Chicken Recipes: Grilled Chicken Skewers

I found this recipe on GroupRecipes.com and thought it looked intriguing—certainly not because of the name of the recipe, “Grilled Chicken Skewers,” but because of the ingredients: barbecue sauce, soy sauce, cilantro, honey mustard, and believe it or not, peanut butter. The addition of peanut butter certainly seemed odd to me, but it was surprisingly good in combination with the other ingredients.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of hot water
• ¼ cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
• ¼ creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 12 thin strips

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, mix together the water, barbecue sauce, peanut butter, soy sauce, cilantro, and mustard using a wire whisk.
• Pour the mixture into a large sealable bag.
• Add the strips of chicken to the bag and seal it; then shake gently to coat the chicken with the marinade.
• Refrigerate the chicken for 1 to 2 hours to marinate.
• Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
• After marinating for the desired time, thread the chicken strips onto 12 skewers in a ribbon fashion. Discard the marinade. (Do not reuse it!)
• Grill the chicken skewers for 5 to 7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

There you have it—easy as can be and very tasty. Thank you, “Alaskanmom,” for sharing this delicious recipe. Enjoy!

 

Chicken Recipes: Grilled Honey Barbecue Chicken

I haven’t used the oven in weeks. In fact, from early April through early November, I could probably get by without it. During that time, weather permitting, I use my outdoor grill to cook most of my evening meals, and the majority of those meals include grilled chicken. Last night, I grilled up a tangy barbecue chicken using a recipe I found on RecipeTips.com. It’s called “Grilled Honey Barbecue Chicken,” and like most of the grilled chicken recipes that I prepare, this one was quick and easy.

Grilled Honey Barbecue Chicken

The ingredients are simple and few: boneless, skinless chicken breasts; canned tomato soup; honey; vegetable oil; Worcestershire sauce; lemon juice; prepared mustard; and hot red pepper sauce, which is optional. All of the ingredients (except the chicken, of course) are combined in a saucepan and cooked over medium heat. I used my auxiliary burner on my gas grill for this. The sauce is then basted over the chicken while it’s grilling. Like I said, it’s very simple, and the ingredients aren’t sophisticated, but the result sure is good. Try it and I know you’ll agree.

 

Chicken Recipes: Grilled Chicken with Maple Barbecue Sauce

I enjoyed a terrific grilled chicken dish the other night when I was invited to my next door neighbor’s home for dinner. Notice I said, grilled. I always put my grill away for the winter, but they use theirs year-round (smart people). Since the day was sunny and the temperature actually managed to climb above freezing, it wasn’t such a bad day to be grilling outdoors. (However, we didn’t eat outdoors—we might be used to the cold in Minnesota, but eating outdoors when it’s only 38 degrees is carrying it a bit too far.)

The recipe they prepared, “Maple-Barbecued Chicken,” is one that they found on epicurious.com.

Ingredients List:

For the Chicken:

• ½ cup white-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 5 whole chicken breasts (with skin and bone), halved
• 10 chicken thighs
• 10 chicken drumsticks
• 10 chicken wings

For the Maple Barbecue Sauce:

• 2 large onions, chopped fine
• 2 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
• 1 ¼ cups ketchup
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth
• ¾ cup cider vinegar
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Directions:

• In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar and the salt.
• While whisking, add the oil in a stream, blending the marinade until it is emulsified.
• Divide the chicken pieces between two large bowls; pour the marinade over the chicken; and let it marinate, covered and chilled, overnight.
• To make the barbecue sauce, add all of the ingredients to a heavy saucepan.
• Bring the mixture to a boil; then simmer it for 50 minutes or until it is reduced to about 3 1/3 cups. Stir the sauce occasionally while it simmers. The sauce may be made one week in advance and kept covered and chilled in the refrigerator.
• Grill the chicken on an oiled rack, which has been set about 4 inches over the heat source, for 10 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is cooked through.
• Baste the chicken with some of the barbecue sauce, and grill it for 2 minutes more. Serve the chicken with the remaining sauce.

The maple flavoring in the barbecue sauce was so unexpected, but it was quite delicious. It might sound a little odd to some people, but if you like maple as much as I do, you’ll love this great chicken dish.

 

Chicken Recipes: Barbecued Apricot Chicken

When I found this recipe, I couldn’t wait to try it. The combination of a homemade barbecue sauce with apricot jam sounded intriguing. I thought it would be good and it was. The apricot jam gave the barbecue sauce a distinctive flavor—a bit on the sweet side, which may not appeal to a number of people, but it’s the way I prefer my barbecue sauce.

Barbecued Apricot Chicken

The only change I made to the recipe was that I didn’t parboil the chicken pieces before marinating as was suggested: I simply marinated the raw chicken in the sauce prior to grilling. As is my usual practice, I made extra marinade (for basting) so that I had some that had not been in contact with the raw chicken. As I have stated before, I never reuse marinade after it has been in contact with raw meat. I know that some of you are saying that when you brush the used marinade on the chicken, the heat of the grill will kill any harmful bacteria that may be in the marinade, but I still don’t risk it.

 

The author of this recipe, featured on GroupRecipes.com, states that this dish is a “tried and true recipe that promises to please your taste buds,” and I would certainly agree with that assessment. “Barbecued Apricot Chicken” is excellent, and I’m sure that you’ll agree.

 

Chicken Recipes: Beer Can Chicken

Beer can chicken recipes have been around for years. For my first attempt, I prepared it according to the instructions on RecipeTips.com (except I roasted it in the oven at 350ºF rather than cooking it on the grill as they suggested—the temperature outside, hovering just above freezing, wasn’t exactly ideal grilling weather). The idea is to use a can of beer to help support the chicken vertically as it roasts. The can of beer is popped open so that some of the beer evaporates during the roasting time, adding flavor and moistness to the meat.

Beer Can Chicken

This cooking technique makes me laugh. Whenever I look at this picture, I find humor in it. I mean, the sight of a headless chicken sitting upright on a can of beer strikes me as being funny, but then, it doesn’t take much to get me going.

In spite of the humorous aspects of this cooking technique, I was quite pleased with the results of this easy to prepare recipe. Indeed, the chicken was moist and tender, and Recipe Tips’ suggestion to use a simple barbecue rub and to place herbs and lemon under the skin, made the chicken quite tasty. I also stuffed an onion in the neck cavity to prevent moisture from escaping, and most important of all, I used two cans of beer for this recipe: one for the chicken and one for myself.

 

As I have said before, recipes don’t have to be sophisticated or difficult to prepare in order to be good. This one is so easy, and the results are fantastic! Use the link, Beer Can Chicken, to get this recipe and the cooking instructions.