How to Grill Using Our Powders
Roast a Moist, Flavorful Chicken Outdoors!
By Joe Cowan
Director of Operations
It’s July, and that means it is probably hot where you are. Even in Maine, it’s pretty spicy. And for most people, us included, central air conditioning isn’t desirable or even a possibility. So we like to head outside to cook with fire. Actual chunks of oak and apple wood are readily available for grilling, and pre-soaked briquettes are a vapid and toxic excuse for cooking fuel. We are lucky enough to have a Big Green Egg, which I highly recommend. However, a small Smokey Joe Weber Grill is a great and inexpensive alternative.
Our powders are made by first preparing the vegetables just as you would at home. For example, Kale Powder is made by blanching or steaming kale, then dehydrating it at low heat. This pre-cooking step results in a completely edible product right out of the jar; no cooking is necessary to enjoy. If you were to use Kale Powder to season roasted potatoes, it is best to sprinkle it on at the end after removing your soft and crispy potatoes from the oven.
However, with grilling, we advise a different way to incorporate our powders: low and slow with indirect heat. If you are experienced at the grill, you’ll know that indirect heat is always better. The quality of flavor and subtle smokiness achieved from having your food a little distance away from open flame is obvious. Also, you can add any of our powders at the beginning of cooking without the fear of their burning. You’ll even coax their flavors into the meat during the cooking process.
In the recipe below, I put a chicken in the bottom of a clay cooking vessel (dedicated to smoking purposes, as the smokiness in the pot will remain) to avoid contact with the direct heat and to collect the juices. Again, I use a Big Green Egg, but any lidded grill with adjustable vents would work.
Turmeric-Leek Roasted Chicken
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- 2 lemons, cut in half
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Dr. Cowan’s Three-Beet Powder
- 1 tsp Dr. Cowan’s Garden Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Dr. Cowan’s Garden Leek Powder
- Salt to taste
Directions:
- In a clay pot or other pan safe for a grill, place the chicken, breast side up. Stuff with the lemon halves and close or tie legs tightly together.
- Massage the olive oil over the skin. Mix the Three-Beet Powder, Leek Powder, Turmeric Powder and salt together in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the chicken.
- Place on a grill with enough lit coals (preferably oak) to last for 2½ to 3 hours. Adjust bottom and top vents to keep the heat between 250 and 275 degrees. Periodically baste the top of the chicken with the juices to keep it moist and to prevent burning.
- Once fully cooked, allow chicken to cool for a minimum of 30 minutes before cutting.
- Strain the juices to make gravy or to serve as they are with the chicken. Reserve the carcass to make broth, if you’d like.