Index:
Beer Can Chicken
Chicken on a Stick
BBQ Hot Wings
Fried Turkey with Dead Beer Marinade
| 1 | whole fryer |
| 1 can | beer (the cheap stuff works just fine) |
| 1 tsp | Creole seasoning |
| 1 tsp | Worcestershire sauce |
| 2 tsp | Zatarain's® liquid crab boil |
| 1 Tbl | salt |
| 1 Tbl | freshly ground black pepper |
| 1 Tbl | garlic powder |
Drink the first two thirds of the beer. Pour the Creole seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and crab boil in the beer. Mix the salt, pepper, and garlic powder together. Spray the outside of the chicken with Pam. Sprinkle the outside of the chicken with the salt mixture. Cram the beer can in the chicken’s butt. Place the chicken, upright, on a hot grill. Close the cover, and cook for 1 hour.
You can also cook the chicken in the oven for 1 hour at 400o but it doesn’t taste as good. If you cook it in the oven, put a baking sheet under it to catch the juices.
| 6 | chicken thighs |
| ¾ cup | white wine |
| 2 Tbl | hoisin sauce |
| 2 Tbl | soy sauce |
| 2 tsp | garlic powder |
| 1 tsp | freshly ground black pepper |
| 1 Tbl | sesame oil |
If you live in New Orleans or Mobile You’ve had ‘em at Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Bay Fest etc. My son thinks these are great. Now you can make ‘em at home.
Mix the wine, hoisin sauce, garlic powder, pepper, and soy sauce together in a bowl to make a marinade. Add salt to taste. Add the sesame oil. (Add the sesame oil last. It has a strong taste making it hard to adjust the salt afterward.) Skin and de-bone the chicken thighs. Cut the chicken in small pieces (about the size of a walnut). Put the chicken in the marinade, stir it, cover and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours.
Put the chicken pieces on skewers and grill until done.
I stole this recipe from Mike Manning at Thompson Engineering in Mobile. These are not hot if you use the hot sauces I mentioned. My son has been eating them since he was 9 and loves them.
| 1 dozen | chicken wings |
| 1 stick | butter |
| ½ cup | Texas Pete or Frank's Original hot sauce |
Texas Pete and Frank's Original hot sauces work best, try others at you own risk. Use equal parts of butter and hot sauce if you need to make a bigger pot of sauce Melt the butter in a pan on the stove top. Stir in the hot sauce. Place the wings on the grill & base the wings every time you turn them. Watch them closely. The butter makes the BBQ flame up.
| 1 Tbl | Worcestershire sauce |
| 1/3 cup | apple juice |
| 1/3 cup | honey |
| ¾ cup | beer, not that mainstream crap, a good darker beer (not stout) works best |
| 1 ½ tsp | salt |
| 1 ½ tsp | Creole seasoning |
| ¼ cup | salt |
| 1 tsp | garlic powder |
| 1 tsp | cayenne pepper |
| 1 tsp | black pepper |
Frying a whole turkey has gotten very popular. No wonder. It’s great. But please read the directions and pay attention.
I try to be humorous in most of my recipes. Fried turkey is great, but it may be the most dangerous thing you will ever cook. I am not kidding about fires and emergency room visits. They are real possibilities. You must follow these directions carefully!
First and foremost. This requires a big pot of very hot oil. Fry the turkey outside using a real turkey frying setup on a good stable burner. Don't use coat hangers, wooden spoons, and a big pot you borrowed from grandma. A thermometer, syringe, turkey holder, and if you don't follow directions, fire extinguisher, are very important and the rig must be stable.
The turkey holder supports the turkey from underneath. If you don’t support the weight from underneath, the turkey may fall apart when you pull it out of the oil. If it does, the oil will splash, and you will fry yourself along with the turkey. It is very important that you measure the amount of oil you will need. If it doesn’t cover the turkey it won’t cook properly. If you have too much, the pot will overflow making a big mess and a bigger fire. Follow the directions and this is great. Don’t, and you’ll visit you local emergency room or get a visit from the fire department. Maybe both.
Use a 10 to 14 pound turkey. Larger ones tend to burn the legs and wings before the rest of the turkey is done. If it's any smaller you might as well use a chicken. When the turkey is done it will look almost burnt. Don't worry, it will taste great.
Start a day early. See how much oil you need. Place the turkey in the pot, cover it with water, pull the turkey out and measure the water. (2½ gallons of oil is perfect for a 12 to 14 Lb. bird in my particular turkey frying setup.) Set the turkey aside to dry. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a blender and blend for 2 minutes. This will release most of the carbonation from the beer, killing it. (I always called a beer with no fiz dead. I know you were wondering where the name for the dead beer marinade came from) Let the marinade sit for about 10 minutes. Fill a syringe and inject the turkey in the breast, thigh, back, wings, and legs. Next combine the seasoning ingredients and rub the mixture evenly over the inside and outside of the turkey. Put the turkey in a large plastic bag and refrigerate for 24 hours. Pull the turkey out of the refrigerator early the next morning and let it warm to room temperature. The turkey must come to room temp. If its still cold when you put it in the oil, the outside will be overdone before the inside gets cooked.
Fill the turkey fryer with the amount of oil you determined yesterday. Many people insist on peanut oil only. Hogwash! Peanut oil is more forgiving, but it's also more expensive. Any good quality frying oil will work. The big mistake people make is that they heat the oil too fast. Take it slow, if you really turn the heat up on a good crawfish burner, the oil on the bottom of the pot heats up too quickly and tastes bad. Heat the oil to between 350o and 360o. Put the turkey on the turkey holder legs up. Put a kitchen mitt on and slowly lower the turkey into the oil. (Make sure you wear the mitt and don't stand too close, it will splatter.) The turkey should be completely submerged ,but it will cook just fine if the oil is within an inch or two of covering it long as you put it on the holder legs up. Bring the oil temp back up to 325o. Cook the turkey for 3.5 minutes per pound. While the turkey is cooking, get a large platter and cover it with lots of newspaper. Get a good beer or cocktail. Kick back, drink the beverage of your choice, and adjust the heat to keep the oil temperature at 325o. When the time is up, check the turkey thigh with a meat thermometer. The temp should be 170o to 180o. If the temp is OK, place the turkey on the newspaper. (Keep it on the turkey holder.) Cover the turkey with a paper bag and let it sit undisturbed for about 20 minutes. Carve.