Because we were out of pizza sauce and pepperoni we had to improvise and ended up making a pizza with chicken, spinach, basil and olive oil.  We then finished it with a balsamic reduction my wife whipped up.  It was light and most tasty.  The wood smoke flavored the cheese and crust nicely, it complimented the strong flavors of the basil and the dry heat and free flowing air from the grill gave the pizza a nice crispy crust .

So here is how I did it, I cheated, I first pre-heated the stone in the oven at 500°F for about an hour.  While I did this I got the grill ready with half charcoal – half hickory chunks; spreading the coals evenly around the charcoal grate.  I then cooked up a chicken breast, I had marinaded the chicken over night in a combination of 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a clove of pressed garlic and a teaspoon of paprika.  My wife wilted spinach and fresh basil leaves from our patio with some olive oil and pressed garlic.  Once the chicken was cooked up, I sliced it up, rolled out the dough onto my pre-heated pizza stone.  I then brushed the crust with olive oil, topped with the spinach-basil mix and cheese.  Then it was onto the grill for about 15 minutes.  At this point the charcoal had passed its prime so it took more time than I would have liked, but it was worth it.

So in the end we had two verdicts, I thought the grilled dough was much better than that baked in the oven.  My wife however would rather have the crust baked in the oven.  So what was the difference?  The pizza from the grill had a nice, crispy and slightly burnt crust.  Burnt in this case is not a bad thing, it was just lightly charred in the center on the bottom.  The pizza from the oven was much more moist and the crust was not nearly as crispy.  The crust from the oven also lacked the flavor the grilled pizza got from being exposed to the fire and smoke of burning wood.  If it was up to me we would be done eating pizza from the oven and keep the heat outside, and get a better flavored crispier crust from the grill.

The rub however, was the important part and it was a pretty traditional style paprika based rub, all but once I forgot it was on there it married with the meat so well, but I must have had an abnormally heavy section of rub under the skin that gave me a faint paprika taste in my mouth. So here is the recipe for the rub.

Ingredients
1/4 c paprika
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

Instructions
Blend all ingredients thoroughly and rub generously onto chicken both under and over skin.

Once the chicken was rubbed I plopped it on the smoker at 250°F for about 2 hours over hickory and apple wood until it was cook through.  I basted the meat once which I think was unnecessary.   Usually I brine my poultry but I did not this time mostly due to oversight on my part, in spite of this it still turned out juicy and fell apart.

I mixed up a batch of my legendary poultry brine I discovered last fall when I smoked my turkey breast, however, this time I did not include the celery seed and cajun spice rather I added 3/4 tsp per quart onion powder and 1 tsp per quart Bad Byron’s Butt Rub and of course a little cayenne and sage.  I let that sit by itself in the fridge over night.

How much brine should I make?  If you are struggling with how much brine to make, put your meat in the container you will be brining it, add enough water to cover the meat completely and then remove the meat.  Once the meat is removed measure the amount of water that is left in the container.  Be sure to discard this water and start with fresh water when making any brine.

Back to the bbq chicken, this morning I trimmed the excess fat from and brined my chicken for about 3 hours, you will notice in the picture some of the chicken is not covered in water, I had to use a plate to hold the chicken below the water line, it was a tight fit.

One the chicken was done brining I pulled it from the brine and brushed it with olive oil and then rub it liberally with BBQ 3000 from Penzey’s, at this point I let the chicken sit and got the smoker ready to cook at a temperature of 225°F.

Once the smoker was up to temperature, I added a handful of apple chips and a hickory chunk to the chip can and then put the chicken on and let the apple and hickory do its magic.  I was using my Brinkmann Gourmet with the Afterburner Propane burner today, so once the temperature stabilized all I had to do was check the meat temperature and the smoke.  It was a pretty easy smoke.  I arranged the chicken so the smoke could easily flow between all of the pieces.  Be sure to lube your rack with oil or cooking spray for easy meat removal and clean up, but make sure you do it before it is over the fire.

In a rare stoke of brilliance today I took a picture of the meat right before I sauced it, the water pan is gross I know, but ignore it look at the shrink.  Look how much the meat has shrunk throughout this cook, this is at about 175°F, right before I smothered it in some bbq sauce.

At an internal temperature of 180°F I pulled the chicken and let it rest for about 15 minutes.  On the bounds of bragging you know you have done well cooking your chicken when as you pick up the quarters with a tongs the drumstick bone just falls out of the meat.  I was excited!

At this point it was all I could to do keep from eating it, we ate it with some corn and a chunk of stone ground wheat bread (thanks Lohn this stuff is great).  The chicken was awesome, better than even the cajun whole smoked chicken, which was really really good.  What was really surprising is I have never used apple as a dominant wood in my smoking and it imparts well an apple like taste to the meat, which just blew my mind.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1 can of pineapple slices
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp ground dried ginger
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp brown sugar
1-2 tbsp corn starch

Instructions
Start by draining pineapple and reserving juice.  Combine juice, mustard, ginger, curry powder, cayenne, honey and brown sugar in a small pot and heat over medium to a boil, stirring constantly.  Slowly add in cornstarch until it thickens to a maple syrup consistency.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Get the grill ready, when it is at a medium/medium high temperature lube the grate with vegetable oil and start grilling the chicken.  When the chicken is about 5 minutes from done (use your own judgment), add pineapple to grill and brush with glaze.  Then brush chicken with a generous amount of glaze on both sides.  Flip pineapple and brush the other side with glaze.  Use the remaining glaze on the chicken remove both chicken and pineapple when done.  Eat chicken piled high with pineapple.

I ate mine with a healthy portion of spinach salad with mandarin oranges, grilled pineapple, bacon and raspberry vinaigrette.

Ingredients
1/4 c cider vinegar
3 tbsp mustard seeds
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp olive oil
ground black pepper
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Instructions
Crush 1 tbsp of the mustard in a mortar and pestle.  Then in a large, non-reactive container, whisk together ingredients beginning with cider vinegar through salt.  Then whisk in olive oil and pepper.  Place chicken in the mixture.  Cover and marinate chicken in the fridge 8 hours or overnight.  Remove chicken from marinade and grill for about 10 minutes per side over medium high heat.

Even though the recipe wasn’t mine or Vanessa’s for that matter;  it was simple and with a little tweaking (mustard seeds over mustard) it was most tasty so I thought I would share it here.  Enjoy.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp molasses
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Instructions
Combine lemon juice, molasses, garlic and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl and mix well.  Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and put chicken in it.  Pour marinade over chicken, cover and refrigerate, turning occasionally for 1 hour.  Pre-heat oven to 425°F and bake for 45 minute or until done, basting occasionally.

It was pretty tasty, at least the skin was and it had enough flavor to permeate every bite of the chicken.  It was a little dry, but I slacked in my basting and will do that more frequently next time.

Ingredients
3 tsp curry powder
2 cubed chicken breasts
1 chopped onion
pinch of ginger
1/3 c honey
2 tbsp margarine or butter

Instructions
Melt butter in a frying pan and add curry, ginger and onion mixing together well.  Cook over low heat until onion are translucent, stirring frequently.   Add chicken, cover and cook until done throughout, add honey and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes stirring constantly until a sauce forms and is uniform.  Eat right away.

Not as good as the first chicken curry I made in the oven and have made weekly since then, but it was still very good and we will make it again when in a bind.

All in all it tasted good, it hit the spot and cherry wood usually make any meat a little better and chicken breast on the grill is no exception.

The chicken was place in its foil boat atop a bed of onions, a mashed clove of garlic and sprinkled with BBQ 3000.  It was then smothered in BBQ sauce, we had a little bit of three different kinds in the fridge and I used all of them.  Three more bottles out of the way.

The potatoes were canned potatoes (which I had never even seen before, let alone ate) and they were placed in a foil boat with a couple tablespoons of margarine, some chopped onion, some mashed garlic, some parsley, some steak sauce and a little cheese.

Both dishes were pretty dang good and even better for not having planned at all, a last might grill meal for the win.

Dinner consisted of Lowfat Chicken Enchiladas made with some of Saturday’s smoked chicken leftovers.  These thing were incredible the first time we made them, and as such I was anticipating greatness once again.  I was no disappointed, I am anxious for the leftover enchiladas I will be eating for the next day.

I can’t wait for tomorrow leftovers will be in lunch box and in vogue.  At least to me.  Had any incredible leftover adventures lately?  Tell me about em.

Note: Even though its not technically a recipe this one still gets a rating.

It took about four hours over a combination of hickory, apple and cherry wood to finish out bird.  Although we did baste this bird it probably would have been just fine without, it was the moistest chicken I have ever had.

Not only was the chicken moist but it was also full of flavor and possibly by far the best chicken I have ever eaten.  We will be eating chicken again this way and next time we might go for more of a barbecued type of thing, just to branch out.  Oh yeah the potatoes were smoked too and not half bad.