It's 86 degrees. I smell cherry wood smoke. Drinking some Riesling (Bota Box - don't knock it until you try it). My three year old daughter, Ellie, is watching a show on my android phone sitting next to me on our back deck. It's grilling season. Life is a good thing. Although it's supposed to snow on Monday.
Tonights menu: Smoked chicken with Polynesian Teriyaki Sauce, Orange and Cranberry Quinoa Salad, Sautéed Asparagus and Onions, and lots of wine.
I am smoking two whole chickens tonight and experimenting with cherry wood. So far I love the smell of cherry wood. However, I am having some trouble with the temperature. I cannot seem to break 200 degrees. It could be the wind. As always, its windy today in Wichita. Hickory seems to create a higher temperature than any of the other woods I have tried. But, man, this cherry wood smoke smells so wonderful.
As far as the chicken goes. I soaked my two whole chickens in a salt water/apple juice brine for about 5 hours. I basically filled a medium bowl with water and added salt until it would no longer incorporate. I placed both chickens in a large bowl, added about a cup of apple juice, added the brine and added another 1/2 cup of apple juice. I then placed the large bowl of chicken in the refrigerator.
I also made a rub for the chicken. Here is my what I threw together for my poultry rub:
Enough for about one chicken
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp Chili Powder
2 tsp Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Thyme
I doubled it for two chickens (of course). Once the chicken had soaked for about 5 hours, I pulled the bowl of chicken out of the fridge and placed each chicken on a plate. I then dumped the brine down the sink. Next, I dried each chicken off with paper towels and applied the poultry rub. I then got my smoker going with cherry wood and added the two chickens to the main grill. The whole chickens should take about 3 hours at 275 degrees. My grill is running at about 175-200 degrees. I may need to bake them at the end to get them up to temperature. No big deal.
While my chickens were smoking, I went ahead and made a quinoa salad. Here is my recipe:
1 cup Quinoa
1 large Orange - Chopped
1/2 medium Red Onion - Diced
1/4 cup Italian Parsley - Minced
1/4 cup Dried Cranberries
1/4 cup Orange Juice
1/8 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/8 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
Salt - to taste (~1/4 tsp)
Pepper - to taste (~1/4 tsp)
Preparation of the Salad
I cheated. I used pre-cooked Quinoa. It is better with dried quinoa cooked to package direction. I am just lazy.
Combine the quinoa, orange, red onion, italian parsley, and cranberries in a medium bowl. Next, in a small bowl, add orange juice, olive oil, rice wine vinegar, salt, and pepper and whisk together until combined. Add to the other ingredients and stir. Put the salad in the refrigerator until cold.
Next is the polynesian teriyaki sauce. Here it is:
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tbs Corn Starch
2 Tbs Water
Combine soy sauce, dark brown sugar, and rice wine vinegar in a small sauce pan. Whisk together the corn starch and water in a separate small bowl. Bring soy sauce mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Once boiling, add the corn starch mixture to thicken up everything. Once it is fairly thick, remove mixture from burner and let cool.
Apply the polynesian teriyaki sauce to the chicken, add a portion of quinoa salad, and enjoy!
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