Friday, April 19, 2013

Fiery Grilled Chicken Wraps

Do you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of a photo shoot for a cookbook?


I got to find out myself this past weekend when I was fortunate enough to participate in the shoot for Chris Lilly's newest cookbook.

Chris is a restauranteur and multiple time BBQ World Champion. Chris also wrote one of my favorite cook books, BigBob Gibson's BBQ Book.  Even if you don't BBQ and/or grill much, you probably still know him from his numerous television appearances on BBQ shows (Best In Smoke, Kingsford Invitational, BBQ Pitmasters, etc). 

I can't go into detail about recipes or show any plated shots.  Per a confidentiality agreement, if I divulge any sensitive information prior to the book's release, Mr. Lilly will confiscate our Big Green Eggs and include a declaration in his new book that I boil my ribs, use a crock pot for my pulled pork, and am a closet vegetarian.  

That being said, here are the bullet points
  • Chris assembled an amazing production team.  I thought my photography and food styling was getting “good” but after seeing them work, I realize I have only gotten “better” and have a ways to go. It was humbling and inspiring!
  • NOTHING is by accident or chance, every detail is planned, developed and photographed, down to how a piece of slaw drapes across a taco.
  • When accidents DO happen (despite previous statement), there is always a plan B, C, and D.
  • It takes a lot of work, smoke, and mirrors to make things look easy, natural and not posed.   
  • We were always working on 2-3 recipes in varying stages at the same time.  
  • Despite scheduling, the pace is hectic.  It was rush, rush, rush, wait, rush, wait, wait, rush. 
  • I lost track of how much Kingsford charcoal we used, but it was a lot and all we used. 
  • Chris has a great support system of family and friends that were johnny on the spot for anything needed.
Chris grilling a tuna dish.

The brown butter sauce smelled "to die for" on this trout dish.

This grill is Chris' Komodo cooker, a gorgeous and well designed kamado like my Eggs.

Ken making his paella on the grill.

Chris checking on some rednecked panini (not the real name).
For two days, I helped out any way I could.   We used five grills so I was getting the next one fired up and set up in advance for Chris.  I helped Ken Hess prep anything he needed from veggies to shrimp.  I cooked garnishes and mixed marinades/rubs as needed.  Hold a scrim up, find needed tools, and basically anything they needed an extra hand for, I did. 

During downtime, I carefully watched Ben Fink, Jeff Cavanaugh, and Pam Lolley work their voodoo on food styling and photography.  I took mental notes of what they did, especially the little things because everything was done with purpose.  I learned a lot but here are my takeaways:
  • Food styling - use more props but do so in layers, vertically and horizontally.  Focus on how props complement or contrast.  Use the props to tell the story.  Discover new settings around the house, quit using the same location. 
  • Photography - start using a card shot and then apply those white balance settings to the actual shot.  Learn to shoot tethered to a laptop with Lightroom.  Keep practicing. Get a camera set up like Ben's the next time I have an extra $20 grand or so laying around. 
I owe a ton of gratitude to Chris for allowing me to be a small part of their team for a few days.   What I can tell you about the recipes is that they were all impressive and several were "the best I've had in years".  This cookbook is going to be as good as his first book.  You will want a copy when it comes out next year, I promise you that.

Okay, back to the grill.   Alexis and I came up with this marinade standing in the produce department.

The base of the marinade is roasted habanero chiles for heat and juice from cara cara oranges to complement the citrus notes of habanero and corriander.  Cara cara oranges are very sweet.  You can substitute blood oranges if you can't find cara cara oranges.  The homemade, fire roasted salsa verde and ranch make a smoky difference but I guess you could use the jarred stuff if you HAD to. 


Fiery Grilled Chicken Wraps
by www.nibblemethis.com
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Ingredients (6 wraps)
You'll need
  • 2 lbs chicken cutlets
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tomato, thin sliced
  • 6 leaves green leaf lettuce
  • 3/4 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 cup fire roasted salsa verde
  • 1/2 cup fire roasted chile ranch dressing [RECIPE]
  • 6 mission style sun dried tortilla wraps
For the marinade
  • 1/2 cup juice from cara cara oranges (about 2 oranges)
  • 1/2 ea white onion, peeled and diced
  • 2 ea habanero chile, charred, seeded, and diced
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 tsp dried coriander
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp dried Mexican oregano
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 2/3 cup canola oil
Instructions
  1. Whisk together marinade ingredients. Place chicken cutlets in a Glad zip top bag, cover with marinade, seal and refrigerate for 4 hours.
  2. Preheat a charcoal grill to high. Remove cutlets from marinade. Season with salt and pepper to taste and grill until the internal temperature reaches 160f, about 2-4 minutes per side (depending on the thickness of your cutlets). Remove and slice into thin strips.
  3. On each wrap, place 1 lettuce leaf, thin sliced tomato, one fourth of the chicken, and cheese. Top with a heaping tablespoon of the salsa verde and a tablespoon of the chile ranch dressing. Roll up burrito style (roll bottom third up, covering the filling, then tuck in the sides, and then continue rolling up into a cylinder).
  4. Slice each wrap in half and serve with extra ranch and salsa verde as desired.
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2 chiles was moderate heat, I'd go with 3 for a bit more kick.
TIP:  Habaneros are small and a pain to char stove top because you can set them on a gas burner like you can a larger bell or poblano chile.  A grilling basket over the burner makes it easy.


The salsa verde I do is roughly 1.5 pounds peeled tomatillo, 2 jalapenos, 1/2 white onion, 2 green onion, 1 habanero and 3 cloves garlic.  Char it all for about 5 minutes, turning until all sides black.  De-seed and peel the chiles.  Chop it all up in a blender, season with salt, cumin, and pepper and then simmer until thickened.
 



Much better than jarred sauce.

The cutlets are thin, so you need to cook them hot and fast.

Perfect for a summer dinner.
TL;DR -  Hung out at cookbook photo shoot.  Chicken wrap, yo!