Category: Marinades

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Chicken Thigh Week (vegans/vegetarians avert your eyes)

The Truth Machine read 169.8 up from 167.4 in just 24 hours. It still amazes me how sensitive I am to what I eat. Yesterday we tried a new breakfast place and I probably ate 3x what I normally eat at the midday break. The uptick in weight was expected given the quantity and salty/fattiness of my bowl which consisted of three eggs, fried potatoes, cheese, and veggies. There was a giant biscuit with butter on the side. I also finished The Boss’ giant biscuit, potatoes and one slice of her bacon. There you go. Do I know how to gain weight or what?

Welcome to Chicken Thigh Week. The local store advertised boneless chicken thighs for $2.99/lb which translated (for me) into time to stock up. But when I got to the store there were no boneless thighs. They sold out. Bone-in chicken thighs were $1.49/lb so I picked up a package with the full intent to de-bone them at home. When I got home I discovered a package of bone-in thighs in the freezer. Now I have over five pounds of chicken thighs. Now we have Chicken Thigh Week!

Tonight a simple roast chicken.

I defrosted what I found in the freezer to use the older package first. Smple oven roasted honey soy chicken. My second surprise was discovering my Honey Soy and/or Maple Marinade recipe is ancient and needs updating. So here’s my latest greatest version of Honey Soy Marinade using pantry and and spice rack items.

Marinate the chicken thighs for two hours minimum. Roast on a rack at 400 degrees F for 35-45 minutes. Don’t worry about overcooking, especially the large pieces. They are chicken thighs.

Nutrition info here https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/172388/nutrients

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Yogurt Marinade

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • juice of one lemon
  • 2 T red wine vinegar
  • 2 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 T plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 T oregano

One of the benefits of a blog is quick accessibility to your recipes.

Except when you’re looking for something that you thought you posted but never did.  The plan was to toss together a quick Greek Salad from The Pioneer Woman and grill some chicken.  So the yogurt marinade came to mind but where was it?  The last time I remember seeing the recipe it was scribbled on a piece of scrap paper that more likely than not got thrown away.

For an Old Guy Playing With Technology I sometimes surprise myself.

I actually remembered to take a picture and save it to my online drafts folder.

I found it!

 

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Iki Marinade 2.0

Iki Marinade 2.0

1/8 C. olive oil

1/8 C. canola oil

1/4 C. light thin Thai soy sauce

2  1/2 T. light brown sugar

2 T. apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 T. ketchup

1/2 T. granulated garlic powder

1/2 T. onion powder

Dash red pepper flakes

The Story Behind Iki 2.0

For the story behind Iki 1.0 the original click here.

Ever wonder how two cooks can make the same recipe and they come out different?  One cook makes the dish and it tastes good.  The original cook makes the same dish and for some reason no one wants to explain, it doesn’t just taste good it tastes great.  Wonder no more!  The secret is simple.  The original cook uses certain brands of ingredients and also changes the recipe.  A digital cookbook is the perfect place to document such changes.  As always I leave the original alone and highlight what changes I’ve made.

What Changed

I moved away from all olive oil to a mixture of olive and canola oils.  The soy sauce I use comes from Thailand and is the Happy Boy Thin variety.  While I prefer this brand you may not be able to find it in your local Asian grocery.  Also be aware that MSG is listed as an ingredient so avoid if you have any sensitivity to this substance.  Both of these changes lighten the marinade.  Kikkoman which is found almost everywhere is an example of a dark soy sauce.  The amounts of brown sugar and ketchup are a little higher than in the original.  Thus, this version is a slight bit sweeter.  Finally, garlic powder subs for fresh garlic and I’ve added onion powder to the marinade.

Why Change?

Why not?

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Tri Tip – Tip #3

The gang was coming over for dinner.  I wanted something simple and tasty.  The weather was perfect.  I had just purchased a full tank of propane.  It was time to grill again.  For decades our go to marinade has been the Iki Marinade.

My next thought was chicken.  But the local store was selling tri tip steaks for $4 a pound.  So I bought a package.  If you’re familiar with  this particular cut you know you typically get irregular pieces of steak in any given package.  Butchers are smart.  They will flip a piece of meat so that the side facing the buyer looks awesome.  You buy, take the package home, and open only to discover one of the pieces is really, really small and someone will get the pipsqueak.   When you see a picture of this steak you’ll  understand what I’m talking about.

Irregular shaped steaks are a pain in the ass to cook.  So I cut each steak in half and pounded the hell out of them until they were about a half inch thick.  The flattening helps tenderize the meat and grill more evenly than when left whole.

You’re welcome.

 

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Citrus Marinade

  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
  • 1 medium Valencia orange, juiced
  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon dried cilantro
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • Salt and pepper

For Father’s Day I had to fire up the grill but I didn’t want to repeat the Iki Marinade which we use more than frequently.  I got online and started searching “Lime Marinade”.  Use this search term if you want to get instantly overwhelmed by the number and variety of lime juice based marinades. So I gave up and made my own.  I’m sure if you search far and wide enough I’ve probably “stolen” most, if not all, of the ingredient list from some other food blogger trying to make a living stealing recipes from other food websites, changing one ingredient, and calling it an original.  So if you feel this marinade is your property I apologize up front.  Any resemblance to your recipe is a pure coincidence.

I marinated some petite sirloins and boneless chicken thighs.  I think this marinade works better with chicken.

The propane tank ran dry before I finished cooking the meats.

TIP:

If you have a propane gas grill, keep a stove top grill or griddle around.  You can always finish the grilling indoors which is what I had to do.  Try fresh cilantro.  I used dry because I didn’t have any fresh on hand.  If you like your marinade a little sweeter, add another tablespoon of brown sugar.

 

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Lemon Soy Marinade

Lemon Soy Marinade

juice of one half of a large lemon

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

Note – all measurements are approximate.

The marinade is enough for about a half pound of meat.  Double or triple as required.  I soaked tri tip steaks for around two hours before cooking.

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Tri Tip Too

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The good news is the tri tip steak I made a while ago was deemed very good.

The bad news is I didn’t get to have any.  The steaks were smaller than I thought so I didn’t get a piece.  Same as when I was growing up, Dad would serve dinner family style and let everyone else pick their protein first.  Dad got the pieces everyone else didn’t want.  The last time I grilled tri tip steaks I got chicken.

I had to buy more.  This time I bought the entire roast and carved it into steaks myself.  At roughly a pound and a half I saved $1.50.

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The triangle pieces are small and the first cut had a pretty thick cap of fat making the “steak” even smaller.  I now understand why butchers turned this muscle into stew meat.

Tonight I am marinating the steaks in a lemon soy bath.  We’ll see how they turn out.

Update 6:00 PM

The steaks turned out great.  I froze the strip steak like pieces and grilled the smaller chunks.  I managed to cook the meat until it was medium and it wasn’t tough or chewy.  Don’t cook tri tip past medium or you will end up with chewy odd shaped hockey pucks.  The marinade turned out decent for a throw together bath.

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Maple Soy Roasted Salmon

Maple Soy Roasted Salmon

Honey Soy and/or Maple Marinade

Chilean Salmon, one piece per serving.

  1. If frozen, defrost salmon pieces in a tub of cool water.  This will take about 20-25 minutes.
  2. Prepare marinade in a plastic zip lock bag.
  3. Rinse salmon pieces under fresh running water.  Pat dry with paper towels.
  4. Marinate at least 30 minutes with 45 to 60 minutes preferable.
  5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  6. Line a shallow roasting pan or cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
  7. Drizzle some olive oil on the sheet.  Remove salmon pieces and place on the pan or cookie sheet.  Drizzle some more olive over the salmon pieces.
  8. Roast for 17 minutes.

 

I love salmon.  But if you live in Oklahoma as I do, you tend to shy away from so-called “fresh” fish in the markets.  I’ve been disappointed too many times so I stick with frozen fish.  The quality of farm raised Chilean salmon is excellent.  And before you crucify me for my salmon preferences, please follow the link and read a good article on the current state of affairs in the world of Chilean aquaculture.   Chilean Salmon Farming’s Comeback | Wild Fish Conservation | Nancy Harmon Jenkins.

TIPS – The salmon pieces I buy are roughly one inch thick at the thickest part of the filet.  If your salmon pieces are not as thick, adjust your roasting time downward accordingly.  Rice or potatoes and a nice vegetable round out the meal.  Salad works too.  Maybe a nice freshly baked loaf of bread (purchased, of course).  Prepare to be complimented.