No more dry chicken

Chicken is a big hit for cook-outs.  The smell of chicken on the grill is sure to get your guests mouth watering. Some of you however, may cringe at the idea of chicken on a grill for it can notoriously be dry.  And for those of you, I suggest you become friendly with a good ole … brick.  Once I adopted a brick for my chicken grilling, I haven’t looked back. If you’re not quite convinced of the brick method, I offer up this recipe, Tuscan Style Grilled Chicken, which comes from the cooks at Whole Foods.

The list of ingredients are fairly simple.

• 1 3–4 pounds natural chicken
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 5–6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 6 tablespoons mixed fresh herbs (such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, and marjoram)
• sea salt, to taste
• ground pepper, to taste
• lemon wedges to garnish

They seem to forget the most important part, one good clay brick. What’s that you say? You don’t have a brick? They have them at most hardware stores or you can just pick one up that’s been outside laying on the ground. Don’t worry about the spiders, just flick them off. Be sure you have some tongs ready to handle the brick, as handling a brick at 500°F with bare hands will surely put an end to your cook-out.

Once you have all your ingredients, it’s time to marinate the chicken in the refrigerator with the herbs, olive oil and pepper for at least 5 hours or overnight.

Now once your chicken is marinated, fire up that grill and let’s start cooking.

A whole chicken should be cooked over a medium-low fire (you should be able to hold your hand over the flame for 5–6 seconds). Drain excess marinade off the chicken and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on the grill skin side down. Immediately place two heavy bricks wrapped in foil or a weighted cast iron pan over the chicken. Close the lid of the grill and cook for about 15 minutes. Check to see that the skin is crispy and golden. Cook on the other side for 15 to 20 minutes, until juices run clear when pierced with a knife or a meat thermometer registers 180°F. Serve with wedges of lemon.

This image is from Burnt Lumpia, and shows you what the chicken will look like as it is cooking.

Our friends over at Whole Foods say to foil wrap the bricks. That’s not completely necessary, or perhaps they don’t want to freak out their guests with clay bricks lying on chicken. They also use whole chicken in the recipe, you can however substitute boneless chicken breasts and even switch out the marinade for your favorite bar-b-que sauce. If you opt for the boneless breasts and sauce, follow the same cooking steps as noted above. I recommend salting the chicken before its placed on the grill and adding a little lemon pepper. You don’t have to cook the chicken as long, but be sure the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 180°F or the juices run clear. Once the chicken has reached that golden temperature, or is close to being done, take the brick off the chicken using tongs and baste the chicken with your sauce. Flip the chicken and baste the other side. Once the sauce has begun to char a little, which happens thanks to the sugars in the sauce, you’re chicken is ready for the masses.

Stay tuned for a vinegar based pasta salad to go with whichever style of chicken you choose to cook.