Chicken Caesar Salad.
Chicken Caesar salad is a classic, but cooking it on the barbecue truly takes it to the next level.
General note on barbecuing: For all my BBQ recipes i use my Big Green Egg which is the Japanese style of grill called a Kamado. It makes it easy to control the temperature and achieve an even cook, not dissimilar to an oven. If you’re using a different type and have difficulty controlling the temperature, you may need to adjust cooking times for some recipes.
Ingredients.
6 chicken thighs, boneless & skinless
2 sweet gem lettuce, or any other variety you prefer
3 thick slices bread, a little stale is fine
1 garlic clove, cut in half
6 rashers of streaky bacon
Parmesan shavings, to serve
Oil
Chicken Marinade:
200ml kefir, or yoghurt/buttermilk would also work
½ tsp Garlic powder
½ tsp Onion powder
½ tsp Smoked paprika
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp mixed dried herbs, sometimes called ‘Italian herbs’
Caesar Dressing:
1 egg yolk
4 anchovy fillets
1 garlic cloves
Juice of 1 lemon, about 2 tbsp
1 tsp Dijon mustard
A dash of Worcester sauce
Black Pepper, to taste
Approx. 80ml light olive oil, or a combo of EVOO & veg oil
About 3/4tbp grated parmesan
Equipment.
barbecue
tongs
blender/nutribullet
Method.
Marinade the chicken: Mix all the marinade ingredients together and toss throughly to coat the chicken. Set aside for minimum 30mins or up to 1 day in advance (in the fridge)
Preheat the barbecue to roughly 220c
Cook the chicken on the barbecue until just cooked then leave to rest for minimum 10mins. It will take between 10-20mins, depending on how hot your bbq is and how thick the thighs are. Remember that thighs will be a brownish-pink colour even when cooked, but always make sure there is no blood and the chicken is hot in the centre. If you’re unsure then use a meat thermometer to check it’s safe to eat.
Meanwhile, make the dressing: Add the garlic, anchovies, egg yolk, black pepper, mustard, lemon juice & Worcester sauce to a small blender, along with 1/3 of the oil. Blend until smooth, then add another 1/3 of the oil and blend again. Repeat with the final third and the parmesan cheese, and blend until thick and creamy.
N.B. If your blender has a hole in the top, you can drizzle the oil in whilst blending, instead of doing it in thirds.
Lightly spray/drizzle the bread with oil and place on the bbq. Toast gentle until golden brown and crisp. Rub the surface with the garlic clove and cut into croutons
Add the bacon rasher to the bbq and cook until crisp. Roughly chop into small chunks
Chop the rested chicken thighs into strips
In a large salad bowl, tear up the lettuce and top with the chicken, croutons, and bacon. Add the dressing and mix thoroughly to combine. Top with some parmesan shavings and enjoy!
