Barbecued Chicken Kebabs

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that John and I are huge fans of Cook's Illustrated. This recipe is a perfect example of why we adore them: in order to keep the chicken pieces moist while grilling, the recipe tells you to coat them with pureed bacon. Weird, yet brilliant.

Although pureeing bacon might have been the nastiest thing I've ever done with my food processor, the resulting kebabs were phenomenal. We used chicken thighs, as the recipe recommends, but you can use breasts if that's your thing (just don't use breasts and thighs on the same skewer since they cook at different rates). I totally dig the homemade barbecue sauce from this recipe, but you could easily sub your favorite bottled brand if you want to save some time. Just don't skip the bacon paste!

We cooked ours on our charcoal grill, but I'm including instructions for a gas grill as well. Tomorrow we're heading to Vermont to stay at the Cook's Country house (see the previous post for more info), so stay tuned for lots of fabulous photos and recipes from our stay.


Barbecued Chicken Kebabs
from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

Sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup light or mild molasses
2 tablespoons grated onion
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar

Kebabs
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
4 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 slices bacon , cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 12-inch metal skewers

Instructions:

1. FOR THE SAUCE: Bring all ingredients to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce reaches ketchup-like consistency and is reduced to about 1 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer 1/2 cup sauce to small bowl and set aside remaining sauce to serve with cooked chicken.

2. FOR THE KEBABS: Toss chicken and salt in large bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

3. Charcoal grill: Light large chimney starter three-quarters filled with charcoal (4 1/2 quarts, about 75 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Arrange all coals in even layer over half of grill bottom, leaving other half empty. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes. Scrape grate clean with grill brush. Gas grill: Turn all burners to high, close lid, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape cooking grate clean with grill brush. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).

4. While grill heats, pat chicken dry with paper towels. Combine sweet paprika, sugar, and smoked paprika in small bowl. Process bacon in food processor until smooth paste forms, 30 to 45 seconds, scraping down bowl twice during processing. Add bacon paste and spice mixture to chicken; mix with hands or rubber spatula until ingredients are thoroughly blended and chicken is completely coated. Thread meat onto skewers, rolling or folding meat as necessary to maintain 1-inch cubes.

5. Place kebabs over coals (or over the primary burner, if using gas) and grill, turning one-quarter turn every 2 to 2 1/2 minutes until well browned and slightly charred, 8 minutes for breasts or 10 minutes for thighs. (If flare-ups occur, slide kebabs to cool side of grill until fire dies down.) Brush top surface of kebabs with ¼ cup sauce; flip and cook until sauce is brown in spots, about 1 minute. Brush second side with remaining ¼ cup sauce; flip and continue to cook until brown in spots and instant-read thermometer inserted in center of meat registers 160 degrees for breasts and 175 degrees for thighs, about 1 minute longer. Remove kebabs from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve, passing reserved barbecue sauce separately.

Serves 6.
 
Download a printable recipe.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Bacon and Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

This might sound weird if you've never had a warm salad before, but I promise the spinach really holds up well to the warm dressing (dressing made with bacon fat, by the way). I'm just going to let the bacon convince you. Bacon bacon bacon. Just try it. It's really a very simple recipe without a lot of ingredients (no hard boiled eggs here... why does it seem like every spinach salad has to have those??). The recipe says it serves four as a first course, but John and I took down the whole salad as a side dish to our steak dinner.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Bacon and Balsamic Vinaigrette
from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:
5 ounces baby spinach (about 6 cups)
2 slices bacon (about 2 ounces), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Place spinach in large bowl. Fry bacon in small skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes; transfer with slotted spoon to paper-towel lined plate, leaving fat in skillet. Return skillet to medium heat and add oil, onion, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is slightly softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add vinegar; swirl to incorporate. Pour warm dressing over spinach and toss gently to wilt. Sprinkle bacon over spinach; serve immediately.

Download a printable recipe.

Chef's Salad with Spinach, Chicken, and Gouda

 

Having a salad for dinner is one of those things that always seems like a good idea... in theory. It's easy, it's healthy, and it generally doesn't require heating up your kitchen in the middle of August (that last part is particularly crucial if you blow a fuse every time you try to run the air conditioner and the TV at the same time--the apartment above an Italian restaurant is becoming less quaint by the day, people). But when it comes down to it, salad for dinner is kind of boring, right? This salad... definitely not boring. We've made this quite a few times this summer and it is going to stay in the regular dinner rotation.

In addition to the Gouda cheese mentioned in the title, we've also got some bacon and avocado going on in this salad. We've used turkey bacon a few times to make it healthier, but I suggest using the real stuff here. And while store bought croutons will save you some time, I highly recommend making your own (unless you have the aforementioned air conditioning problem and don't want to turn on your oven). Not only is it a nice way to use up some leftover bread, but they have a much more appealing texture than the croutons from a box (I made mine with some rosemary focaccia). This recipe makes more croutons than you'll need, so save the extras in an air tight container.

Chef's Salad with Spinach, Chicken, and Gouda

adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Garlic Croutons:

1 large clove garlic , minced to paste or pressed through garlic press (about 1 ¼ teaspoons)
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 slices white sandwich bread (6 ounces), cut into ½-inch cubes (1 ½ cups)

Vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2  teaspoon minced garlic (1 small garlic clove)
1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
pinch  table salt
pinch ground black pepper

Salad:

1 bag spinach salad blend

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves , torn into bite-sized pieces
1/4 medium red onion , sliced very thin

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 medium avocado, halved, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced into thin strips

4 ounces Gouda cheese (regular or smoked), sliced ¼ inch thick and cut into 2-inch-long matchsticks

4 slices thick-cut bacon (or turkey bacon), cut into 1/4-inch strips, fried in medium skillet over medium heat until crisp, and drained on paper towels

Instructions:

1. For the croutons: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine garlic, salt, and oil in small bowl; let stand 20 minutes, then pour through fine-mesh strainer into medium bowl. Add bread cubes and toss to coat. Spread bread cubes in even layer on rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet to room temperature.

2. For the vinaigrette: Whisk ingredients in medium bowl until combined.

3. For the salad: Combine salad mix, basil, and onions in large serving bowl. Add dressing and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Arrange chicken and cheese over center of greens; sprinkle with bacon, avocado, and croutons and serve immediately.

Makes 2 dinner-sized salads (plus extra croutons)

Download a printable recipe.

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Spaghetti alla Carbonara

I was discussing Belgian beers the other day with some friends, and it got me thinking about some good food pairings.  In the past I've always enjoyed Belgian beers with a nice steak, but I wanted something different.  For those that don't know, Belgian beers are amazing.  They are full bodied, complex beers, often fruity and very aromatic.  A true joy to drink.  Some people love to talk about wine, I love to talk about, and drink, Belgian beers.  In our discussions, we knocked around some ideas about salt crusted fish, spicy seafoods, and anything with lots of bacon.  The thoughts of bacon led me to think of Spaghetti Carbonara!  Oh yeah.  I would get to use my new pasta maker to make fresh spaghetti, and try a new recipe of something that was sure to be delicious.

I had this bottle of Delirium Nocturnum in the fridge just begging to be opened and enjoyed, and I knew it would go perfectly with the salty, bacony, goodness that is the Spaghetti Carbonara.  The Nocturnum is a great example of a fine Belgian strong brown ale.  So many flavors can be detected in it, from apples and berries, to raisins and bittersweet chocolate.  I love it.  I could start a blog on Belgian beers if I wanted to, but there's probably a million of those already.  As if there aren't enough food blogs! :)  Anyway, as usual I turned to the tried and true recipes of Cook's Illustrated's The Complete Book of Pasta & Noodles.  The book is 450+ pages of pretty much every kind of pasta dish and sauce you can imagine.  I use their basic recipe for all the pasta I've made so far (ravioli, spaghetti, and fettuccine), but this was the first time I used a real sauce recipe.

It turned out great, especially with the strong Belgian beer to wash it down.  If you're in the mood for a salty, bacony, pasta dish, this is it!



Ingredients:
1 pound spaghetti (I used my homemade spaghetti)
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1/4 pound thick cut bacon, diced into 1/4" pieces
1/4 cup dry white wine (or 1/4 cup Belgian beer!)
3 large eggs
1 cup grated pecorino romano cheese (Locatelli)
2 Tbs minced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot for cooking the pasta.  Cook until al dente.

2. While the water is boiling, heat the oil and garlic in a skillet over medium heat.  Cook until the garlic is golden, about 3 minutes, and discard.  Add the bacon and cook until just beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes.  Add the wine (I used the Belgian beer) and simmer until the alcohol aroma has cooked off, about 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat, cover, and keep warm.

3. Lightly beat the eggs with the cheese and parsley in a large serving bowl.

4. Drain the pasta, leaving it slightly wet, and transfer it to the bowl with the egg mixture.  Immediately toss the pasta with the egg mixture to coat evenly.  Stir in the bacon mixture.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4.

Note (this is in the book, so I guess I should post it here too.):
This recipe contains raw egg.  Because of the threat of salmonella, food safety experts advise against serving raw eggs to the very young, the elderly, and those whose immune systems are compromised.  The rest of us eat them at our own risk.

Download a printable recipe here!
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