Stir-Fired Cajun Chicken Pasta

This is what happens when you get culinarily bored.  I combined a Cajun chicken recipe with stir-frying techniques (aka stir firing on the grill) to come up with this creamy and delicious Stir Fried Cajun Chicken Pasta.

I started with this Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe from BigOven as a jumping off place and changed the ingredients for my preferences or what I had in supply.  I decided on stir-frying because the ingredients suit that style of cooking and stir-frying on the grill is fun.

Remember that stir-frying happens at a frenetic pace.  Mise en place* is especially important with this "blink and it's done" type of cooking.  This includes the tools you will need, in this case, grill mitts, wooden spatulas, and maybe a set of tongs.  

Stir Fried Cajun Pasta

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, sliced stir-fry style
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (divided)  I used my NMT Cajun Beef Rub recipe
• 1.5 teaspoons Kosher salt (divided)
• 2-3 tablespoons peanut or other high temp cooking oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned 
• 1 poblano chile, julienned 
• 1 sweet onion, julienned 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
• 1 lb rotini pasta, cooked according to directions
• Slurry made of 1 tablespoon cold water and half tablespoon or cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
• Parmesan or Pecorino-Romano cheese finely grated for garnish

Instructions

Smoked Turkey Breast with Bourbon Orange Glaze on a Grilla Pellet Cooker

[FTC Standard Disclaimer]  This is not a compensated post; however, I did receive my Grilla pellet grill as thank you for competing on Grilla's Pro Team at Memphis In May.

Alexis was craving good turkey for lunch meat so we smoked a turkey breast last weekend just for slicing.  It is also good to get some practice in before Thanksgiving, right? 

I opted to use my Grilla pellet cooker for a couple of reasons.  First, I like the color that it builds up on food.  Second and probably more importantly, I was juggling tasks and wanted the ease and reliability of using a pellet cooker.  

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken - A Grilling Classic

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] This is not a sponsored post; however, some Char-Broil products are shown and they are a sponsor. 

There are certain grilling recipes that everyone has done, right?  Several come to mind.

• Chicken parts marinated in Italian dressing
• Burgers stuffed with more add ins than meatloaf
• Steaks marinated in a red wine, olive oil, and soy sauce concoction

Grilled teriyaki chicken is one of those, I think.  Who hasn't marinated chicken with a bottled teriyaki sauce? Here's how we do ours.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken 

Servings: 4 servings

Smoked Chicken Salad - Lower Calorie Version

We're trying to eat a little better at our house with 3 different goals.

• One of us is trying to eat more heart healthy.
• One of us is trying to eat to lose weight.
• One of us is trying to eat high protein, low fat for athletic training.

Hint....the last one is neither Alexis nor I! 

We love chicken salad but our usual recipe for that does not exactly fit any of those three categories. Most of the fat comes from mayonnaise so we cut the fat by using a blend of light mayonnaise and non-fat Greek yogurt instead.  The light mayo alone could cut about half of the fat from regular mayo.  But by mixing in the non-fat Greek yogurt and light mayo, we cut about 310 calories from fat compared to the chicken salad made with regular mayo.  

I'm good with that.

Lighter Smoked Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped smoked chicken
• 1/2 cup diced sweet onion
• 1/4 cup diced celery
• 1 ounce Dukes Mayonnaise Light
• 1 ounce non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon juice from grilled lemon
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flake

Instruction

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse several times until you get the texture that you like.  
2. Eat it.  That's it.

John and I were smoking a bunch of pork butts and beef ribs on the Deep South Smokers GC36.  Since we already had it running, we threw some chicken in there too.  We love how this thing cooks.

For chicken salad, we smoked a blend of bone in split breasts and bone in thighs.  After smoking, we pull off the skin and pull the chicken into chunks like this.  

Ready to make our chicken salad.  The red pepper flake was added later after we tasted.  It just gave the chicken salad that pop it needed.

If our figures are correct, this works out to about 128 calories per half cup serving.  

Brown Sugar and Beer Brined Wings

College basketball is heating up and the bowl season for college football is going to be kicking off shortly.  These Brown Sugar and Beer Brined Wings give you something different from the usual buffalo style wings.  They are ideal for folks who want more sweet than heat in their game day wings.

I created these wings as part of my sponsorship package with Char-Broil and cooked them on my Char-Broil Kettleman grill. I've cooked on this specific grill for 2 years and it is still holding up to all of my abuse.  The Kettleman is inexpensive ($149), light in weight making it a great portable grill, and it has proven itself to me.  I have about 17 grills that make appearances on my deck but this is one that stays out there year round.

Here is the full recipe for Brown Sugar and Beer Brined Wings.

Chicken Lollipops or Frenched Chicken Drumsticks

The humble chicken leg doesn't get much attention. That's funny because when we were kids, a drumstick was usually a preferred option.  I think that's mainly because kids love food with a handle. Frenching a chicken leg is a great way to elevate the chicken leg to something a little edgy, like a food truck might serve.  It might be adult food but the kid in you will still love the handle.

Frenching is a technique where tissues are cut away, exposing the bone for a fancier presentation. Usually it is simply for appearance sake, as with pork, veal or lamb chops.  But frenching a chicken leg is more than just an appearance treatment.  When you french a chicken leg, you are also removing tendons and compacting the meat, making a more juicy and enjoyable bite.

I first learned this technique from Danielle Bennett, aka DivaQ.  DivaQ is one of my biggest influences along with Chris Lilly and Adam Perry Lang.  She has coached me not only on BBQ but also social media and building a personal brand.  Plus, she has more freaking energy and determination of anyone I have ever worked with.  Anyway, she came out with a great book this year and she has a recipe for Chicken Lollipops in it, you should check it out.  [My review of her book]

I used Malcolm Reed's technique for trimming the chicken lollipops.  

You will need a good pair of kitchen sheers and a sharp knife.  A tool that I figured out is incredibly helpful for trimming the tendons is a pair of locking forceps.  I think I got this pair from a unused suture removal kit that I got after a surgery.  You can buy them at hobby stores or online for just a few bucks. 

One tip from me - make two passes around with your knife. You'll cut through the meat and skin rather easily but those tendons are tough, slippery, and have a way of hiding in the grooves.

Trying to hold onto the tendons for snipping with the scissors was frustrating until I figured out to use the forceps.  It holds those slippery things securely and then I lift the leg by that tendon, making it easier to snip with the scissors. No more chasing tendons as they slip out of my grip while trying to snip. Great "light bulb" moment for me.

All lined up and ready to go.

Seasonings:  The first batch this weekend was a base coat of my poultry rub and then a coat of Meat Church Honey Hog.  That came across as a touch too salty (not bad, but on the edge) so the second batch was Honey Hog by itself. 

This is one of the Honey Hog only legs.  You can visibly see why I love this as a general purpose BBQ rub.  

This cook was on one of our large Big Green Egg's indirect at 375°f until it they hit an internal temp of around 165°f.  Then it's time to sauce and go back on.

I made a honey-bourbon-roasted garlic BBQ sauce using DivaQ's Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce from her book.  I subbed our roasted garlic for garlic. I added 1/2 cup of local honey, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, and 2 tablespoons of single batch bourbon.

Dipping the chicken instead of brushing it on is a trick from competition BBQ. 

Legs and thighs should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 175°f.  I like going to 180°f for legs - they can handle it and still be succulent.  My favorite instant read thermometer is my Thermapen.  Yeah, I still use versions 1 and 2 and they are dated (2 newer models out) but I think that's a testament to how well these things are built.  I don't HAVE to buy a new one every time they update their models. [FTC Disclaimer: No compensation for that statement and I am not an affiliate seller of Thermoworks products, just my opinion.]

If I was doing a food truck menu, this would probably be on there.  Chicken lollys and corn on the cob.

These were fantastic.  It had that old school, Southern BBQ chicken flavor with a fancier presentation and a bolder, modern taste.

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] I received no compensation for this post.  

Sriracha Orange Sauce for Grilling, Stir Fry, and More

It has been Sriracha sauce week this week (March 7-13).  I'm sorry I didn't get you a greeting card but I got you this delicious grilling, stir fry, and more sauce instead.

For the Sriracha sauce, we just used the popular Rooster sauce by Huy Fong.  You can see that trademark red bottle and green cap in the background.

I was instantly inspired for this sauce at breakfast a few weeks ago.  It's All So Yummy Cafe in Knoxville is our favorite locally owned sandwich, soup, and ice cream place.  Their grilled sandwiches are amazingly good, their soups made from scratch, and their ice cream flavors are creative.  A few weeks ago they started opening for breakfast and Alexis got the Big Orange Stacker.

The Big Orange Stacker from It's All So Yummy Cafe.  They are open for breakfast on Saturdays now.  If you're in Knoxville, check them out.

It's a tower of homemade buttermilk biscuits, avocado, swiss cheese, fresh tomatoes, fried egg, crisp bacon, and an orange sriracha sauce.  I reached over to her plate and dabbed my pinky into the sauce for a little taste.  Damn, I never knew my pinky finger tasted so good. I came home and whipped up this version of the sauce that afternoon.

This sauce is powerful with bold sweetness, a sharp citrus twang, and the mild complex heat of Sriracha.  This sauce is fantastic brushed onto grilled chicken or shrimp in the last few minutes of cooking.  I think it would work on pork tenderloins or BBQ ribs for something different.  It is dynamite mixed with a little soy sauce and tossed with stir fried chicken for Orange Chicken.  I even used it to make a bright citrus vinaigrette.  

We have tried 5 different brands of orange marmalade for this, from Smucker's off of the shelf to small batch versions that have to be mail ordered.  For off of the shelf, Smucker's worked better than the more expensive gourmet brands at the store.  But the hands down winner for this recipe was Sarabeth's Blood Orange Marmalade.  It has a much more organic texture, you can actually pour it, compared to pretty much all of the rest that are gelatinous marmalades that you have to spoon out of the jar.  The major difference was taste, the sweetness seems more natural from the oranges than added sugar.  

Our preferred marmalade after trying several.

I couldn't wait to try it so I grilled a couple of chicken breasts on the BGE Mini-Max kamado grill.  It was excellent, exactly what I was looking for. 

This past weekend was gorgeous and Springlike, so I rolled out the Kettleman grill to do some "old school" grilling like when I first started barbecuing.  

A kamado grill is my preferred weapon of choice so people are sometimes curious why I use different grills, if the kamado grill is really that good.  In business there's a saying that if the only tool in your toolbag is a hammer, you treat every opportunity as a nail.  Same with grilling, I like to use a variety of grills because:

1. it challenges my skill set,
2. it helps me keep an open mind,
3. it helps me connect better with my audience - only about half are kamado users, the rest are using kettles, gas grills, and such, 
4. and most importantly, sometimes I just feel like it.  

Sponsorships?  Sure, it's nice to have them but I have used a variety of grills (Brinkman SnP, Brinkmann Professional Charcoal Grill, Smoke Hollow gas/coal combo unit, and more) since the start of this blog and long before sponsorships were rolling in.  

I used about 1/2 chimney of briquettes.

I made a simple rub of 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 tablespoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt, 1 teaspoon granulated garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley.

I spritzed 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves with spray butter and then seasoned them with the rub.  The butter acts as a binder for the rub but also oils the meat to help prevent sticking and get a nice crust.

I arranged the coals in a single layer and left room for an indirect area.

My target for grilling chicken breasts, whether grilling on a kamado or kettle, is in the 350-400°F.

If I'm doing thick breasts (not butterflied), I typically do about 6 minutes per side directly over the hot coals.

 

After 12 total minutes, I brush them with the sauce on both sides and then shift the chicken to the indirect area that is not directly over the coals.  I close the grill lid and let them finish cooking until they hit an internal temp of 160°f.  That's usually about 10 minutes.

The indirect heat bakes the sauce on without burning it.

Since we were putting this chicken on salads, I let them sit for 15 minutes or the hot meat would wilt the lettuce and veggies.

We had sauce leftover so I decided to whisk up a vinaigrette for our salad with the sauce.

Sriracha Orange Vinaigrette

1/3 cup Sriracha Orange Sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce

2/3 cup olive oil

Mix together the sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and Sriracha.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking vigorously.  Or briskly.  Whatever your whisking style is, just do it fast and the oil slow.

We put together a salad of mixed greens and Swiss chard, onions, avocado, Mandarin orange segments, homemade bacon, and rice noodles.  Then we sliced the chicken breast and topped that with the vinaigrette.

I still call this bunny rabbit food, but it's damn good bunny rabbit food!  

Sriracha Wings

Speaking of Sriracha Week, our friends Brian and Marilyn at Hot Sauce Daily posted this recipe post for Garlic Sriracha Chicken Wings based on one of our favorite wing recipes by Michael Symon. Click on over there to check it out.

Sriracha....BEER?

Also, did you know that there is a Sriracha beer?  Rouge Ale and Spirits has brought to market a Sriracha flavored stout beer.  The tell-tale rooster and green cap are a nod to Huy Fong's brand of Sriracha sauce.

I like beer but I'm not sure that this one is for me.  I mean I'd try one if you had it in your fridge but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one.  How about you - would you try it?

Happy Sriracha Week!  Errrr....well there's only 2 days left.  Happy Sriracha Weekend! 

[FTC Standard Disclaimer]  I received no compensation for this post.  We paid full price for the Sarabeth marmalade and Rooster sauce.  I bought the BGE Mini-Max.  I got the Char-Broil Kettleman as part of my sponsorship package last year.  I have no affiliation with Huy Fong or Rogue Ale.

Spring is knocking at the door but Winter isn't gone just yet. Technically Ol Man Winter has a few weeks left and he can still throw a last punch or two on his way out.  Remember that the Blizzard of '93 hit in mid-March.  

So in case you get another cold snap or two, here is a fantastic chowder that we've made a few times this winter.  It's creamy, hearty, and brimming with flavor.  It's not really a true chowder since I don't use a roux but the end result is worthy of the name.  

If you aren't up to grilling a chicken or making the veggies, you can do a cheating version.  You can use a rotisserie chicken instead and use 2 cans of Mexi-corn (corn with chiles) in place of the fresh veggies.  If you do this, cut out all salt until tasting at the end because the processed stuff contains more salt. 

Southwestern Chicken and Charred Corn Chowder

Published 03/07/2016

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, spatchcocked (see notes)
• Southwestern Seasoning
• Seasoning Salt
• 1 poblano chile
• 1 red bell pepper
• 4 ears yellow corn, shucked and silks removed
• 1 can yellow corn kernels, drained
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 3/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper or black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ancho chile pepper
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 2 slices pepper jack cheese
• 2 slices mild cheddar cheese
• salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon)

Instructions

1. Preheat your grill to 350°f and set it up for "raised direct" or grilling on an elevated rack. 
2. Spritz the chicken lightly with spray butter or oil and then season the chicken liberally on the front and back with the Southwestern seasoning and seasoning salt.  
3. Place the chicken skin side up on the raised grill grate, close the lid, and cook until the chicken reaches 160°f in the breasts and 175-180°f in the thighs.  On the kamado this consistently runs right at 1 hour.  Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Remove meat from skin and bones and tear into bite sized pieces.
4. Meanwhile fire roast, peel, and chop the chiles.
5. Grill the corn until slightly charred on each side, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side.  Remove from the grill and slice the kernels off of the cobs.
6. Place the 2 cups of chicken meat, chiles, fresh corn, can corn, soup, stock, seasoned pepper, salt (start light, about 1 teaspoon), and cream cheese in a thick bottomed, grill safe pot or Dutch oven.  Place pot on the main grate of the 350°f grill, close the lid, and allow to cook for an hour once it comes to a simmer.  NOTE:  I cover it covered until it has simmered for about 45 minutes.
7. Add the sliced cheeses, stirring them in until melted.  Taste for final seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.   

Yield: 6

Firing up the Grill Dome using a MAPpro gas torch - my preferred way of starting up a kamado grill.  I just hit 3 spots around the edges for 20 full seconds each. Other methods include starter cubes, an oiled paper towel "wick", electric starter, weed burner, Looftlighter, and alcohol.  I prefer the torch because I think it's faster and more consistent. Plus dodging the popping coal bits keeps my ninja skills in shape.

To spatchcock a chicken, use kitchen sheers to cut out the backbone (save it for stock).  Flip the bird over and forcibly push down with the heel of your hand on the sternum.  You should hear the ribs crack.  If you are too squeamish, you can ask a full service butcher to do it for you.  

The advantage to a spatchcocked chicken is that it cooks quicker and more evenly because it is flattened out.  In my opinion it's a much more reliable method than "beer can chicken".  

Notice the wings, I fold the wing tips back behind the shoulder like this.  This keeps the wings tucked in so they don't cook too fast compared to the rest of the bird.  

The raised direct technique on a Grill Dome kamado grill.  This does a few things. First, it gets you away from the most intense heat of the coals below, allowing you to cook it through without ever having to flip the chicken.  Second, it puts the chicken closer to the reflective heat of the ceramic dome, giving even cooking and crispy skin.

While that was cooking, I fired up the BGE Mini-Max to grill my veggies.  I could do that on the same grill once the chicken was done but if you have lots of grills, you might as well use more than one at a time, right?

Technically this is grilling, not roasting, but whatever.  I love the smell of fire cooked veggies.

Don't be shy, you almost can't get chile peppers TOO charred.  You want it black.

I didn't use any wood in the coals, but you could if you like.  The smoke here is just rendered fat dropping onto the red hot coals below where the drippings pretty much vaporize.  That's another advantage of the raised direct technique, any flare ups won't burn the chicken. 

That is a pretty chicken, isn't it?  I could have just quit cooking here, I wanted to just eat this right on the cutting board.

Brightly colored foods, in general, are supposed to be good for you, right?  Flavorful too.

I cook it covered at first because a lidded pot gets the chowder up to a simmer quicker, keeps the liquid from evaporating, and keeps it from getting too smoky.  Sidenote:  I've had this bean pot for 5 or 6 years but this is the first time I have ever noticed that it was made in "RANCE".

Once it has cooked for a while, I take the lid off and cook it until it gets to the texture I want.  Now the liquid will evaporate off and the chowder will start to thicken.

This is our favorite new soup/stew/chowder from this Winter.

We came up with the idea of making some blue cornbread mini-waffles for a topping.  But you could use anything you like - croutons, onions, black beans, cilantro, cheese, Mexican crema, etc.

This reheats very well so you can make it ahead of time, making it convenient for fast weeknight dinners.

[Standard FTC Disclaimer]  I received no compensation for this post.