You Go, Grill!

Contributed by Kowalski's Culinary & Branding Director Rachael Perron.

A couple summers ago, my husband and I completely refurbished our outdoor gas grill. We'd done this several times before, opting to install new components rather than trash the whole thing, but this time, the overhaul was a little more extensive. After starting disassembly and placing an initial order for at least half a dozen parts, we discovered more components that needed replacing and had to send for new back panels and a new drip tray.

From the time I removed the rusted-out burners until the new firebox was installed, I lost about 7 weeks of prime summer grill time.

Once everything was finally pieced back together and fully operational, I was gunning to make up for lost time. I mean, I started grilling everything. If I ate it, I grilled it. Tomatoes! Lemons! Salad! Strawberries! Cake! And, of course, I grilled fish, meat and LOTS of chicken.

I could eat chicken every day, especially off the grill. It takes on a wide variety of seasonings incredibly well, and there are tons of ways to enjoy it – warm or cold, sliced atop a salad or grain bowl, on pasta or in a sandwich. The key, for me, is to always marinate it. Even a quick 15 minutes is enough to turn plain chicken into perfect poultry.

My formula for a Basic Wet Rub below is simple to customize and works for whatever direction dinner takes you!

Basic Wet Rub

I start by drizzling my chicken (whether bone-in, boneless, breasts, thighs or drums) with oil.

Next, I season to taste with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and white or brown sugar. (Sugar – just a pinch per piece of protein – is optional, but I find it really balances out the flavor and helps produce a nice caramelized crust.)

After that, I almost always add granulated garlic and onion (fresh garlic burns easily) plus some dried oregano or marjoram.

From here, I'll simply add the herbs and spices best suited to my supper. Measuring only with my heart, I'll add the following to push whatever flavor profile I'm partial to. Below are some variation ideas to get you started, with the ingredients listed in proportional order from most to least:

Italian

Dried parsley and basil
crushed red pepper
extra oregano

Mexican or Southwestern

Ancho or chipotle chile pepper
sweet paprika
ground cumin
fresh lime zest
extra oregano and sugar

Mediterranean or Greek

Your choice of dried rosemary, dried thyme or fresh mint
dried or fresh parsley
fresh lemon zest

Blackened

Dried thyme
smoked paprika
cayenne
ground cumin
a pinch of nutmeg
extra sugar

This same formula works on practically any meat or seafood, including salmon, shrimp, pork chops, ribs and even steak. So get out there and get grilling!