Brazilian Garlic-Lime Chicken

This recipe is about the marinade I soaked the chicken boobs in.  That colorful vegetable medley on the side is Sweet & zesty Fiesta Salad.  It works as an addictive dip or a beautiful side to the chicken.  I've also eaten it all by itself for a light lunch.  It's very versatile.

As for the marinade, the perky lime juice mingles with the fresh onion and spicy garlic.  The parsley and rosemary add color and a fresh taste of bright green to the chicken.  All together, they make an incredibly flavorful chicken that only needs a hot grill to finish it off.  You could easily roast the chicken after marinating it, but I like firing up the grill any chance I get.

BRAZILIAN GARLIC-LIME MARINADE
Makes 1 cup; enough to marinate 2 to 3 pounds of meat.

• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 small onion, enough to make 1/3 cup
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 3/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary

Place garlic, onion and salt in a 1-cup food processor until finely chopped.  Scrape into dish or bag you will use to marinate meat.  Add the lime juice, vinegar, parsley and rosemary.  The marinade taste best used within a few hours of making.

Use this marinade for pork, chicken or lamb.  Marinate thin cuts of meat (steaks, chops, and chicken boobs), covered in the frig for 1 to 2 hours; larger cuts of meat, such as pork loins or shoulders, for 6 to 8 hours or even overnight.

IF YOU'RE GRILLING THE CHICKEN

Make SURE to coat the chicken with cooking oil before placing on the grill, to prevent sticking.  Grill chicken as you normally prefer.

IF YOU'RE ROASTING THE CHICKEN

Make sure to coat the chicken with cooking oil.  Heat oven to 350ºF degrees. On a baking sheet covered with heavy duty foil, drizzle and coat breasts with light cooking oil. Bake covered for 35 to 40 minutes for bone-in breasts. For boneless breasts, roast for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the thickness.

Coffee-Cardamom Brisket Rub

INCREDIBLE FLAVOR!  "Oh I've never felt love like this before, opened my eyes! No, I never felt-love-like-this-befor-or-or-ore."

CONFESSION:

1. I've never GRILLED a brisket. I've never done anything with a brisket, except eat it.
2. I don't normally get fancy with the spices, or venture into the unusual recipes.  Not because I'm scared, only because I have loved ones who set my culinary boundaries.

However, this past weekend my very dearest friend had her birthday and I wanted to make her dinner.  Kim loves to explore new flavors, as I do, and this recipe sounded right up her alley.

The aroma of coffee, hot paprika, cardamom and garlic was amazing! OH and there's a bread-sopping chocolate-cherry barbecue sauce that goes over the top that will send you to another world.  There's nothing complicated about marinating, grilling, making the sauce or eating this brisket.  It only takes time to bring it together. You gotta try this recipe on your family and friends; it WILL make you a rock star!

COFFEE-CARDAMOM BRISKET RUB
from Barbecue! Bible : Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes, Steven Raichlen

• 1/2 cup ground coffee or chicory
• 1/2 cup course salt
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup hot paprika
• 2 tablespoons ground cardamon
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh garlic
• 1/2 cup vegetable oi, or as needed

Combine all the ingredients, except the oil, in a bowl or food processor and stir or process to mix.  Stir in enough oil to make a thick paste.  The rub should be used the day it is made.  Cover and refrigerate until using.  Makes about 2 cups; enough for a 6- to 8-pound brisket.
I made half of this recipe, because I had 2 (1 1/2-pound) briskets. One brisket was enough to serve five adults.

COFFEE-CARDAMOM BRISKET

• 1 brisket (6 pounds), trimmed
• coffee-cardamom brisket rub
• 1 recipe of chocolate-cherry barbecue sauce
• bread for sopping, or buns for sandwiches

Place the brisket in a roasting pan and smear it on all sides with the rub, using a spatula or gloved hands. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator, for at least 4 hours, or as long as overnight.

Set up the grill for indirect cooking and preheat to 325ºF.

Place the brisket, fat side up, on the grate over a drip pan. (A cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil.)

Cook the brisket to an internal temperature of 190ºF or until tender enough to pull apart with you fingers, 5 to 7 hours.  (The cooking time depends on the size of the brisket and the heat of the grill.)  If using charcoal, add 10 fresh coals per side every hour.

Transfer the brisket to a cutting board, loosely cover with an aluminum foil tent, and let rest for 15 minutes.  Thinly slice the meat across the grain and serve it on slices of bread witht eh barbecue sauce on the side or on top.  Serves 12 to 14 folks.

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY BARBECUE SAUCE

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 cups canned pitted Bing cherries, drained
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon pure chili powder (not a blend)
• 1 1/2 cups Port wine
• 1/2 cup sherry vinegar
• 1/2 cup honey or more to taste
• 4 teaspoons ketchup
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 canned chipotle chilies or 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon course salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, and cherries and cook unti the onion is soft but not brown, 3 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the sauce, uncovered, until reduced to about 2 cups, 15 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Correct the seasoning, adding salt, lemon juice, or honey; the sauce should be a little sweet, a little sour, and very flavorful.  Use right away or transfer to a large jar, cover, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.  The sauce will keep for several weeks.  Makes 2 cups.

COOK'S NOTES

• For the rub, I had fresh ground Ethiopian Harar coffee on hand. I'm an Arabica bean drinker, if that means anything to you. I used gloved hands to massage in the wet rub before refrigerating overnight.
• I set out the brisket on the counter for 30 minutes before grilling.
• I used my large gas grill this time.  It has a temperature gauge, so it was easy to monitor the temperature without ever lifting the grill cover.  I peeked one time to make sure my drip pan was aligned and NEVER flipped or poked the brisket with a fork.  The two small briskets were not over the flames, but only cooked with the heat of the grill, like an oven would cook.
• I started at 12 noon and the brisket were ready by 5 o'clock.  They were small as I mentioned.
• I pulled a chair into the kitchen and read a magazine while watching & occasionally stirring the barbecue sauce.  I wanted  a thick sauce and took 25 minutes to get it the way I liked it.
• I went out and purchased a nine dollar bottle of Port wine, but next time I'll use cranberry juice.
• I couldn't find sherry vinegar, so purchased Raspberry Vinegar.
• I didn't have caraway seeds and skipped it.
• We used onion-buns to make sandwiches and used the sauce as the dripping condiment.  I NEVER grew tired of eating brisket the whole weekend. *sigh*

Grill Roasted Bell Pepper

Ever have those days when you feel like grillin' ANYTHING, just so you can grill?

I threw on a couple of red bell peppers the other day, just because.  I took great pleasure in watching the skins turn black, knowing full well the inside was growing sweet and tender.  Turning every now & then, making sure to get all the sides good and black.  I didn't watch the time.  I watched the peppers.

After they were good and soft, I brought them inside to cool down enough for me to handle.  I've seen all different ways of removing the skins that involved paper towels and plastic bags.  That wasn't green thinking to me.  I just used my old fashion fingers and peeled the skin off.  It took no time all to strip the skins off, remove the seed core, then I quickly rinsed any sticky seeds off.  What little water I used, did NOT remove the smokey aroma that become part of the pepper's meat.

I proceeded to julienne the peppers, moved them to a small bowl, then poured a little oil over the top.  Covered tightly and stored them in the frig.

Later in the same week, I used them with pasta, over chicken soft tacos, and inside bean burritos.

Grilled Bacon Jalapeno Cheeseburgers

That either looks INCREDIBLE to you or it doesn't.  Burgers are hard to photograph from a super healthy perspective, unless we can imagine this one with a black bean patty.  But that's not a black bean patty under melted jalapeno Havarti cheese, it's fresh, farm raised beef straight out of Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Our good friend John, stopped by the other day and dropped off a package of beef patties right about the time I was guessing what to cook for supper.  Have you met John? He's a good man.  He's married to my very good friend, Kim the Dietitian - (duntada! heroic music plays in the background- imagine woman with a red cape and the letter 'D' on her shirt, standing in front of the food pyramid.)

Anyhoo.

I didn't hesitate to grill up the patties along with a couple of slices of smoked bacon and purple onion.  Then I figured since I had come that far, I might as well go all out.  So I found the jalapeno Havarti cheese and the jar of spicy jalapenos.  All that was left was to toast up the wheat buns and layer on the condiments.

Oh yea, it was good, REAL GOOD.

Grilled Fish Tacos

It's taken me a looooong time to try fish tacos.  They're super easy to make and have a lot of flavors wrapped up in that little corn tortilla.

But like my friend Teresa's experience, my first attempt didn't win me over.  My pico de guy-O was very good.  The habenero sour cream was very zesty and a good condiment for this mix.  The purple cabbage gave these tacos a fresh crunch.  However, the corn tortillas were too soft for my over stuffed tacos and the fish didn't have enough zest and pizazz.

So let's discuss the fish.  Based on two grilled fish taco recipes, grilling with salt & pepper, a little lime juice was all it took.  I added a little New Mexico Chili powder, but I didn't add enough.  I kept wanting more of a crunch to be there around the fish.  I used tilapia, which I felt would be meaty enough, and it did the job.

Without a breading, I think the fish needs to be marinated first before throwing it on the grill.  Maybe using fresh jalapenos, lime juice, lime slices, salt, fresh ground pepper, crushed garlic, maybe even a few sprigs of cilantro for an extra fresh green flavor.

When I get around to making these again, I'm taking the breaded route.  I will work from Tyler Florence's two similar recipes:  Crispy Fish Tacos and Ultimate Fish Tacos.

Here are links to other Fish Taco recipes I would try:

• Cornmeal-Crusted Tilapia Tacos with Spicy Avocado Cream from Cookthink
  
• Fish Tacos from Smitten Kitchen
• Essentials: Fish Tacos from Serious Eats
• My Friend Doug's Really Good Fish Tacos from LocalHarvest.org

If you know of a very good Fish Taco recipe, let me know about it.  I can taste the potential goodness, but I haven't eaten it yet.

Grilled Smokey Salmon

Here's another super simple way to eat grilled Salmon.

With the thicker cuts of that Salmon I was telling you about in my last post. I wanted something less spicy that would bring out the salmon flavor. So here's what I did.

Since I had a thicker piece to work with, I decided to cut it into serving sizes about 2 inches wide. This would ensure that I got all the fish cooked through, it would cook faster and at the same time, and it would be ready to serve right off the grill.

For these cuts, I melted 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 cloves of crushed garlic in the microwave on low power. Covering the microwave safe bowl prevents splattering. I went ahead and continued to cook the garlic in the butter for one minute at 70% power. This really helped to infuse the butter and soften the garlic.

I drizzled the garlic butter over the fillets, making sure each one got a little crushed garlic, too. Seasoned with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. Squeezed a little fresh lemon juice over all of them.

Now it was time to go outside and put them on the hot grill. Just for fun, I tossed a handful of dry smoke chips around the edge of the hot coals. I used my nonstick grilling sheet pan and laid the fish skin side down. Closed the grill lid and came back 10 minutes later to check on them. When the fish flaked, it was done.

The Salmon had a wonderful smokey flavor I could taste before it ever went into my mouth and the garlic bits almost tasted sweet... Absolutely Yummy!

Grilled Blackened Salmon

Grilled Blackened Salmon is super, super easy.

I know someone who knows someone else that went fishing in Alaska and caught plenty of Salmon. Some of that salmon made it all the way back to my grill.

I had a good size piece for the grill. And Charlie would his fish blackened, no matter what it is. So, here's what I did.

GRILLED BLACKENED SALMON

• Salmon fillet
• lemon
• Road Kill Grill Seasoning
• nonstick cooking spray
• heavy duty aluminum foil
• one hot, hot grill

Go ahead and prep the Salmon, first. Cut out just enough foil to make a grill cooking tray for the fish. Coat the inside of the aluminum foil with nonstick cooking spray. Lay down a few thin lemon slices, enough to make bed for the fish. Lay down the Salmon, skin side down.

Pat dry to remove any excess water, then spritz it with nonstick cooking spray. You want to a little oil for the seasonings to hold onto.

Using a spoon, generously dust the fish with Road Kill Grill Seasoning, then give the top one more spritz of cooking spray to moisten the top.

Grab a beverage and go out to start the grill. You need a hot grill, 400F degrees, to cook a 1 inch thick fillet about 10 to 15 minutes. Have you read Hand Count Method for Grilling Temperatures?

Lay the Salmon with the foil tray over the hot zone of the grill. Close the grill lid, and do not flip the fish. The fish is done when it flakes.

NOW, GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY!

Grilled Rainbow Trout

Grilling Rainbow Trout is SUPER EASY and leaves no mess in the kitchen.
I LOVE IT!

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• heavy duty aluminum foil
• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 large Rainbow Trout fillet
• 1 large lemon, cut half of it into thin slices
• 1 small onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 hot grill

Go ahead and prep fillet, first. Use a large sheet of heavy duty foil, enough to wrap around fish. Spray it generously with nonstick cooking spray. Lay down a bed of onion slices. Lay the fish on top and spritz with nonstick spray. Season generously with salt and pepper, then lay lemon slices on top. Using the remaining lemon, squeeze lemon juice all over the fish.

Bring the edges of the foil together over the top of the fillet, then fold over to close. But now, don't fold up the top so tight that you can't take a peek later on. You will want to close up the ends securely to hold in the juices.

You're ready to start the grill. (Don't forget to grab your beverage; it's hot outside.) Your grill needs to be hot, hot, hot. As soon as you settle the hot coals from the chimney starter into the grill, return the grill grid and lay on the foiled fish.

A large fillet, 3/4 inch thick needs to grill at 400F degrees for 15 minutes.

How do you know how hot your grill is without using a thermometer?
Use the Hand Count Method -

Hold your hand at grilling height over the coals. Count the number of seconds you can hold you hand there before the heat forces you to move it.

• 2 seconds, hot coals: 400 - 450 F degrees
• 4 seconds, medium coals: 350 - 375 F degrees
• 5 seconds, low coals: 300 - 325 F degrees

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And THAT'S IT! That's all there is to grilled Rainbow Trout. Serve it with oven roasted red potatoes and onions, you're family will love it!

Hand Count Method for Grilling Temperatures

How do you know how hot your grill is without using a thermometer?
Use the Hand Count Method -

Hold your hand at grilling height over the coals. Count the number of seconds you can hold you hand there before the heat forces you to move it.

• 2 seconds, hot coals: 400 - 450 F degrees
• 4 seconds, medium coals: 350 - 375 F degrees
• 5 seconds, low coals: 300 - 325 F degrees

Make Your Own Smoked Salt

I was standing in the grocery store the other day, sniffing jars of smoked sea salts. They all smelled very good, but I couldn't get past their prices.

"Why," I thought to myself, "are these sea salts SOOO expensive?"

Of course, if I didn't have a recipe already at home telling me how to do it myself. I would naturally assume it took some special processing and special ingredients to get them this way. BUT, IT DOESN'T.

Smoking salts at home is super easy and you can make enough to share with your neighbors. And it won't cost you an arm, a leg and your first born.

There are four methods to making smoked salt: Stovetop, Wok, Charcoal Grill and Gas Grill (see bottom of post for direction of other methods). I chose the Charcoal Grill method to make Mesquite Smoked Sea Salt. I already had a bag of Mesquite chips on hand, so I said, "why not start here?"

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES TO CREATE SMOKED SALTS

• 2 cups wood chips, soaked in cold water for 1 hour, then drained
• 2 cups coarse salt (kosher or sea)

Set up the grill for indirect grilling (putting all your hot coals to one side and leaving a cool side to work from). Toss the wood chips on the coals. Spread the salt in a thin layer in an aluminum foil pie pan and place it on the grate away from the fire. Cover the grill and adjust the vent holes to medium heat (350F deg.).

Smoke the salt for 1 hour. Cool the salt to room temperature, then move it to a jar and cover.

Prepared grill.

Set tin foil pan on the cool side of grill, away from coals.

One hour later.

Allow to cool completely before storing.

$1.29 and one hour of my time for 1/2 pound of smoked sea salt.

HERE'S THOSE OTHER SMOKING METHODS

Stovetop Smoker Method: Place the sawdust in the bottom of the smoker.  Spread the salt in a thin layer in an aluminum foil pie pan and place it in the top of the smoker. Place the smoker over high heat. When you start to see wisps of smoke, reduce the heat to medium, tightly cover the smoker, and smoke the salt for 20 minutes. Cool the salt to room terperature, then transfer it to a jar, cover, and store away from heat and light.

Wok Method: Line the bottom of the wok with aluminum foil (a 6 inch square will do) and place the sawdust on top. Set a round wire cake rack in the wok. Spread the salt in a thin layer in an aluminum foil pie pan and place on the wire rack.  Place the wok over igh heat.  When you start to see wisps of smoke, reduce the salt for 20 minutes.  Cool the salt to room temperature, then transfer it to a jar, cover, and store away from heat and light.

Gas Grill Method: Preheat the grill to medium.  PLace the wood chips in the smoker box and preheat until you see smoke.  Spread the salt in a thin layer in an aluminum foil pan and place it on the grate away from the fire. Cover the grill ans smoke the salt for 1 hour.  Cool the salt to room temperature, then transfer it to a jar, cover, and store away.

Shrimp Fest

Shrimp is so fast and easy to cook. We should eat it more often. It literally takes minutes to be ready and it tastes SOOOO good no matter how we eat it; breaded, boiled, fried, roasted and GRILLED.

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HAVE YOUR SPICE AND THE KIDS CAN EAT TOO

• 1 pound shrimp
• Road Kill Grill Seasonings
• olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt & pepper
• 1 small lemon
• wooden skewers

First, prep the skewers by soaking them in water. I happen to have had a tall, clean water bottle that I filled warm to soak mine.

Next, I ran a fork tine through the top or arch of each shrimp, breaking the shell, but not removing it. Then, I snapped off the tail and pulled out that yucky vein.

It takes practice to remove the vein and not completely destroy the shell. The ones I messed up, I completely shelled and tossed in the sauteed shrimp pile.

I used two skewers to prepare the shell shrimp for grilling. I got that tip from watching Smokin' Barbecue Videos.

In a small bowl, combine minced garlic and 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil. Microwave on high for up to one minute. It's a quick way to get garlic infused oil.

In another small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of Road Kill Grill Seasonings and 1 tablespoon or so of the garlic oil, just enough to make a paste. Smear the paste onto the skewered shrimp and set aside.

It's time to go strike up the grill. Watch this video for the fastest way to get your grill on.

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While I had a few minutes to wait for the coals to be ready, I went ahead and cooked the shelled shrimp.

In a small fry pan over medium heat, heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of the garlic oil. Cook shrimp for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on each side, just until the shrimp turns white. Remove from heat, move to a warm bowl and cover.

NOW OUT TO THE GRILL!

I used my favorite nonstick grill pan, again. It took mere minutes to grill these spicy delights. They cook VERY FAST on the grill, so don't walk away and don't get lost in conversation with someone. It's very easy to over cook shrimp, so don't do it. As soon as you see them turning white, get them off the grill.

Something I figured out...
Even though the shrimps are generally the same size, there were still shrimps that were smaller and larger in size. I group them by their size together on the skewers to ensure even cooking times. I started the larger shrimp skewers first, then cooked the smaller ones, just so I could keep better track of my timing.

Right before serving, I placed all the shrimp on one platter and squeezed fresh lemon juice over the whole lot. Every one was free to dig in and enjoy the shrimp fest!

Blackened Tilapia

I used Road Kill Grill Seasonings to grill this wonderfully spicy, smoky tilapia fillet.

HERE'S ALL I HAD TO DO

• tilapia fillets
• olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 to 3 teaspoons Road Kill Grill Seasoning

First, I got my grill hot & ready using my handy dandy chimney starter.

Next, I liberally oiled my nonstick grill sheet to help keep the fish from sticking, then set it aside.

In the kitchen, while I was waiting for the coals to get ready, I prepared the fish.

Microwave at 80% power, 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil and minced garlic for 1 minute. Heat oil just long enough to infuse it with the garlic flavor.

Dry off the fillets with a paper towel, then coat them with garlic oil on both sides. On one side, sprinkle 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons Road Kill Grill Seasoning on fillets.

HANDY TIP
To help keep the spices on the fillet, spray nonstick cooking spray on top of the spices, enough to moisten. If you have a spray bottle for oils, it would come in handy right about now.

Grill tilapia 4 to 7 minutes, depending on thickness of the fillets. DO NOT FLIP. It takes very little time to cook through over a hot grill, so don't go walk away. Test the fillet with a fork; it's done when it flakes apart.

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