Freaky Good Beer Can Chicken

Some time ago, I picked up a nifty little rack for making beer can chicken. Last weekend, we gave it a test drive.

Oh. Wow. Talk about good. And easy. And really funny looking. You might not even need the rack, but it did help keep the chicken upright. Oh, and you might want to think about a poultry thermometer also. You stick one of those into the thigh of the bird before it goes on the heat, and follow the markings for your doneness level. They come in a steak version too. Those suckers are good in an indoor oven as well as on the grill.


Ingredients

• One whole chicken, gizards and neck (and whatever else comes packed in the little bag) removed.
• One 12oz can beer. We used Heineken.
• One granny smith apple
• One sprig fresh rosemary
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat grill on high about 10-15 minutes and clean the grates.

2. Drink half of the beer. (Or pour it out, but you want your can half full).
3. Stick the sprig of rosemary into the opening on the can, put the can into the stand, and stuff the can+stand up the bottom of the chicken. Yes, it looks kinda pornographic. The beer makes it funnier.
4. Carve the apple down until it is the right size to plug the neck cavity. This will keep the bear steam from escaping and also flavor the bird at the same time.
5. Leave one burner on high and turn the rest off. Place the chicken over the side of the grill away from the heat (indirect), and roast about 60-70 minutes until thoroughly cooked.

6. Remove the chicken from the grill and let it rest about 10 minutes before taking it off the stand and slicing.

Easy Grilled Teriyake Chicken Kebabs

When I take over grilling duties from my husband, I still make him light it for me. That's because our trusty old grill,  hasn't had a working starter for about eight years :)

Kebabs are really easy. Most of the work involves a knife. My suggestions:
1. Use metal skewers, like these. They're easy to clean and no pre-soaking required (they also won't catch on fire if you get a bad flareup). Buy once, use for years.

2. Get a set of color-coded flexible cutting boards and extra knives. That way you can keep beef, chicken, fish, and vegetable ingredients separate until its time for the final assembly. If you only have one favorite chef's knife, always cut the vegetables before the meat (and wash with hot, soapy water when switching between meats).

This recipe feeds about 3-4 people, and is easy to scale up by adding more meat, veggies or fruit. Apples, peaches, thick pineapple chunks, and squash are all good choices.

Ingredients

• 2 bell peppers (I used 1 green, one yellow)
• 3 small yellow onions
• 16 oz baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and whole
• 3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Bottled teriyake sauce. I used Kikkoman Honey Pineapple:
  
  
• salt, pepper, and olive oil

Directions

1. Light a gas grill and turn all burners to high to preheat about 10 minutes.
2. While the grill heats, chop all of the veggies (except the mushrooms)into 1" chunks.
3. On a separate cutting board, trim any fatty bits off the chicken and chop the into 1" chunks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
4. Alternate veggies and meat on the skewers, ending with a mushroom on the pointed end (they will help keep the rest of the veggies from sliding off during transfers).
5. Turn the grill burners down to medium-high and clean the grates (Old gunk comes off really well when they are hot).
6. Arrange all the skewers on the grill. Cover and cook about 2 minutes per side.
7. For turning, I would take the skewer from the far right hand side, move it to the far left, and roll the rest of them down across the grates, then cook another 2 minutes. Keep rolling and moving that last skewer back to the beginning until all the chicken is cooked through and all sides are equally grilled. This helps account for hot and cold spots on an unevenly cooking grill :)
8. During the last 2-3 rotations of the kebabs, brush the teriyake sauce on teh top side using a long-handled grill brush. Careful not to leave the sauced-sides down for too long--the sugars in the sauce can burn.
9. If you need a carb fix, serve over steamed brown rice, or as wraps in tortillas.

Grilled Steak Fajitas

We eat a lot of steak in our house, almost all of it grilled. One of the dishes that I make as often (if not more often) than my husband (who is also a talented cook) is steak fajitas.

First, lets talk equipment. Grilling does not take a lot of fancy stuff, but there are a few essentials that I would recommend. A long-handled silicone basting brush for oiling the grates and/or basting. Grill tongs and spatula. A pair of Orka brand oven mitts, made of silicone and perfect for grabbing hot slippery foods off of open flames (For some reason my kids run around the house with them making barking noises. I have no idea why). A grill tray that will keep vegetables and small foods like shrimp from falling through the grates.

And, lest my lit make you think I'm a bit of a kitchen snob (which I might be, but you know, I really like to cook..), I present you with the photo of our actual grill. Note the handle that once resembled wood, the lid that has been repainted (they make spray paint specifically for grills!), the burners that have been replaced at least once (possibly twice?), and the missing right-hand knob. Hard to see in the photo, but we use a pair of vice grips to adjust the flame on the right half of the grill.

Steak Fajitas

Ingredients

• 1 pound beef flank steak (a typical one where I shop runs .75-1.5 pounds)
• salt and fresh cracked pepper*
• juice from one 1 lime (approx 1-2 Tbsp)
• olive oil or cooking oil
• 2 yellow onions
• 1-2 bell peppers

Note: You can get fancier with your steak seasonings, though you really don't need to. My husband's most recent combo included cumin, green chili pepper, garlic powder, and ancho chili powder in addition to salt and pepper. Other easy options are pre-mixed taco seasoning, steak seasoning, chili powder, or fajita seasoning.

Directions

1. Light the grill and turn all burners to high. Allow to preheat 5-10 minutes while prepping the steak and vegetables.
2. Remove the seeds, stem, and white ribs from inside of the bell peppers and cut the colored part into long 1/2" thick strips.
3. Remove the papery skin from the onions, plus the two tips. Chop the onions in half and then slice each half into 1/2" pieces. Don't separate the layers too much at this stage. They will cook easier in bigger chunks.
4. Rub both sides of the steak with salt and pepper (and additional seasonings, if using).
5. Now that the grill is hot, clean the grates with a grill cleaning brush to remove any baked on food (yes, do it when you're all done too, but a good cleaning at the start keeps tonight's food from sticking).
6. Turn the grill burners to medium high and lightly grease the grates with the cooking oil using a long-handled grill brush.
7. If your grill isn't big enough for the vegetable tray and the steak at the same time (ours really isn't), then do the steak first. Cook it over medium-high heat with the lid closed, turning every 2-4 minutes until the outside has a nice char and the inside is your desired doneness.  I usually aim for medium, which takes around 10-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the steak and how many flare-ups you get.
8. When the steak is done, remove from the heat, pour on the lime juice, cover your platter with foil (or wrap the steak tightly if you haven't yet started the veggies), and let it sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting.  This is really important. If you cut it too soon, the juices will be all over your cutting board instead of in your tortilla.
9. Spread the veggies on the tray an drizzle with cooking oil. Cook about 5-10 minutes, stirring every 1-2 minutes, until they are as done as you like them. Some folks want them lightly seared, some prefer their onions nearly carmelized.  Keeping the grill lid closed between stirs will help them cook faster.
10. Slice the steak across the grain, preferably at a slight angle and into the thinnest slices you  can.  The long strings of muscle in flank steak can be chewy but if you slice them so each piece has many super-short strings, it will melt like butter in your mouth.