EDF Cooking Contest--Grilling Challenge

[ElSapo]

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obviously a lot of waste that you don't end up eating

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Well, the point is to use as much as possible. Use the carcass for stock, then pick it clean and use the boiled chicken bits for chicken and dumpings...

The closer you get to using the whole chicken, the more you're saving (and the better you'll be eating).

[Mermade]

Paging SamIAm...Didn't he post pictures and explanation of cutting up a chicken a while back somewhere? Too lazy (and inerpert at search) to find it. I think it was Sam...

El Sapo is right though, It's not tough. A good sharp knife is your friend. I choose a large serrated knife for this purpose myself. Just go at it. There's nothing intimidating about it and you get the hang of it after a while.

[Mermade]

El Sapo--Recipe for the soup?

[El Diablo]

Sapo,

Sick awesome pictures.

[guids]

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Really wish I had room for a grill - all of these pictures look great. Had anyone tried grilling skirt steak directly on coals? I saw a Good Eats the other day where Alton Brown says he swears by it.

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i do, I took off the grate holders on my weber, and made some adjustable ones with some bolts and screws so I can lower my grate directly over the coals, the point is to get it up to like 700, and have no air in between the meat and the coals because there is no air in between the meat and the coal so it doesnt flame up, works good.

another one I like, when I camp, is to get a big old bucket, heat up a bunch of coals, soak some wood chips in salt water for a good hour or two while Im fishing or drinking etc, dump the hot coals, cover them with the wood chips, and throw on the fish/shrimp/scallops whatever, and cover with a couple layers of heavy duty tin foil. the wood doesnt burn, and smokes the fish/seafood perfecty.

[jaydub]

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Really wish I had room for a grill - all of these pictures look great. Had anyone tried grilling skirt steak directly on coals? I saw a Good Eats the other day where Alton Brown says he swears by it.

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BK,

Buy a chimney starter and grill directly over it.

J

[SamIAm]

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Didn't he post pictures and explanation of cutting up a chicken a while back somewhere?

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I did. It was in IronChef Garlic. I missed the oysters, but otherwise did ok. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Great stuffed chickens, both of you. I should have time to make my grilling dessert tomorrow, and post it soon after.
-Sam

[dylan's alias]

Buying whole chickens and butchering yourself is definitely worth the effort. I usually take the scraps (back, wings, neck) and put them in a big freezer bag. When it gets nice and full, I make stock. The last time, I let the bones thaw out, then roasted them until they browned, then made stock. Then, I boiled down the stock until it got concentrated and froze it in ice cube trays. Each cube makes 1 cup of stock, and it lasts for months.

Good Eats

The Raven intro is one of my favorite segments ever. Plus, he butchers a chicken starting at 5:15.

[ElSapo]

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El Sapo--Recipe for the soup?

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There's not really a recipe... I just take whatever vegetables I have on hand (zucchini, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, whatever) chop them roughly and roast them in the oven. Then dump those into a pot with enough chicken stock to cover them, add in garlic, a little honey, lots of spices, some salt, pepper, and so on. Simmer, puree.

I don't bother with straining the soups because I like them thicker.

I really love taking several red peppers, roasting those, taking off the skins and then making the soup with the peppers and potatoes. Potatoes help fill out the soup without costing so much.

[Mermade]

<font color="brown"> Grilled Endive Salad with Quail Egg </font>



This was a learning experience. I'd never grilled endive before, although I've had it often enough in restaurants. I wouldn't say this first try was perfectly successful. I guess I'll just give some comments.

The grilling of the endive was easy and turned out well. I drizzled the endive with a simple balsalmic vinaigrette. That was a fine choice, but for some reason I didn't get it quite right. I didn't get the proper emulsion and the vinaigrette broke up. I don't know what happened there.

The photo is terrible and doesn't do justice to my idea. I didn't have any proper time for plating as the family was hungry and losing patience. I should have created some sense of scale. I could have shown the whole plate but then it looked lost in all the white. In reality the dish was...unfortunately the only word that comes to mind is "cute." It was miniature and filled up only the very center of a small salad plate.

The quail egg was so very tiny and perfectly crispy. I think it was a nice garnish to the somewhat bitter green. Unfortunately though, the quail egg was just a single bite, a garnish really. The endive got that nice smokiness that grilling gives it, but in the end it was just dressed greens. Jingleheimer pointed out that it either needed a more complex dressing or something like crumbled blue cheese to give it salt and creaminess which would break up the bitter in the endive.

I wouldn't call it a failure, but next time I will do much better. Grilling the endive was fun and certainly deserves a next time.

BTW, I picked the quail eggs up on a whim: a doz for $2. I used up 2 tonight and am trying to think of fun ways to use up the rest. Very, very tiny eggs and toast seems a waste. Although, I hear that fried quails eggs are sold on the street in some contries as a common snack. I also read that in Columbia they use them hard-boiled as a topping for hot dogs.

Cliff notes: An interesting experiment. Endive grilled well. Poor execution with dressing, presentation, and photography. Will try to do better next time.