Barbecue Chicken and Turkey

Chicken, turkey, duck and other fowl are at their best when barbecued. The smoky flavor penetrated the delicate meat in a way that most people find pleasant. In fact, inexpensive poultry is so good barbecued, that it is the first choice of outdoor cooking with many outdoor chefs. The covered grill (brazier) makes the job almost foolproof. Proceed as follows: 1. Move all of the coals to one side of the unit, and place your whole poultry or parts on the other side of the grill. Open your vents wide, add a handful of wood chips and close the lid. 2. In 15 minutes, baste the top side, add a few more chips and close the lid. 3. In 15 more minutes, baste the top again, turn the pieces over and baste the other side and close the lid. 4. In 30 more minutes, the meat should be done, and should be nicely browned. If it is not brown enough to suit you, move the pieces over the coals and brown them quickly on each side. If you have a meat thermometer, now is the time to check the temperature. 165-180 is best for poultry. If you do not have a meat thermometer (get one!), cut the poultry in the middle or next to a large bone. Check for doneness, you do not want to see pink meat or blood. If undone, move poultry back to the side of the grill that does not have coals under it. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes on each side. Return to coals and quickly brown 1-2 minutes each side. Check again for doneness. If you seem to have problems, return the poultry back to the non-coal side of the grill and repeat steps above but check often as the poultry will dry out. If you do not have a covered grill, or you are cooking over an open fire pit, simply brown both sides of the poultry about 4” above the coals. Raise the grill and cook for about 25 minutes turning and basting frequently until done. Large birds can be cooked whole either stuffed or unstuffy, in the same way, either on a rotisserie or without one in the covered grill. In an uncovered grill, large birds must be cooked on the rotisserie, in which case, you cook them the same way you barbecue roast beef. Use a meat thermometer in either case to determine when meat is done. Add some variety to your barbecue menu with one or all of the following recipes. BARBECUED CHICKEN For whole chicken, have your butcher split them and remove the backbone so that they will lie flat on the grill. Use small broiling chickens for this cooking method. If you buy large fryers, have them cut into serving pieces. Remember, use any of the following marinades for your split chicken, chicken pieces, or whole chickens. SOUR CREAM MARINADE: 1C sour cream; 2 garlic cloves, mashed; 1t Worcestershire sauce; 1T lemon juice; ½ t salt; ½ t paprika; dash of white pepper; dash celery salt. Combine all ingredients and pour over chicken. Refrigerate overnight before cooking. WILD RICE STUFFED CORNISH HENS: 6 thawed 1-lb Rock Cornish hens; 1 T minced parsley; 1/3 C melted butter; ½ C soy sauce; salt. WILD RICE STUFFING: 1/3 C wild rice; 2T soft butter; 2 T blanched almonds, slivered and toasted; ½ t sage; ¼ C golden raisins; salt to taste. Rinse rice and cook in boiling water until tender. Drain. Add butter, almonds, sage, raisins, and salt. Rinse hens and pat dry. Put ¼ C stuffing in each hen. Truss and close cavity. Tie wings to body and legs to tail. Balance on spit and secure with holding forks or follow preceding instructions for covered units. Baste with soy sauce, parsley, and melted butter mixture from time to time. Roast over medium coals for 1 ¼ hours. Serves 6. HERB BASTE: ½ C butter; dash dried savory; dash dried rosemary; dash dried thyme. Melt butter and add herbs. Let stand to allow flavors to blend. Add more herbs is desired. HONEY MUSTARD BASTE: ½ C honey; ¼ C prepared mustard; 2 T lemon juice; 1 t salt. Combine all ingredients in bowl. Don’t be stingy; baste frequently. GREEK MARINADE: ¼ C lemon juice; 1 garlic clove, mashed; ½ C olive oil; ½ t pepper; 1 t salt; 1 t thyme; 1 t marjoram; 1 small onion, chopped; ¼ C minced parsley. Combine all ingredients and pour over chicken. Marinate overnight in refrigerator. ROSEMARY MARINADE: ¼ C olive oil; ¼ C white wine vinegar; ½ t pepper; 2 t crushed fresh rosemary; ½ onion, sliced. Combine all ingredients and let stand to blend flavors. Pour over chicken and refrigerate overnight. TARRAGON BASTE: 1 C firmly packed brown sugar; ½ C tarragon vinegar; 2 T butter. Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Stir and bring to a boil. Let stand to all flavors to blend. GRILLED CHICKEN BREASTS: 4 large chicken breasts, split; ½ C melted butter; ¾ C flour; salt and pepper. Dip chicken breasts in melted butter. Then shake in a paper bag of flour, salt and pepper. Have a hot fire going. Place chicken on greased grill and cook for about 10 minutes on each side. Baste from time to time with melted butter. Skin should be crispy. Serves 4 CHICKEN WITH PEACHES: 2 small chickens, cut up. MARINADE: ½ C lemon juice; 2 T honey; ½ t salt; ½ C melted butter; 4 large peaches, peeled and halved. Mix together lemon juice, honey, and salt. Marinate chicken pieces in this mixture in the refrigerator for about an hour. Place chicken on grill over medium-hot coals. Cook for about 40 minutes, basting with marinade to which you have added melted butter. About 10 minutes before chicken is ready, dip peach halves in marinade and place on grill. Cook 10 minutes, basting frequently & turning once. Serve chicken on a platter surrounded by peaches. Serves 4 BRANDIED CHICKEN: 2 small chickens, split; salt and pepper; 1 small jar or can of red cherries; 1 can of apricot halves. BASTE: ½ C melted butter; ¼ C lemon juice; ¼ C brandy; ¼ C firmly packed brown sugar. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place on grill over medium hot fire. Cook for about 40 minutes, basting from time to time. Place cherries and apricots in a shallow foil pan, 10 minutes before chicken is done. Pour a little of the basting sauce over the fruit. The grill should be covered at all times except when you are basting. Serve chicken on a platter with fruit poured over. Serves 4. ORANGE BAKED CHICKEN: 1 3-lb Chicken, cut up; salt and pepper; 4 T orange juice concentrate, thawed; 4 T butter. Divide chicken in 4 serving portions. Place on 4 pieces of heavy duty foil large enough to wrap completely and sprinkle each with salt and pepper. Pour 1 T orange juice concentrate and place 1 T butter on each. Wrap securely in foil and bake in or over hot coals for about an hour. Serves 4 ROCK CORNISH HENS WITH PINEAPPLE STUFFING: 4 thawed 1-lb Rock Cornish hens; ½ C melted butter; 1 t salt; 2 ½ T lemon juice; 1 1-lb can pineapple chunks, drained. Rinse hens and pat dry. Lightly salt insides. Stuff with pineapple. Truss hens and close cavity. Tie wings to the body and the legs to the tail. Balance on spit and secure with holding forks, or follow preceding instructions for covered units. Baste from time to time with a mixture of salt, butter and lemon. Barbecue over medium coals for 1 ¼ hours. Serves 4. CHICKEN TANDOORI: 1 3-lb chicken , quartered; 2 C yogurt; 4 garlic cloves, mashed; 3 T butter; 3 bay leaves, crumbled; salt to taste; 1 t cayenne pepper; ½ t powdered Cardamom; 1 t powdered cinnamon; ½ t powdered cloves; 1 t powdered ginger; 1 t curry powder. Prick chicken pieces all over with a fork and marinate for 5 hours in a combination of yogurt and garlic. Turn often. Mix remaining ingredients. Rub this paste on chicken and let stand for 2-3 hours. Barbecue over medium coals for 45-55 minutes. Serves 4 SPANISH STYLE CHICKEN: 1 3-lb chicken, quartered; ¼ lb butter; 1 garlic clove, mashed; ¾ t salt; ¾ t savory; ½ t paprika; dash cinnamon; dash crushed tarragon. Melt butter. Add garlic, salt, savory, paprika, cinnamon and tarragon. Place chicken on barbecue grill over medium coals. Baste frequently with butter. Cook about 45 minutes. Serve chicken over hot rice that has been seasoned with the basting butter. Serves 4 MUSHROOM STUFFING: 1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced; ¼ lb butter; ½ onion, chopped; 4 C soft bread crumbs; ¼ t pepper; ½ t sage; 2/3 C chicken or beef broth. Sauté mushrooms for 5 minutes in a large skill with 3 T butter. Spoon out mushrooms into a large bowl, add 1 T more butter. Sauté onions until clear but not brown. Melt remaining butter and add it to mushrooms and onions. Mix well with bread crumbs, pepper and sage. Spoon broth over the mixture and mix gently. Makes enough to stuff a medium sized chicken. Double the recipe for turkey. Mushroom stuffing can be use for beef. CELERY-CARROT STUFFING: 1 C sifted flour; 1 t baking powder; ½ t nutmeg; ½ t salt; ½ C chopped pecans; ½ C wheat germ; 1 C bread crumbs, lightly browned in butter; ¼ C butter; ½ C brown sugar; 1 egg; 1 C shredded carrots; ¼ C chopped celery; 3 T chopped parsley. Sift flour with nutmeg, baking powder and salt. Stir in nuts, wheat germ and crumbs. Cram butter and blend with brown sugar. Add egg and mix well. Add carrots, parsley and celery. Add sifted dry ingredients and stir lightly. this makes enough to stuff a medium sized chicken. YAM STUFFING: 1 large onion, minced; ½ green pepper, minced; 2 T butter; 2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced; 12 cooked yams (sweet potatoes), peeled; salt and pepper; ½ t poultry seasoning; 1 egg, well beaten; 3 T cream. In a large frying pan, sauté onion and green pepper in melted butter until onion is just turning yellow. Add tomatoes, and stew for 5-6 minutes or until juices have evaporated. Add yams, which have been cut into small pieces. Season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning to taste. Let cool. Then add egg and cream. Makes about 6 cup or enough to stuff a 5-6 lb chicken. TURKEY Turkey is generally cooked on a rotating spit because of its size. However, if you do not have a rotisserie, and your oven is small, you can have your butcher cut up a turkey and grill the pieces. You can use the barbecue sauce for either spit roasted or grilled turkey. Basting with plain melted butter, especially for a stuffed turkey, is simple and delicious. GRILLED TURKEY PIECES: Buy a 6-7 lb turkey to serve 10-12 people. Have your butcher cut it for you or cut it yourself as follows: 2 wings, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 4 breast pieces, and 2 back pieces. Start your coals early so that you have a good, steady medium-hot fire. The grill should be about 7” above the coals. Cook, turning and basting from time to time, for about 1 ½ hours. The wings and back pieces should not be placed on the fire until the other pieces have cooked for at least an hour. Your turkey is done when there is no pinkness n the meat of the drumstick. Test by cutting open with a sharp knife. SPIT ROASTED TURKEY: Start the coals early so that you have a slow and steady fir. It is best to place them toward the back of your rotisserie and have a drip pan directly under the turkey. Sprinkle the inside of the bird with salt. The skewer should be inserted through the center of the neck skin to just above the tail. Insert the skewer forks into the breast and tail. Test for balance by rotating the skewer in your hands. Use a weight on your rotisserie to correct for any imbalance. This will insure even cooking of your turkey and will avoid strain on the motor. Use string or wire to secure the wings and the legs close to the body. Baste from time to time with melted butter and drippings. If you use the barbecue sauce, apply only during the last half hour of cooking. Use a thermometer for best results. This should be inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. Be sure the tip is not touching bone, or your reading will not be accurate BARBECUE SAUCE: Again, plain melted butter is preferable for turkey. If you do choose to use this sauce, it also works well as a marinade for the cut-up turkey pieces. Marinate for about 2 hours at room temperature before cooking and use as a baste as well. Mix together: ¼ C melted butter; ¼ C soy sauce; 1 T orange marmalade; 1 t dry mustard; 1 t powdered ginger; 1 clove garlic, mashed.