My wife and I used to like going to Carrabba’s a lot. You can argue
that it’s not real Italian, whatever… but they make good grilled
chicken, I think. After several trips there, the manager and wait
staff gave us little bits about how the chicken was done… the types
of wood (apple, cherry and hickory), the herbs (typical… oregano,
rosemary, basil, garlic) and the basting of the chicken. So I thought
I’d give it a shot on my old gasser.
The gasser got a present on
my birthday a couple of years ago: a wood box to get smoke going. So I
soaked some chips of the aforementioned woods and got the gasser going
with the wood on the burner in the back. A couple of hours before
cooking, I put the "rub" on the chicken, then get the baste ready.
It’s simple, but it’s good… it can also be used for beer can chicken.
If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Rub:
2 Tbsp dried oregano
4 cloves crushed or chopped garlic (please throw out that big jar from Sam’s and use fresh)
Grey Salt to taste
Fresh ground black pepper
You
can combine the rub or just put each on the 4 boneless, skinless
chicken breasts, cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
Baste:
1/2" cup extra virgin olive oil (not the great stuff, just good, everyday evoo)
2 Tbsp dried rosemary
2 Tbsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp dried basil
Mix the herbs in the oil and set aside.
Set
your grill up for a 2 zone fire. You do this by either turning on only
one side of your gasser or putting coals to one side of your charcoal
grill. Once up to temperature, put the chicken on the hot part of the
grill, letting the heat sear the outside for about 90 seconds per
side. Then move the chicken to the cooler part of the fire and baste
it with the baste from above. Let the baste sit for 30 seconds or so
and turn, basting again. You’re going to flip and baste several times,
but close the lid between, and cook the chicken to 160 degrees to be
done. It’s great served with grilled asparagus and portabella
mushrooms!
