Lemon Garlic Chicken, Grilled Tomatoes, and stuff

caliking

I don’t seem to post as many cooks these days, mainly because I’m lazy about plating and taking pics. Plus a lot of cooks are things that folks have seen or done plenty of. 

But I figured this one was post-worthy, because it was relatively simple, and caliqueen was raving about it within 5 mins of grub landing on the table. 

Things started with a recent cook posted by @The Cen-Tex Smoker  and I couldnt get the notion of lemon zest on chicken out of my mind. Then a recipe on Serious Eats popped up, and I was in. 

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/08/grilled-lemon-garlic-chicken-tomato-kebab-skewer-basil-chimichurri-recipe.html

Doubled the lemon juice, quadrupled the garlic, quintupled the honey (inadvertently). Rubbed the tomatoes with EVOO and sprinkled some shawarma seasoning on them.  Fired up the large, and got it hot.   Left the lid up for the cook. 



Not pictured, but did happen - basil cilantro chimichurri  (didn’t have enough basil in the garden, so subbed some cilantro in), and  made pilaf with left over rice, EVOO, red onion, and cumin as a side.


This was outstanding. It’s been a while since I was impressed by one of my own cooks, but the flavors of this meal were just that good.   Bright, tangy notes that worked well together. Two adults and a 4yo devoured almost 2lbs of chicken!

Will definitely make this part of the regular rotation. 

Skiddymarker

Like the char on the chicken, better than crispy fried skin, almost.

Made something similar with lime zest, a different twist. Also Blue Agave subbed for the syrup is nice - much different taste. 

Tomorrow will be chicken on a stick, as you have the taste buds watering.

Carolina Q

That looks and sounds really good!!! And how can you go wrong quadrupling the garlic?!

R2Egg2Q

Looks great! Thanks for the link to the recipe as well.

Canugghead

Thought you're on a diet and the middle skewer is yours!  My Labour day wings had lemon zest in the marinade, it really kicked it up a notch.  Love the v-shaped skewers, are they the ones that come with wooden handle? Thought about picking few up but resisted!

caliking

Skiddymarker said:

Like the char on the chicken, better than crispy fried skin, almost.

Made something similar with lime zest, a different twist. Also Blue Agave subbed for the syrup is nice - much different taste. 

Tomorrow will be chicken on a stick, as you have the taste buds watering.

I hardly ever cook chicken skin-on, as we didn't grow up eating chicken that way (Indian dishes always call for skinless chix).

The zest (lemon or lime) really amps up the flavor IMO, so I'm a big fan.

 And yes, blue agave sounds good, and I'll probably try it the next time I make this. 

caliking

Carolina Q said:

That looks and sounds really good!!! And how can you go wrong quadrupling the garlic?!

There is no such thing as "too much garlic"

I think you'd like this, since its low on salt. The recipe calls for a bit, but you could easily nix it, and it would still be tasty. 

caliking

Canugghead said:

Thought you're on a diet and the middle skewer is yours!  My Labour day wings had lemon zest in the marinade, it really kicked it up a notch.  Love the v-shaped skewers, are they the ones that come with wooden handle? Thought about picking few up but resisted!

That was actually a third skewer of just tomatoes, since the first 2 didn't seem like enough! I was pleasantly surprised that grilled tomatoes could taste so good. They really complemented the chix well, especially when mashed into the rice pilaf. 

I picked up those skewers during a Brazilian event at one of our specialty grocery stores (Central Market) a few years ago, and they are my favorite ones in the set. I have MANY skewers (tandoor, homebrewed, and others) but I tend to use these more, as they are not too wide, and they (or the food on them) don't roll because of the V shape. Also, I think  the the channel catches some of the juice and keeps the food more moist while grilling. May not be true, but it makes sense in my head

YukonRon

I love this cook. Chicken to an old Kentucky boy is heaven, and grilled tomatoes are divine. We have had a great year with the garden.
Thank you for posting this and the link. I am going to be a better cook this week because of it.
Taking time off work for the next several days, to help My Beautiful Wife while recovering from knee surgery. This is spot on, flavor, fast, filling, great cook.
Awesome cook.

johnnyp

Looks great, my friend

NC_Egghead

That looks really good! Thanks for the inspiration. 

northGAcock

Very nice. I enjoy the summers fresh vegetables on the grill. Yours my friend with the Chicken.....Gawjus.

caliking

YukonRon said:

I love this cook. Chicken to an old Kentucky boy is heaven, and grilled tomatoes are divine. We have had a great year with the garden.
Thank you for posting this and the link. I am going to be a better cook this week because of it.
Taking time off work for the next several days, to help My Beautiful Wife while recovering from knee surgery. This is spot on, flavor, fast, filling, great cook.
Awesome cook.

Yep, it was a simple cook without much fuss. The chimichurri was tasty, but honestly , it wasn't needed.

Wishing your bride a speedy recovery! 

YukonRon

caliking said:

YukonRon said:

I love this cook. Chicken to an old Kentucky boy is heaven, and grilled tomatoes are divine. We have had a great year with the garden.
Thank you for posting this and the link. I am going to be a better cook this week because of it.
Taking time off work for the next several days, to help My Beautiful Wife while recovering from knee surgery. This is spot on, flavor, fast, filling, great cook.
Awesome cook.

Yep, it was a simple cook without much fuss. The chimichurri was tasty, but honestly , it wasn't needed.

Wishing your bride a speedy recovery! 

Thank you my brother. Suzanne will appreciate it. She just transferred to surgery. A couple hours more... 

smokingal

I love this style of cooking.  Grilled and smoked veggies can't be beat.  Can you provide some details on your cooking setup?  What contraption is holding up the skewers above the fire?

caliking

smokingal said:

I love this style of cooking.  Grilled and smoked veggies can't be beat.  Can you provide some details on your cooking setup?  What contraption is holding up the skewers above the fire?

The skewers aren't long enough to span the diameter of the egg, so I set up my adjustable rig with 1 crossbar towards the closed side. The tips of the skewers rested on the crossbar, and the handle end rested on the rim of the egg. 

Mattman3969

I don’t know how I missed this one.  My first thought was damn Cali does cook. Lol. Second thought was just damn I’d eat that.  

texaswig

That looks really good .I'm gonna get some of those skewers. 

caliking

Mattman3969 said:

I don’t know how I missed this one.  My first thought was damn Cali does cook. Lol. Second thought was just damn I’d eat that.  

I do still cook occasionally Hardly get around to actually posting a cook thread though!

YEMTrey

Well this meal looks excellent.  It made me hungry again after dinner!

bgebrent

Strong work brother. Love simple and delicious. You don’t do simple much. This looks great!

SciAggie

I love the double, triple, quadruple philosphy my friend. Season the sh!t out of food - make it tasty. Nice cook. 

caliking

SciAggie said:

I love the double, triple, quadruple philosphy my friend. Season the sh!t out of food - make it tasty. Nice cook. 

Thanks. I often find that Serious Eats recipes lack the pop of flavors that I like, so they need to be amped up. And you can never have too much garlic in anything

thetrim

Looks really good!