grill Archives - Time for a coffee

September 27, 2018November 7, 2021

Grilling in Euston

So I was staying overnight on the Euston Road before heading off to France on the Eurostar the following morning.

Having been walking around earlier I had noticed the Cattle and Co and it looked both inviting and interesting.

Having looked at the online menu I had quite liked the idea of chargrilled squid, which regular readers of the blog will know I quite like.

However the online menu must be slightly out of date as there was no squid on the menu, however to compensate there was a selection of grills that I hadn’t seen online.

Of the starters I did think about the Buttermilk Wings, but the “Now we talkin’” spice rating of the Buffalo Sauce made me think again.

I was tempted by a couple of items on the main menu. If I was really hungry I probably would have gone for the The Cattle Platter.

The formidable showcase of what we’re about here at Cattle & Co. St Louis Rib, Beef Short Rib, Smoked Chicken Thigh, Honey & Beer onion rings, and in just in case you needed something else; Fries. A wheelbarrow taxi service home also available upon request. No judgement here, we’ve all been there.

As I wasn’t starving (and I was eating alone) then decided that at £35 it was a bit extravagant to go for something that sounded delicious.

I also quite liked the sound of the Buttermilk Fried Chicken as well as the Angus Short Rib.

Now we’re talking. Our imported smoker really showing off its potential with this dish. Hickory smoked on-site for at least 12 hours (Low and Slow), Pickles, Sauce, AND Your choice of Fries.

In the end decided to go down the “specials” route and have a grill. The grills covered a range of prices, but was tempted by either the hangar steak or the lamb rump. In the end I went with the lamb.

It was served with a confit tomato, mushrooms, a green salad and some melted garlic butter. I did order a side order of truffle and parmesan fries.

I had expected the fries to be served with a large helping of freshly grated parmesan and grated truffle. That expectation was based on seeing a similar dish at one of the Bristol Street Food markets. However I didn’t see any real evidence of either parmesan or truffle. The fries were nice and I did enjoy eating them.

So what of the lamb? The lamb was cooked how I asked, the cut was full of flavour and it was really tender. I really enjoyed the chargrill which imparted a great flavour and hadn’t been overdone. I couldn’t believe how tender it was, easy to cut with a regular knife.

I also enjoyed the other accompaniments on the board. The tomato was lovely and tender, yet still full of flavour, so much nicer than just either a chargrilled tomato half or even an uncooked one. The mushrooms were nice as was the salad.

The service was warm, friendly and efficient. I should say it took some time for my food to arrive, but I wasn’t in a hurry and good food does take some time to cook. I think there were quite a few people in the other side of the restaurant by the kitchen, it was much quieter on the side I was in by the bar.

Would I like to go again? Yes I would.

April 22, 2013

Grilled Chicken

Grilling chicken pieces is probably one of my favourite ways of cooking chicken and it’s interesting how different it tastes to say roasting or pan frying.

For my most recent dish of grilled chicken, I took a selection of chicken thighs. Personally I find that the leg meat of a chicken as a lot more flavour and the bone helps keep the meat moist and tender. The problem with grilling breast meat is that it can dry out and become tough.

I took the thighs and in a mixing bowl to make a marinade, I added olive oil, garlic, chopped parsley, black pepper and some white wine vinegar. I mixed the meat until they were well coated in the mixture.

The chicken pieces were then placed skin side down on the grill and grilled for about ten minutes. They were then turned and cooked for a further ten minutes or until the skin has gone crispy.

You need to be careful to not undercook or overcook the chicken, so you do need to watch it.

I would also say after turning the chicken to brush them with the remains of the marinade.

The end result is beautifully moist, succulent chicken, with tasty crispy skin and wonderful flavours.

I served mine with a simple risotto and steamed vegetables., but it would also work well with a selection of salads.

January 20, 2013

Grilled Lemon Chicken

The original plan was to roast the chicken I had bought and have it for lunch, but the plans were scuppered as we ran out of time. So for lunch we had salad, cheese and bread.

So though I could have roasted the chicken for the evening, wanting to save time, I decided though to cut it into portions and grill it.

Portioning a whole chicken is not difficult, I cut the legs off first (and depending on the size will then portion them into a drumstick and the thigh). I will then cut the wings off, usually with a proportion of the breast meat (so to make it a proper portion). I prefer to leave the bone on the breast, as it helps to stop the meat from drying out, especially when roasting or grilling.

If I had a little more time I would have marinaded it, but as there was no time, I brushed some olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and some dried mixed herbs onto the chicken and placed it under a medium-hot grill.

As it cooked I brushed the chicken with the oil and lemon juice and turned it a few times too.

It was really nice, it reminded me how much I enjoy grilled (and barbecued) chicken. I served the chicken with steamed vegetables and a lemon risotto.

July 31, 2011

Grilled Chicken

I do like grilled chicken, however I don’t like my grill! I would love to have a proper commercial salamander grill, I am reminded on a regular basis that this is a standard domestic kitchen, and not a restaurant kitchen… So the grill we do have is built into the oven and is not separate. So if I want to grill I need to leave the oven door open and that I don’t like from a safety perspective, especially with young children running around. So the other day as I had the time I would be able to ensure that everyone else in the house wouldn’t be grilled.

I decided to do two types of grilled chicken.

Firstly I took some chicken thighs and with a marinade of olive oil, white wine vinegar and mixed dried herbs mixed and coated the chicken before placing them on the grill pan

I then took some chicken drumsticks and in a bowl added some Schwartz’s Spicy Italian spice mix, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and coated the legs.

I turned the chicken a couple of times and each time I would brush the chicken with the remaining marinade from each of of the bowls.

The result?

Well the chicken had a wonderful flavour and was beautifully moist and tender. I really do like the taste of grilled chicken and these were just right.

July 18, 2009

Grilled chicken on green lentils

For the grilled chicken, take a chicken breast, I used a free range corn fed chicken breast which I flattened with my hand (though you could take a rolling pin to it). I seasoned the chicken with seasoning and olive oil before placing under a hot grill for 15-20 minutes.

For the lentils eat a frying pan and add some chopped pancetta. There is no need to add any extra oil as there is usually sufficient fat in the pancetta.

Pancetta

Finely chop an onion. Add the onion to the frying pan with the pancetta.

I softened in a frying pan, the finely chopped onion with the pancetta. When the onion was nicely soft I then added some red wine and beef stock before simmering it down.

I use beef stock over chicken stock just because of the colour rather than flavour. I then reduced and reduced this.

Then add some sliced mushrooms.

I then added the green lentils, I used a tin, for convenience and speed. Once the lentils had heated through I then plated up.

On go the lentils and then slice the grilled chicken and place on top.

Serve with steamed vegetables.