Grilled Chicken and Romaine

Last night I grilled a couple chicken breasts for me and abs. For the longest time I struggled with grilled chicken, either over cooking it or having to put it back on the heat for a while because it wasn't quite done. However, I believe I have figured it out. I have learned how to grill the perfect breast. First of all, I only grill bone-in, skin-on chicken. The boneless-skinless stuff cooks too fast and loses all its juices to the coals below. I season the chicken with whatever sounds good at the time...usually fresh ground sea salt, ground black pepper, and an herb. Next, I paint the top (meaty part) of the breast with a small amount of olive oil. I get my fire nice and hot and bring the coals up close to the cooking surface to sear the chicken. I place the chicken meaty side down on the grill for about 4 minutes allowing the skin to sear and lock in all the delicious juices. Once the skin has a nice crust on it I flip the chicken, lower the fire box and continue cooking for about 25 more minutes (depending on size of chicken this may vary) at 325 degrees. The key here is not touching the chicken once it has been flipped, the heat is seperated from the meat of the bird by the bone and indirectly cooking it. When done you will have a nice crispy skin with the juiciest chicken meat ever.

Last night I tried something I have never done before. I grilled a salad. I took a head of romaine lettuce and split it length wise. I then painted the cut side of the lettuce with olive oil and placed it cut side down on the grill for about 3-4 minutes until the face of the lettuce had a nice char on it. Lastly, I simply drizzled some Caesar dressing on it and topped it with some fresh grated parm. It was fantastic, the charred lettuce gave the salad a smokey taste that was better than I could have imagined. This is one of the easiest and one of the best salads I have ever made. I recommend every one try it.