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Barbecued Frank-Burgers

6/29/2009

I have had several requests for this recipe, so, I decided to put it up on Karen’s Recipe blog.

This recipe has been derived over the years starting with the way that my mom used to make hamburgers. She would always add liquid smoke, garlic powder, a few other spices and real onions to her hamburger mix and then grill them.

I heard of the Lipton Onion Soup burgers several years later and tried them but they just didn’t have the flavors that I remembered or was expecting.

After a few revisions, I came up with this recipe which has become a family favorite. It is actually very simple and even my wife, Karen, who is not a beef-eater, just loves them and sometimes craves them.

Here is my recipe for Barbecued Frank-Burgers.

What you will need:
2 pounds of ground chuck (will have less fat)
1/4 cup Lee & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce (I Prefer this over the others)
1/2 packet Always Save Onion Dip & Soup Mix
2 Tablespoons dried onions
Honey Barbecue Sauce

Put the ground chuck in a bowl and sprinkle the onion soup mix and dried onions over the meat. Pour the Worcestershire sauce over the meat mixture and mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Then separate the mix into 8 quarter pound patties.

Heat your grill to 350 degrees and grill the patties about 6 minutes on each side. After you turn the patties the first time, baste that side with the Honey BBQ sauce and let the other side grill for about 6 minutes.

Flip the patties and baste the second side while letting the first side caramelize for about 2 minutes. Then flip and let the other side caramelize for 2 minutes. Finally baste both sides one final time and remove from the grill.

Serve with your favorite side dish.

Note – If you want to kick the burgers up a notch, I add a sprinkle of my steak rub with the onion soup mix.

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Frank’s Grilled Chicken Breasts

6/28/2009

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Marinating is a great way to keep meat moist when you grill and it works for all sorts of meat, especially chicken. The kind of marinade that you use makes the difference in the way the chicken will taste and how you plan on serving it.

In this recipe post I am sharing my favorite marinade that makes chicken breasts taste the best. I have developed an Italian marinade that can also be used as an Italian salad dressing. The secret to this Italian marinade is the use of red wine vinegar.

First, here is what you will need for the marinade:

1/2 – 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
6 Tbsp. water
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. coarse salt (kosher or sea)
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. cayenne powder
2 tsp. red bell peppers – minced
1 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. sweet basil

Note: You can substitute Italian seasoning for the parsley and sweet basil.

With a whisk, mix the water and red wine vinegar in a medium mixing bowl. While continually whisking, add all of the dry ingredients and minced red bell pepper. Whisk until all ingredients are mixed thoroughly.

For the chicken:

Use a family pack, usually about 4, boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I take a fork and poke the breasts numerous times on both sides so that the marinade will be able to get into the breast. Then I take a mallet, or the butt of my palm, and pound the breast to flatten it out, being careful not to pound it into mush. The thinner the breast, the more evenly it will cook and the faster it will cook which will help keep it moist.

Place the chicken breasts in a 1 gallon zip lock bag and add about 2 tablespoons of the marinade per chicken breast. Then close the zip lock bag and make sure it is secure. Then gently massage the marinade all over the chicken. Place on a plate and let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but overnight works the best.

Next soak some apple wood chips and add them to the smoke box during the grilling of the chicken breasts to add a smoke-roasted flavor.

Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to 300 degrees. Remember to oil the grates to help keep the chicken breasts from sticking. Grill the chicken breasts about 8 to 10 minutes per side or until done. A meat thermometer should read about 170 degrees.

Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Note: Top your favorite tossed salad with chilled leftover sliced grilled chicken.

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Frank’s Beer Brined Barbecued Chicken Thighs

6/25/2009

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One of the biggest complaints that I hear from people about grilling chicken is that the chicken gets too dry. And it does unless you take the time to properly prepare the chicken well in advance of grilling it.

I have been grilling chicken for many many years now and I have developed a few methods for either brining or marinating the various cuts of chicken. My favorite cuts of chicken to grill are the thighs and breasts. I also love to smoke a beer-can chicken but that and the breasts will be for another blog post.

One of the dishes that has become a favorite in our house are my barbecued chicken thighs. I am going to share with you my recipe and technique for making incredibly flavorful chicken thighs that are moist and even taste great as leftovers the next day for lunch.

Here is what you will need:

1 Family Pack of Chicken Thighs (usually 8 thighs)
1 Bottle of Honey BBQ Sauce

For the Brine:
1 Can of Light Beer
12 oz Water
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
4 to 5 Peppercorns
3 Cloves
1 large Bay leaf

At least 4 hours before grilling, overnight is even better, place the beer, water, a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper and the cloves in a large bowl and place the chicken thighs in the bowl skin side up. Let brine in the refrigerator.

To grill, either on a gas grill or charcoal grill, heat the grill to about 350 degrees, scrape the grill and be sure to oil the grill to help keep the chicken from sticking to the grates.

Then place the chicken, skin side down, on the grates and close the lid. Placing the chicken skin side down will allow the grill to burn off the skin and the fat from the chicken. Be careful because this happens pretty quickly and you will get flare ups from the chicken fat.

Once the skin has burned to a crisp, I generally take my tongs and a steak knife and pull the skin off of the thighs. The skin should come off easily if you let it sit on the fire long enough but don’t burn the chicken.

After you have removed the skin the fire will die down and you can continue to cook the chicken thighs for about 3 to 5 minutes per side or until golden brown. Then baste both sides with the honey BBQ sauce and let the first coating caramelize for 1 to 2 minutes on both sides and then do a second basting and remove from the grill.

Serve with your favorite side dish.

If you want to kick the chicken up a notch you can add some soaked Apple wood/chips to your coals or smoke box and give the chicken thighs a wonderful grill smoked flavor. Enjoy!

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Barbecued Frank-Burgers

Frank’s Grilled Chicken Breasts

Frank’s Beer Brined Barbecued Chicken Thighs

Karen Verdusco

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