Cornell Chicken (my way)

2 Cups Cider VinegarCornell Chicken
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 Tbs Salt
1 egg
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbs each chopped fresh Sage, Thyme, and rosemary
6 Chicken Thighs, bone and skin on, with legs attached

yummm....frothy marinade!The night before you plan on cooking the chicken, combine the Vinegar, Oil, Salt, pepper, Egg, and spices.  (It will look frothy.  In fact mine looked so frothy I was worried that there was still soap in the bowl.  I tasted it; no soap!)  Add the chicken and marinate for 24 hours, so more, no less.

The next day, preheat the grill.  If you are using charcoal, build the fire and then allow it to die down.  Grill chicken with the cover on the grill.  Flip and baste every FIVE minutes, until the chicken is done.  For dark meat, it will cook for about 30 minutes.  Allow the chicken to rest for at least 5 minutes, and enjoy!

Recipe notes:  The original recipe calls for 3 Tbs salt and 1 Tbs poultry spice.  I like mine slightly saltier, but for the first time trying this recipe, I recommend using 3 Tbs salt.  I prefer the taste of fresh spice, but you can used dried spice if you don't have any on hand.  You can of course use white meat.  I just prefer the taste of dark meat and it stands up better to the heat of the grill.  It's really important to marinate the chicken for 24 hours.  If you don't it will still taste good, but not as good as if you marinate it for the full period.

Balsamic Glazed Grilled Chicken

2 whole chicken breasts split in half

 1/4 Cup Kosher Salt

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Mix Salt and Sugar in 2 quarts of water. and add the chicken breasts.  Allow the chickens to soak in the brine for at least two hours.  Remove the breasts, rinse off, and pat dry.  Prepare a grill and coat the breasts in the balsamic vinaigrette.  Place chicken on the hot grill and cook until grill marks appear, about 5 minutes.  Flip the chicken and brush a final coat of the glaze onto the chicken.  Cook until grill marks appear on the second side and the chicken is cooked through, about an additional 3 minutes.  Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Recipe Notes:  This is a basic brine.  I brine all of my poultry.  It imparts a ton of flavor and leaves the meat very, very juicy.  If you don't use the vinagarette as a glaze, add additional spices to the brine, coat the chicken lightly with conola oil, grill and enjoy!

Shrimp on the Barbie with Lemon Aioli

1/2 pound large shrimp with the shell on

Canola Oil

Salt and Pepper

Using a sharp knife, make a slit through the back of the shrimp.  Remove the vein, eggs, and any other remaining gooey mysterious remnants.  Toss the shrimp in oil, salt and pepper and throw on a hot grill.  The shrimp will cook very, very quickly.  When the shrimp begin to curl and turn slightly pink (after about 1 to 2 minutes depending on how hot your grill is) flip the shrimp and cook for about 30 seconds on the other side until the shrimp are cooked through.  Chill and serve with the lemon aioli or your favorite cocktail sauce.

Lemon Aioli

Juice of 2 lemons

4 gloves of garlic

1/3 cup olive oil

Smash the garlic and add to olive oil in a small sauce pan.  Over low heat bring the oil to a simmer.  Allow to simmer for three minutes or until you can smell the garlic.  Turn off the heat and cool the oil to room temperature.  Strain the oil and add lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Mix vigorously.

Recipe notes: alternatively you can buy raw deveined and generally deshelled shrimp, but I promise this step is easy and I think that the shrimp have a better flavor if you cook them with the shell on!

Cedar Plank Grilled Char With a Sangria Reduction

Grilled Char:

1 lb of Char with Skin Removed

salt and pepper to taste

Olive Oil

Soak a cedar plan (available at Williams Sonoma and many other locations) in water for a least a couple of hours.  Season the fish generously with the oil and salt and pepper.  Place fish on plank and place on hot grill.  Cover the grill and cook just until fish is cooked through (about 7 minutes, but this will vary based on how hot your grill is and how thick the fish is.  Do not let the fish get overcooked.  The fish should be opaque but still be juicy).  Allow fish to rest for about five minutes and serve with the sangria reduction.

Sangria Reduction:

2 cups of Sangria

Strain sangria and pour it into a sauce pot.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and allow it to reduce until it can coat the back of a spoon and when you draw your finger through the sauce on the back of the spoon.  Remove from heat and serve immediately with the grilled char.

Recipe Advice: soaking the plank in water not only prevents it from burning when you place it on the grill, but it also imparts a delicate smoky flavor to the fish.  I only use charcoal.  I know.  It takes longer.  Its messier.  You can't control the heat.  I would argue that it doesn't take that much longer (I have a chimney lighter which works beautiful) and you truly can control the heat, but most significantly you can't duplicate the flavor of charcoal.  If you skip the plank and grill the fish directly on the grate, use canola oil which has a higher smoking point rather than olive oil.  Rub the oil onto the fish (as in the original recipe) but also take a paper towel soaked in the canola oil and rub a thin amount of oil directly onto the grate of the grill.