A versatile summer sauce of roasted tomatillos and pumpkin seeds turns simple grilled shrimp into a complex and flavourful dish.
Treat your dad with a mouth-watering feast this Father's Day. Include one of our tasty chicken dishes or if your dad is a meat-loving kind of guy, make him the Herb-Crusted Steak featured here. End on a delicious note with a marvellous marble cake.
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Stuff Grilled Chicken
Ginger Chicken
Herb Crusted Steak
Tossed Green Salad
Grilled Potato Wedges
Rice and Peas
Red Marble Cake
See recipe
ONE INGENIOUS way of keeping boned chicken mouth-wateringly succulent is a moist, flavourful stuffing followed by searing, then slow-grilling over indirect heat. This treatment is successful with boneless breast halves or with a whole chicken that's been boned; it is not appropriate for bone-in meat.
SUCCESS TIPS:
To test a whole chicken (bone-in or boneless) for doneness, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh or leg meat (not the stuffing) should register 180 degrees.
Chicken breasts are considered done and safe to eat when the thickest part of the meat registers 170 degrees.
Stuffed Grilled Chicken
Chicken prepared this way is a pleasure to behold, carve and eat. Colourful roasted peppers and smoky sausage impart a sweet-spicy flavour while keeping the meat from drying out as it grills.
2 each red and yellow sweet peppers, roasted, seeded and peeled
1 whole boned chicken with skin intact (approximately 4 1/2 lb..), or 6 boneless chicken breast halves with skin intact
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp.. minced garlic
Salt, to taste
3/4 lb. smoked sausage (check out the deli section in your supermarket)
Oil, for grill
1 lemon, juiced (or 1/2 lime)
METHOD
1. Cut roasted red and yellow sweet peppers into 1/2-inch-wide strips, reserving any juices. Reserve and refrigerate peppers and any juices.
2. Rub skin of chicken thoroughly with olive oil and garlic. Lay chicken, skin side down, flat on work surface. Lightly salt interior; if the meat was not pounded at the market, use a mallet to pound and flatten the flesh for more even cooking and a pleasing appearance.
3. Cut each sausage in half or quarters lengthwise. Lay half of the sausage pieces lengthwise about 1/4 inch from the right edge of the neck-to-tail opening in the chicken and the other half of the sausage 1/4 inch from the left edge. (Cut sausage into shorter lengths if using chicken breast halves.)
4. Spread roasted peppers over inner surface of chicken.
5. Tightly roll chicken around the sausage and peppers so that the sides meet in the centre to form a roll. Tie chicken with kitchen string approximately every 2 inches. Cover and refrigerate until shortly before grilling time.
6. Prepare grill for indirect-heat method of cooking. When fire is ready, place chicken on lightly oiled grill rack directly over the coals. Sear on all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes total for boned whole chicken or 3 to 4 minutes for boneless breast halves. Place chicken over drip pan to cook over indirect heat. Close grill lid. Cook, turning occasionally and brushing chicken with some of the lemon juice after each turn, until a thermometer indicates meat is done and safe to eat (approximately 1 hour for whole boned chicken or approximately 30 to 45 minutes for boneless breast halves).
7. When meat tests done, transfer to platter, remove string and slice into 1-inch-thick pieces.
Serves 6.
Roasted Peppers
Roasted peppers add piquancy and colour to stuffings, salads, sauces, vegetable dishes, pasta and pizza. In addition to charring the pepper skin so that it can be separated from the flesh, grilling enhances the pepper's flavour. If desired, the peppers can be charred by cooking them in a 500-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or placing them over the flame of a gas burner until blackened. However you cook the peppers, protect your hands by wearing oven mitts and using long tongs to handle the peppers.
4 sweet peppers
2 tbs. olive oil
Oil, for grill
Method
1. Cut out stems without splitting peppers. Remove seeds; rinse peppers inside and out. Lightly coat peppers with olive oil.
2. To grill: Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking. When fire is hot, place peppers on lightly oiled grill over direct flame, turning often to lightly char exterior of peppers.
3. When peppers are uniformly charred (approximately 3 to 5 minutes, depending on temperature of fire), remove peppers from grill and place in a heavy-duty paper bag. Close bag tightly and let peppers steam for 10 minutes inside the bag.
4. Open bag and empty peppers onto cutting board. To peel peppers, allow them to cool enough to handle, at which point the charred skin should peel off easily. Remove any large areas of peel that stick by scraping with a knife; it is not necessary to remove every bit of skin. Discard charred skin. If not using at once, store in a covered jar in the refrigerator.
Makes about 1 cup roasted peppers.
CAPTION: A char-grilled boneless chicken stuffed with sweet peppers and spicy sausage slices beautifully for serving.
CREDIT: Lifestyle Media Group)
Ginger Chicken
Be sure to wash the ginger root in this recipe because it is added, unpeeled, to the dish for flavour, but it is not eaten. A wok is perfect for the preparation.
Marinade:
1 tbs. cornstarch
1 tbs. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tsp. regular soy sauce
1 tsp. dark soy sauce
Chicken:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tbs. vegetable oil
1/3 cup thickly sliced ginger
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
2 tsp. sliced pickled ginger (for garnishing)
To make your own Pickled Ginger
1 lb. unpeeled ginger. Rinse and pat dry, put in a bowl and coat with a heaping tablespoon of salt and leave for 24 hours.
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups rice vinegar
1 cup, less 2 tbs. water
Dissolve sugar in rice vinegar and water. Put into a resealable glass jar.
Rinse the salt off the ginger and pat dry. Put ginger into vinegar/sugar solution. Close jar and refrigerate at least a week.
METHOD
1. To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the chicken and stir to coat evenly. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Place a stir-fry pan over high heat until hot. Add the oil, swirling to coat the sides. Add the fresh ginger and cook, stirring, until the ginger is crispy and the oil is infused with its flavour, about 1 1/2 minutes.
3. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it is no longer pink in the centre, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the broth and pineapple and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens slightly, about 20 seconds.
4. Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with the pickled ginger, and serve.
Makes 4 servings.
