Real Women Grill

In the July 2011 issue of Bon Appetite, I came across an article that I found to be rather strange. Long Story short, the female author was extremely terrified of her unassuming grill in her backyard and she felt that grilling was a man’s domain. It’s not clear on when or how women were banned from cooking food outside over an open fire. I was constantly surrounded by strong independent women growing up and I’ve only seen two women utilize a grill in my lifetime. I guess that means there is some truth to the stereotype.

I learned to grill last summer and I love it so much, that in brief moments of insanity, I actually considered going outside in the middle of January to fire up the grill. However, I will be honest, my first attempt at grilling chicken came out looking something like this:

As with all cooking techniques, I mastered my grilling techniques with the assistance of cookbooks, the Internet, and indirect heat. Here are my 2 favorite recipes for the grill:

Dry Rub(Can be Used on Chicken or Baby Back Ribs)
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp. Black Pepper
1 Tbsp. Kosher Salt
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Ancho Chile Pepper (McCormick Gourmet Collection)
1 tsp. Smoked Paprika or Paprika
2-4 Tbsp. packed brown sugar

Ingredients:

Chicken quarters and split chicken breasts
Juice of half a lime
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Entirely coat chicken with dry rub, then place chicken, olive oil, and lime juice in a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours to marinate. Turn on half of the gas grill burners to medium-high heat and brush grates with vegetable oil. Place chicken on the grill, skin side down for 5-8 minutes. Turn the chicken skin side up and cook for an additional 5-8 minutes. Then remove the chicken from the direct heat and place on the other side of the grill and close the cover. Cook for additional 20-40 minutes using indirect heat (cooking time depends on the size of the chicken pieces). When the chicken is almost done brush on your favorite BBQ sauce. If you don’t own a cooking a thermometer, I suggest that you invest in one, as it will prevent you from poisoning dinner guests and yourself. The chicken is done once your thermometer reads at 165 ° and it should look something like this:

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Salmon

1 skin on, Salmon filet, 1-1/2-2 pounds
Olive Oil
Badia Blackened Red Fish Seasoning
Juice of ½ a lemon
4-8 Tbsp of packed brown sugar

Coat salmon with brown sugar and Red Fish seasoning, then squeeze over lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil. Place salmon on heavy duty aluminum foil or cedar plank.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Place fish directly over heat. Grill until the thickest part of the salmon reaches an internal temperature of 131° on the thermometer. Remove the salmon from the oven and allow to rest, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes.