Quick and Easy BBQ Chicken

Marinade Ingredients:

• Stirred Yogurt
• Pepper
• Salt
• Mustard Powder
• Coriander Leaves  
• Chillie Powder 
• Worcestershire Sauce

Glaze Ingredients (1):

• Margarine/Butter
• Lemon/Limes

Glaze Ingredients (2):

• Coconut Treacle  
• Brandy  (Ritz)

Method:

The choice of cut for this or any BBQ chicken in my opinion would be back quarters. the reason being that meat on the bone tastes and feels good and also helps the chicken to stay moist. and make sure to buy it with the skin intact unless you have a medical reason to avoid the skin.

Wash the chicken and let it drain. Pat the meat dry with tissues. this is an essential step as it will make the chicken drink up the marinade more eagerly and will also not dilute the marinade before it can cure the meat.

Mix all the marinade ingredients together except the leaves in a large bowl. the quantities should be determined by your palette. However the base of the marinade is the yogurt as I wanted the end product to be tender and succulent.  yogurt cures as well as conditions the meat and makes a excellent medium for the chicken to dwell in while easing the marinade in to the back quarters. Leave the chicken to season overnight.and turn the chicken over in the marinading container twice at minimum.

Prepare the two glazes prior to starting the coals. Heat the butter/margarine and once the butter is fully melted add the lemon or lime. A bit of extra citrus is fine to go by since the marinade lacks any sourness to it. And hence this glaze counters the other flavors on the fly.

Add the treacle to a separate heat proof container and heat it in a bath of hot water. Once the treacle is warmed to a considerable amount (do not heat it in direct heat nor boil it) add the brandy. Again the amounts should be justified by the preference of taste. This is the marinade which would make the meat look good and will add that special touch of stickiness and richness to the meat. Additionally it will also give the skin around the meat a sweet tartness which i found to be quite mind-blowing.

Start the coals and make sure that there are no actual flames rising out of the coals. Place the meat on the grid in batches. Glazing should be started with the butter-lemon and should be finished with the treacle mixture.

It is also vitally important to rest the meat a long as they have been cooked to allow the meat to absorb the juices and the glaze in to the core of the meat. Yes, cold meat tastes better than burning hot chunks of meat! Do not follow the trend!

Relatively Quick Chicken Stock

Relatively Quick Chicken Stock

Chicken Stock is the basis of many other delicious dishes. It can be used as a base for soups, sauces and even to cook other meats! However the moment the word chicken stock (or for that reason any other stock) is heard the immediate thought is hours and hours of boiling. While this is not undoubtedly the best and old school way of doing it what would you do if you need a chicken stock ASAP!? Here is the solution.

This method basically kick-starts the chicken to yield it's creamy goodness and then sustains the process until the desired level quality of the stock is reached. However please note that this is not a full substitute to the old school method and the traditional method of boiling the meet bones for hours (5 hours minimum) makes the best of the stocks.

Ingredients:

• Raw chicken [necks, wings (lesser the better but a few of them would be nice), backbones]
• A few cloves of garlic, peeled and mashed once per clove with the flat side of the knife.
• A few storks of celery (you can add any other vegetable to like as well).
• Couple teaspoons of butter
• Dash of olive oil

Method:
Heat the butter and olive oil in the pan you wish to prepare the stock. Saute the garlic and chopped celery in the melted and heated butter. Remember that the pan has to be on high heat for this step. Once the garlic is half done add the chicken bones and celery. The chicken will start to give away it's juices directly in to the pan. Once this occurs (usually after about 4-8 minutes of sauteing) pour boiling (yes boiling not just hot) water and reduce the heat to medium or low. The lower the heat and slower the cook time the better the stock gets.

Cover the pot and let is boil for a minimum of 30 minutes. Then open the lid and let is boil for 3 minutes more on low or medium heat. For the final 30 minutes increase the heat to reduce the stock to the desired thickness.

Remove the meat bones while the stock is still piping hot and strain the broth. Once this is done strain the stock using paper towels to remove the excess fat. Stock has to be free of fat as the fat spoils the taste and texture.

Now off you go with your recipe waiting for the chicken stock!