Recipe Notes: Grilled Chicken Thighs

22 July 2018

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, July 2018

Last summer I tried a recipe for grilled chicken drumsticks that worked very well. This year, Cook's Illustrated featured a version of the recipe customized for chicken thighs. We probably eat thighs more often than any other part of the chicken and having an easy recipe for grilling chicken thighs would be a good thing to add to our repertoire.

The chicken is coated with a flavorful paste before it is grilled. The magazine included recipes for a mustard-tarragon paste and a gochujang (Korean red chili) paste; the web site had a Garam Masala paste. I chose the mustard-tarragon paste which is made by mixing together Dijon mustard, garlic, lemon zest, minced fresh tarragon, salt, water, and pepper. The bone-in chicken thighs were trimmed of excess fat and skin, then smeared with the mustard-tarragon paste, more on the flesh side than the skin side. It was refrigerated while the grill was heated and cleaned. The chicken was cooked on the cool side of the grill (only some of the burners were left on) to an internal temperature of 185°. Instead of the 40 minutes indicated by the recipe, this took 60-70 minutes on our grill.  The chicken was then moved to the hot side of the grill to brown the exterior. Total time was a little over 2 hours.

The chicken was tender and moist, though not juicy, and held up well as a leftover. It may have been a little overdone. I didn't have anything in my notes about the flavor from the paste so it must not have been a highlight for us. While this is a simple method for preparing grilled chicken, I think last year's recipe for drumsticks provided a better chicken. Thus when we have a hankering for grilled chicken, I think that is the recipe that we will be more likely to use. It was faster, the portion size was fine, and the meat was more evenly cooked.

Recipe Notes: Moroccan Lentil and Chickpea Soup

25 June 2018

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, March 2018

Soup is an odd thing to make for summer. I was a little surprised to see it in the Spring edition ofCook's Illustrated. However, I really like homemade soup and I made another North African lentil soup recently that we enjoyed very much. So even though soup is more comforting in the cooler months, I made this soup for a summer meal. Many summer meals, as it turned out,  as the recipe makes a lot of soup.

I made a few changes to the recipe. I didn't have quite as much fresh cilantro as the recipe called for so I increased the amount of fresh parsley to compensate. I couldn't find brown lentils in the supermarket so I used green. Finally, I omitted the grated fresh ginger; several recipes with ginger that we tried recently were too spicy for our taste. Making the soup involves a fair amount of prep work, the ingredient list is pretty long but with nothing exotic. Once the prep work is done it all comes together quickly and easily. Diced onion and celery were cooked in oil. Minced garlic was added followed by the spices: coriander, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and pepper flakes. This mixture was cooked for a minute to bloom the spices, then minced fresh cilantro and parsley were added. Chicken broth, water, chickpeas, and lentils were added and the mixture simmered for 20 minutes. Canned crushed tomatoes and orzo were stirred in to the soup. After a short period of simmering, chopped Swiss chard was added and cooked briefly. The soup was finished, off heat, with lemon juice, cilantro, and parsley. Total time to make the soup was just 90 minutes, much of which is hands off.

The verdict: another really good soup! It is very hearty from the lentils, chickpeas, and pasta. The spices provide warmth while the tomatoes add some acidity and fruity notes. The soup keeps very well and is just as good, if not better, as a leftover. It thickens and almost has the consistency of a stew. It was not spicy so it should be OK to include the grated ginger. As a bonus the soup is easily made vegan by substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth. I look forward to making this soup again as a comforting Winter meal.