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This column is from the publication Eat Voraciously. Sign up here to receive weeknight dinner recipes, substitution suggestions, how-tos and more in your inbox Monday through Thursday. My childhood memories from the first twelve months of first grade to the next start are the blur of immature grass, sticky pores and skin, and the smell of smoldering charcoal on the sturdy black Weber of our house. Our patio meals this summer, and again, inspired this salad of roasted rooster and corn on a crisp lettuce mattress with modern tomatoes and watermelon. Summer is in a bowl.
In Chicago, when you throw food like corn, rooster, sausage, patties, etc. on the grill, it's called barbecue. After inviting our friends over, we told them we were having a ‘barbecue’. The colloquial use of “barbecue” to identify a meal or situation is so common that it is listed in the dictionary.
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View Recipe: Roasted Hen Salad with Corn, Tomatoes and Watermelon
It wasn't until I started checking out my eating traditions as a child that I discovered that some people are crazy about their use. For craft connoisseurs, especially in the American South, barbecue is the model of choice for cooking meals. Do you have an event in your yard that involves a grill? They named it “cooking”. For them, barbecue means preparing dinner with oblique warmth.
My colleague Tim Carman, a barbecue enthusiast and practitioner, says this warmth usually comes from charred hardwoods. Meals may be cooked in a smoker (a device similar to a grill) or in a pit or spit that rotates over an open flame. My colleague Aaron Hutcherson recently wrote: “Smoke is undoubtedly one of the defining characteristics of barbecue. It is what distinguishes a barbecue from a grill.”
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Regardless of your choice, we hope you agree that something beautiful happens when a meal meets a fireplace. This is not simply a transition of warmth from flame to meal, nor is it simply a transition from uncooked to cooked. This is the mysterious depth that greens and proteins choose when they are infused with smoke or simply licked by a quivering flame. There are no specific statistics, but given the fickle and difficult nature of true barbecue, we can assume that almost everyone is throwing their meal on the grill until it's done. Smoke may be a concern, but it's not your first cooking technique. And it works! The grilling is good.
For this roasted rooster salad, we start by seasoning boneless, skinless rooster thighs. Allow them to stick around and absorb these flavors. Meanwhile, combine a quick ketchup-based barbecue sauce and mix together an easy herb salad dressing. Then preheat the grill. You need a clean, well-greased grill! — before topping it with a few ears of corn and a seasoned rooster.
The corn is finished when there are brown and black spots throughout. The rooster is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 150 to 165 degrees. (The reserve starts at 165 degrees, but if you remove it a little early, the temperature will continue to rise due to the remaining warmth.) As soon as the rooster is done, quickly dip it in the barbecue sauce. I like to use tongs to make sure each piece is completely coated with the sauce. Then throw the rooster back on the recent grill for a few minutes so the sauce turns right into a glaze. I admit that doing so can make your grill a bit messy. But I can promise you that it is worth it.
(No grill? Get out your grill pan or cast iron skillet! It all runs on your range.)
After the second grilling, let your rooster relax while you prepare the salad. You can make one large salad or four specific salads. I prefer to evenly scatter the lettuce, tomatoes, and watermelon in a shallow bowl. Then I will minimize corn on the cob and add corn kernels to all my salads. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and cut the rooster into large bite-sized pieces before adding to the salad. Garnish every bowl with plenty of modern basil leaves for optimal summer flavor.
This salad is a great addition to a hot summer night as the sunset turns dark and fireflies twinkle in the distance.
View Recipe: Roasted Hen Salad with Corn, Tomatoes and Watermelon
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