Life, liberty, and the pursuit of grilling happiness. Those are some of our undeniable culinary rights on the Fourth of July. There are three Independence Day dishes that I always include in the holiday’s menu: a grilled-to-perfection protein (either beef or chicken), delicious potatoes, and seasonal fruit served with ice cream.
The gameplan entitled “Summertime and the Grilling is Easy,” found in America’s Test Kitchen’s “Gatherings: Casual-Fancy Meals to Share” made me hungry. Just reading about it made my stomach growl. And the recipes fitted my preparation comfort zone.
The menu and recipes were developed by Dan Zuccarello, America’s Test Kitchen’s Executive Food Editor for books.
“I especially like to grill when I have people over so that everyone can mingle,” Zuccarello wrote. “And serve family-style whenever possible — plattered items look really impressive and are easy to serve.”
Happy July 4th. Grill blissfully.
Tips
An instant-read thermometer is especially helpful when grilling proteins, helping to avoid overcooking or undercooking.
Look for potatoes that measure 1 to 2 inches in diameter. If your potatoes are larger, cut them in half.
Instead of serving lemon wedges, you can halve the lemons and char them on the grill grate cut side-down for a few minutes.
Threading two wooden skewers through the breasts and drumsticks helps to keep the chicken intact during grilling.
Grilled Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Potatoes is the perfect headliner for your Fourth of July feast. (Courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen)
Grilled Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Potatoes
The term “spatchcock” sounds a little risqué. But it’s simply a technique for prepping whole poultry to flatten it so that it grills easily and more quickly. Some refer to it as “butterflying.” Whichever term you use, it’s necessary for getting the chicken ready for this delectable lemon-garlic grilling. You’ll need a pair of kitchen shears to cut out the backbone, but the flattening process isn’t difficult.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges for serving
1½ teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 (3½- to 4-pound) chicken, giblets discarded
2 (12-inch) wooden skewers
1 pound small Yukon potatoes (about 1 to 2 inches in diameter), unpeeled
DIRECTIONS
Combine garlic, oil, salt, sugar, zest, coriander and pepper in a bowl and stir until a paste forms.
With chicken breast side down, use kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone. Discard backbone or save for making broth, if you like. Discard excess fat or skin at the neck. Flip chicken over and use heel of your hand to flatten the breastbone. Tuck wingtips behind back. Poke holes all over the chicken with skewer. Insert one skewer down the length of the chicken through thickest part of the breast and into and through drumstick Repeat with second skewer on other half of chicken.
Rub paste evenly over skin side of chicken. Transfer chicken skin side up to plate and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
For charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter rounded with charcoal briquettes (7 quarts). When top coals are …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
