Rosemary & Garlic Corona "Beer Can" Chicken

The Tent Sale on Cinco De Mayo

It's here today the Proctor Gas Tent Sale and guess what campers... it's Cinco De Mayo.  Don't expect to find a cold tray of Margarita's , what you will find is the Proctor Gas senorita's ready to help with your summer entertaining dream grills, fireplace inserts and outdoor kitchens.

Mrs. Tom spent  a week South of the Border spring break while in college a few short years ago. After passing on the worm in the tequila bottle she was treated to the most unusual sight and taste. It was in fact Cinco De Mayo and some of her new friends were making the most unusual whole roast chicken.

At first it seemed as though the chicken might have drunk the tequila as it sat perched up on the grill on a can of Corona Beer surrounded by fresh limes. This has become a favorite with Mrs. Tom's southern friends.

Rosemary and Garlic Corona "Beer Can" Chicken

Ingredients

1 4lb chicken

1 small metal surface for under the beer can for stability on the grill
   meat thermometer

serves 2 Mr.Toms or 4 Mrs. Toms

5 cloves chopped fine fresh garlic

2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons John Henry's cilantro lime seasoning available at the tent sale
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon course cracked black pepper
   juice of two fresh limes...1 slice for the beer
1 12 oz can of Corona Beer

Step one pull the beer from refrigerator insert a slice of lime and drink about half of it. Set aside and let it come to room temperature.

Place garlic, rosemary salt, John Henry's seasoning, pepper, olive oil and lime juice in a food processor and pulse to a paste don't  overdo it.

Prepare the bird discard any inners and rinse the chicken well. Pat the bird dry. Now rub the chicken with the seasoning mixture all over and then refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. Take it out and let it come to room temperature.

Turn the grill on high for 10 minutes. Then turn the middle grate to medium on a three burner or two grates if you have a four burner. If you have a two burners then turn both back to medium.  Poke a few extra holes in the top of the beer can and place the chicken cavity on the beer can and find a balance.

Take your small metal surface and place the beer can and chicken standing up on the grill. Tuck the wings behind the back of the chicken and balance using the legs to help. Close the lid on the grill and tend the chicken every 15 minutes for about 1 hour and a half. After an hour start checking the internal temperature with your thermometer, 180% internal temp at the thick part of the thigh. Let the chicken rest for 20 minutes.

 Mrs. Tom Secret

Trim any excess fat from the chicken to keep the fire flare-ups down. Keep rotating the chicken. Wrap the chicken in plastic wrap when you put it in the refrigerator to seal the seasonings in, remove before cooking. Beware of the beer when you take it off the grill, hot.

Char Grilled "Day Boat" Atlantic Swordfish

Grilling with Mrs Tom

There are very few people who know that Mrs Tom has such a diverse and colorful culinary background. She has kept her outdoor grilling acumen secret for many years, yet well known to a close group of friends. Her mother a legendary chef, her brother an international award winning chef, her nephew a certified chef and culinary artist and Mr. Tom himself was a genius on the outdoor grill.

Yes we were a restaurant family, mother aunt, brother and my uncle was the local butcher. When you opened a refrigerator at our house food fell out on the floor and we had multiple ice boxes. Are you sick...no... of course you are shut up and eat this! Eat we did, it was the end all to all things and you were not allowed to leave the table unless you could convince mother you were not full but stuffed and in a bit of pain so that it would take two hands to push yourself up from the table. Most of the conversation during dinner was about what we were going to eat next.

The best things about our house were the hidden treasures in the basement, a dirt cellar  with an old wine press where my Grandfather made the wine from our own grapes. Every real Italian had a grapevine and made wine in their cellars...we were no different. My friends found this intriguing it was just normal to us and all the cousins.

Although we owned a restaurant we very seldom went out to a restaurant, my mother didn't trust them! She never liked the food anywhere else so why bother. The only time we went out was if there was some kind of occasion and my Uncle Peter would take us out. Mother would always order a steak exclaiming they couldn't mess that up. She would order it well done because she didn't trust the meat either.

Mrs.Tom has decided it was time to let the cat out of the bag and to share her outdoor grilling secrets with y'all. Look for the Mrs Tom's grilling secret at the end of every recipe, now get off the couch and try some of Mrs. Tom's wonderful ideas for your grill and we'll keep the flame burning for ya.

Mrs. Tom always says the less you mess with a truly fresh piece of fish the better. You can always dress it up with a side of grilled vegetables or a fresh salsa of some kind.

Char Grilled "Day Boat" Atlantic Swordfish, Black Pepper Lemon Basil Butter

Serves 4

Rub

1 teaspoon ground allspice

2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon fine chopped rosemary

Butter

1/4 LB fresh unsalted butter... room temp

1/2 a lemon peeled, seeded and chopped small

2 teaspoons coarse black pepper

5 leaves of chopped basil

one piece of wax or parchment paper

4-10 oz swordfish filets

virgin olive oil

the other half of the lemon cut thin with the skin on

For the butter

Once the butter is soft mash in lightly the lemon, pepper, basil don't let your butter get too soft, just soft enough to add your ingredients.

Transfer the butter to the paper and roll into a nice even log. Refrigerate...the butter will last for days in the refrigerator.

When the butter is hard again remove from the paper and slice silver dollar size medallions about 1/4 inch thick, keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to add them to the fish.

Heat your grill to a high heat

Drizzle the olive oil and coat the fish, then season with the rub evenly. Once the fire is ready make sure your grill grates are clean, start the fish on the hot part of the grill and turn one time only after 4-5 minutes on each side. Once you turn the fish place a medallion of butter on the center of the fish with a thin slice of lemon on top of the butter...close the lid

Mrs Tom's secret

Do not turn the fish more than the one time be patient with it. If you want to be sure you have fish a day old and you don't have time to catch it yourself call Mrs's Tom's nephew Chef Peter at Wulfs Fish Market in Brookline Mass, he will cut the fish just right for your grill and ship it to you next day. All the fish at Wulf's comes in daily from boats that are out one day only.

Wulf's # 617-277-2506

Good grilling Mrs Tom