apple juice

  ¾ cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio

  ½ cup coarsely chopped onion

  ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  1½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

  1½ teaspoons salt

  1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

  Chicken Breast:

  3 Red Delicious or Golden Delicious apples, washed but unpeeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch rings

  6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (each 6 ounces)

  1. To make the marinade: Whisk the apple cider, wine, onion, oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper together in a medium bowl.

  2. Place the apple rings in a 1-quart resealable plastic bag. Pour in about ⅓ cup of the marinade (including the onion and rosemary), and close the bag. Set aside.

  3. To make the chicken: One at a time, place a chicken breast half between 2 plastic storage bags. Using a flat meat pounder or a rolling pin, pound the chicken until it is about ½-inch thick. Place the chicken breast halves in a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the remaining marinade and close the bag. Refrigerate the bags of chicken and apple, turning occasionally, for 1 to 2 hours.

  4. Remove the chicken and apples from the marinade, transfer to a plate, and discard the marinade. Let the chicken and apples stand at room temperature while preheating the grill.

  5. Preheat the grill for direct heating over medium heat (400°F).

  6. Place the chicken on the cooking grate and close the lid. Cook until the undersides are seared with grill marks, about 4 minutes. Flip the chicken over and cook, with the lid closed as much as possible, until it feels firm when pressed with your finger, 4 to 6 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Add the apples to the grill and cook, with the lid closed, flipping once, until seared with grill marks and crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes total. Add the apples to the platter with the chicken. Serve hot.

  * * *My Shy Little Star* * *

  I hear all the time from fans that you all want to see more of Gabriella. She isn’t shy by normal standards, but I guess compared to her over-the-top sisters, she is. She is outspoken and sweet and creative and wonderful, but she doesn’t love the cameras in our house, so she generally runs from them. We don’t want to force her to perform or do anything, so we let her be. But believe me, as soon as they leave, she emerges! She loves to meet people though and comes with me to book signings sometimes—she even signs her name!—so stop by and see me when I come to your area, and maybe you’ll get to meet Miss Gabriella in person.

  Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Artichokes and Fontina

  Makes 6 servings

  I love making fancy dishes on the grill that seem like they can only be made inside. Like stuffing a chicken breast with artichokes (my fave!) and fontina cheese. This is a great dish for when you have company. Just be careful not to overmarinate the chicken, or it will get tough from the acid in the artichoke marinade and the wine.

  Basil-Rosemary Marinade:

  1 (6-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts

  ¼ cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio

  ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh b
asil

  2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

  2 garlic cloves, minced

  1 teaspoon salt

  ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  Chicken Breasts:

  6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (each 6 ounces)

  ½ cup (2 ounces) shredded fontina cheese

  1. To make the marinade: Drain the artichokes hearts, reserving the marinade from the jar. Set the artichoke hearts aside. Whisk the wine, oil, reserved artichoke marinade, basil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper together in a medium bowl.

  2. To make the chicken: Working with one chicken breast half at a time, use a thin sharp knife to cut horizontally through the center of the chicken, cutting almost, but not quite, to the other side. Transfer the chicken to a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the marinade and close the bag. Refrigerate, occasionally turning the bag, for 1 to 2 hours.

  3. Coarsely chop the reserved artichoke hearts. Transfer to a bowl and combine with the fontina cheese. Remove the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade. Open up a chicken breast half like a book. Place about one-sixth of the artichoke mixture on one side of the chicken, and close to cover with the other half. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and artichoke mixture. Let stand at room temperature while preparing the grill.

  4. Preheat the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (400°F).

  5. Place the chicken breasts on the cooking grate and close the grill lid. Cook until the undersides are golden brown and seared with grill marks, about 5 minutes. Carefully flip the chicken (the filling will stay in place) and continue cooking, with the lid closed, until the chicken feels firm when pressed on top with a fingertip, 6 to 8 minutes more. Remove the chicken breasts from the grill. Let the chicken stand for 5 minutes, then serve hot.