TEQUILA CHICKEN

Tequila Chicken

1/4 cup tequila
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 tablespoon honey
1 small clove garlic, minced or put through garlic press
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 small jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Mix all ingredients and place in a glass dish or 1-gallon freezer bag. Add chicken breasts, and marinate overnight or at least 8 hours.

When you're ready to cook the chicken, drain it and pour the marinade into a small saucepan. Over medium heat, bring the marinade to a boil and boil gently for at least 4 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is done.

To grill the chicken, cook it, uncovered, over medium-hot coals, basting it with some of the marinade, until it is cooked through.

To bake the chicken, place the breasts in a small Pyrex dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake in a 450°F preheated oven for 16 to 18 minutes, until cooked through. Uncover the chicken for the last 3 minutes of baking time.

Do not serve immediately, but cover with aluminum foil and let breasts rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve whole or sliced, topped with the cooked marinade. Makes 4 servings.

CHARGRILLED OYSTERS

Acme’s Chargrilled Oysters

2 dozen Gulf oysters, freshly shucked, on the half shell
1 pound salted butter
2 bunches of green onions, chopped fine
20 toes of fresh garlic, puréed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped fine
3 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped fine
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
2 ounces white wine
8 ounces Romano cheese, grated
1 loaf French bread

PREP
Butter garlic sauce should be prepared just prior to grilling the oysters. In a large sauté pan add 2 sticks (or ½ pound of butter and place over a medium heat. Add green onions, garlic, red pepper, thyme, oregano, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Creole seasoning. Cook for 2 minutes and add white wine. Stir ingredients continuously and cook until green onions are soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 3 minutes. In a large mixing bowl (before the mixture is completely cool) add remaining butter (or ½ pound) and sauce. Blend until butter is folded into the sauce. Final product should be a creamy consistency. (Serves 4)

GRILLING OYSTERS
Pre-heat grill to 350 degrees. Place oyster on the half shell on the center of the grill. Once the water around the oyster begins to bubble and the oyster begins to rise, ladle ½ an ounce of the butter garlic sauce on top of each oyster. Top with a ¼ ounce of grated Romano cheese. Allow cheese to melt. Oysters should brown slightly around the edges. Remove oysters and place on a heat-resistant plate or platter.While still hot add ½ ounce of butter sauce to the top of each oyster. Serve immediately with warm French bread for dipping.

ALABAMA-STYLE CHICKEN SANDWICHES with WHITE SAUCE

Alabama-Style Chicken Sandwiches with White Sauce

2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup prepared horseradish
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. sugar
4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 tbsp. ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. cayenne
2 1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. celery seeds
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1 4-lb. chicken, spatchcocked or quartered
8 white hamburger buns
Dill pickle chips, for serving

 In a bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, horseradish, vinegar, sugar, 3 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 tsp. pepper, and cayenne. Place half sauce in another bowl; set one aside for basting and one for serving. Mix remaining salt and pepper with paprika, garlic powder, celery seeds, cumin, and coriander in a bowl; set rub aside.

Prepare your grill using apple wood chunks or chips. Season chicken with the rub mixture, and place it, skin side up, on grill grate. Maintaining a temperature of 225-250 F (if using a kettle grill or bullet smoker, replenish fire with unlit coals, as needed, to maintain temperature), cook, turning once and basting chicken with sauce every 20 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in the thigh (not touching the bone) reads 175 F, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove chicken from grill; let rest, covered loosely with foil, for 10 minutes.

Shred the chicken meat with forks and discard bones and skin. Divide chicken among buns and top with remaining sauce and pickle chips.

BEER CAN CHICKEN

BEER CAN CHICKEN

You may also do this in the oven-just set the chicken, prepared on the can, in a roasting pan to prevent its dripping onto the floor of the oven. Results are memorable, and hilarious. If you have trouble with your chicken being dry-especially the breasts-this method solves the problem in spades.  Classically done in the grill/smoker which does add flavor and color.

8 servings.

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup your favorite spice blend-I use Tony Chachere’s
1 can (12 ounces) beer

1.Preheat gas grill to medium heat (350 degrees). Remove giblets from chicken cavity. Rinse chicken inside and out; pat dry. Rub chicken with oil. Rub cavity with 1 tablespoon of the spice blend Reserving 1 Tbsp to put inside the beer can.. Sprinkle remaining Chicken Seasoning evenly over surface of chicken. Tuck the chicken wings behind the body of the bird., or not, as you prefer.

Remove about 2 ounces beer and poke 2 holes in top of can. Put the reserved Tbsp. spice blend into the can-careful, it will foam. Hold chicken upright (legs pointing down) and insert opened beer can into cavity. Stand chicken in upright position in center of grill.

Position legs to best support chicken (similar to a tripod). Close lid. (No need to need to cover the chicken if it is being cooked in the oven).

Grill or roast chicken 55 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken from can before serving.

For charcoal grill, use indirect medium heat.

HONEY, MUSTARD and CURRY GRILLING SAUCE

Honey, Mustard and Curry Grilling Sauce

Excellent for charcoaling chicken, ham or pork. It is also a fine table sauce.

1 c honey
1 c. prepared (yellow) mustard
1 tsp. Curry powder

Mix and warm. Use to baste meat after it gets half-cooked.

BRISKET-Grill to Oven Method

Brisket

Marinade/Rub
3 Tbsp. salt
1 ½ teaspoon black pepper
2 Tbsp. Chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp. Minced garlic
6 bay leaves
4 Tbsp olive oil

1 (4-pound) beef brisket (NOT corned)
Wood chips, soaked

Combine salt, pepper, thyme, garlic, bay leaves and olive oil. Place the brisket in a glass baking dish. Using your hands, rub the marinade all over the brisket until it’s evenly coated; cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

About 30 minutes before cooking the brisket, remove it from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. Heat a smoker or grill to 300 degrees and place the brisket on the rack. Add a handful of soaked wood chips to the coals, periodically, to smoke the brisket (whenever the chips stop smoking, add more). The goal for the first hour is to get some color on the outside of the brisket while infusing the meat with a smoky flavor.

Resist the urge to check on the meat every five minutes. It’s best to keep the lid closed as much as possible to trap the smoke inside. But if the inside of the grIll gets too hot, open in periodically to lower the temperature or to make a smaller bed of coals. After approximately 1 hour, transfer the brisket to a foil-covered pan and finish in a 300 degree oven for an additional 5 hours, flipping the brisket over every hour until the meat is tender enough to cut with the side of a fork.

CHILI RUB for GRILLING PORK CHOPS

Chili Rub for Grilling Pork Chops

Rub this in about half an hour before you grill.
On the menu in the restaurant in Darlinghurst, Sydney.

3 Tbsp. Chli powder

1 Tbsp. Cumin

2 tsp. Thyme

2 tsp. Sugar

1 ½ tsp. Salt

3/4 tsp. Ground allspice

1 tsp. Black pepper

Mix it up, rub into your pork chop, grill it.