Simple Barbecue Chicken Recipe For a Sunday Night Cookout

Sunday, the day of rest. Well that's what I was taught at school (and in church) when I was a kid. Whilst it's important to a lot of us, it's not the day of rest in all religions so let's not dwell on this point other than to say that it is a special day.

We all work long and hard during the week and it's the weekend when most of us are lucky enough to take a break, spend time with the family and indulge in our passions and interests. For me, one of those passions is cooking and even though I do write recipes as part of my day job, cooking is still an important part of our weekend family ritual. There's nothing better than everyone sitting down to a meal together, we can discuss the weeks event's, what's coming up next week and most importantly, enjoy being there in the present with each others company.

Trying to do something special and different all the time can become a strain so sometimes simple is best. Think about the secret of good Italian food; fresh basic ingredients, full of flavor and simply cooked. So why shouldn't we do the same?

I love chicken on a Sunday, and when the family is around the table, it's got to be a whole chicken carved right there. For some reason, chicken pieces just don't have that same effect do they? So how do you barbecue a whole chicken simply?

I have three steps for a . The first thing is to let the chicken do the talking, get one that's got some texture and flavor. Free range, corn-fed and organic if you can stretch to it. A free range chicken has so much more flavor and texture because while alive it's had the opportunity to move around and exercise its muscles and this really does make for a different meat.

Secondly, spatchcock it. This just means cutting down the backbone and opening the chicken out so that it is flat. Technically you should remove the keel bone ( commonly and mistakenly referred to as the breast bone) but it's not essential. Barbecue grilling your chicken flat like this means that it cooks in a shorter period of time (usually about 50 minutes) and it's an easy grill, just turn over at the halfway stage - now what could be more simple than that? In addition when you spatchcock the chicken the backbone is cut out, this is where the any bugs from the intestinal tract might still linger so preparing your chicken in this manner reduces the health risks too.

All you need to do to spatchcock your chicken is to sit it on a board on its neck and cut down either side of the backbone with a sharp knife. Flatten it and if you want to cut either side of the keel bone and "pop" it out.

The final thing for a simple grilled barbecue chicken recipe is the seasoning. Rub on a little olive oil and then season on both sides with salt and pepper. Not only is the most simple seasoning sometimes the best, the salt will draw the moisture out of the fat and give you that tasty crispy skin.

How to carve? When your chicken is cooked, just slap it down on the carving board and quarter it. Now you can't get much more simple than that!

Spatchcocking is one of Paul's favorite ways how to grill chicken and Paul has also written a web page dedicated his favorite recipes for barbecue chicken. There's loads to choose from.

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How To Make Ghee - A Simple Healthy Recipe

Ghee is regarded as one of the best food sources in the Ayurvedic diet and it is considered beneficial for everyone in moderation.

The yogis and practitioners of Ayurveda consider it to be a very healthy, balancing and harmonizing food because it lubricates all the muscle tissues of the body.

Making ghee gets rid of impurities (fats and milk solids) and water out of the butter so you are left with healthy clarified butter.

Ghee can be used in most recipes for flavoring and cooking. Here is what you need to make your Ghee.

Ingredients & Materials:

1 pound unsalted butter (organic if available), a large pot or sauce pan, a few sheets of cheesecloth, a strainer, a clean container or one pound glass jar with a lid.

1. Melt the butter in a large pot or sauce pan on low to medium until it comes to a boil. You will start to hear a popping sound. Do not stir.

2. Continue to cook the melted butter over low to medium heat. It should continue to pop and bubble and some foam may appear on top. You can skim off and discard the foam if you like but leaving it won't affect the ghee.

3. Remove from heat when the popping sound and bubbling noise quiets down. Sediment at the bottom of the pot will start to turn golden brown. The ghee will turn to a clear golden or amber color. This usually takes about 20 minutes. A darker color means overdone ghee so it's important not to leave the ghee on the heated stove.

4. Leave the heated ghee to cool for 10 to 20 minutes and then line a strainer with some cheese cloth and strain the ghee into clean containers (sterilized jars work great).

Note: Ghee at room temperature looks yellow and has semi-solid texture. Ghee does not need to be refrigerated and if it is properly made and not exposed to contaminates, it will keep for over a year, even outside the fridge - it melts quickly when exposed to heat. Remember to always use a clean spoon to scoop out ghee for use.

How To make flavored Ghee - Infused With Herbs

It is very easy to make flavored ghee using the recipe above and infusing some Ayurvedic herbs or spices such as cloves, cardamom or mint

To infuse the herbs, add them to the butter at the start or at any point in the process that results in them being dissolved into the ghee. I have experimented with adding herbs at different stages and I found the infusion strength to be best when added right after the butter has melted (just beginning to bubble).

I would recommend a quarter teaspoon of herb for each pound of butter. When making clove or cardamom ghee, I use 6 to 8 cloves or cardamom pods to the butter and it tastes great.

Jai Kai is an Ayurvedic Consultant, Wellness Coach and Blogger for Planetwell.com - an ayurvedic diet blog. He is also the author of the book Ayurvedic Diet Secrets promoting an ayurvedic lifestyle and ayurvedic recipes.

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