Aussie-Style BBQ Chicken

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Aussie-Style BBQ Chicken

I love Australians and their quintessential weekend tradition of igniting the grill to share a feast with family and friends. Lamb is almost always on the Australian menu, done a million different ways, but I find their chicken truly sublime. In this easy and delicious recipe, the chicken is cooked in advance, then left to marinate overnight. Before serving, it is grilled to give it that wonderful grilled flavor without the meat drying out. Fantastic mate!

Serves 6

  • Tomato-Beer Marinade
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 cup (250 ml) tomato puree
  • 1 cup (250 ml) beer, any kind
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Chicken
3 ½ – 4 pounds (1.25 to 2 kilos) skinless, bone-in chicken parts, such as breast meat, thighs, and drumsticks

  1. To make the marinade, heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic and cook for 3 minutes, stirring. Add the remaining ingredients, mix well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Set aside.
  2. Place the chicken in a saucepan and add enough water to cover the chicken by about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and save the stock for another use, or discard it.
  3. Add the reserved cooked marinade to the chicken, mix well, cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. Turn at least once.
  4. For a charcoal grill: Light your chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes. When the coals are hot, spread them evenly over the bottom of grill and set the cooking grate in place. Cover and heat until hot, about 5 minutes. For a gas grill: Turn all the burners to high, cover and preheat until hot, about 10 minutes.
  5. Grill the chicken on medium heat, uncovered, until heated through and nicely browned, about 20 minutes. Baste with the marinade as the meat cooks. Discard any unused marinade. Move the chicken around the grill and adjust the heat as needed to prevent scorching. Transfer to a serving platter and serve promptly.

279 Calories In
Protein: 38 g; Carbohydrates: 12 g; Fat: 7 g; Fiber: 2 g; Sodium: 571 mg; Carb Choices: 1; Diabetic Exchange: 5 Very Lean Meat, 1 Vegetable, 2 Fat

279 Calories Out
Women: Walk: 68 minutes | Jog: 32 minutes
Men: Walk: 57 minutes | Jog: 27 minutes

Calorie Cuts
The calorie count here is high because of the sauce, however it is a bit exaggerated as not much of the sauce as divided per serving, sticks on the chicken. The chicken alone, is 202 calories per serving. The sauce clocks in at 77 calories per serving.

Creamy All-American Potato Salad

Creamy all-American potato salad conjures up summer BBQs with friends and family. I call it all-American because the dressing is made from three quintessentially American products: Hellman’s light mayonnaise (or any other high-quality light mayonnaise), French’s yellow mustard (normally only for hot dogs at the ball park, but it’s the best mustard for this dressing), and a reduced-fat Thousand Island dressing. The celery adds a welcome crunch, while the dill pickles give it a kick, and the eggs offer a creaminess. Allow the salad to sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving to give the flavors a chance to combine with the potatoes. If you want a moister potato salad without the fat, add 1 tablespoons of nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt. Both of my recipe testers mentioned that they would love the crispiness of bacon. It’s up to you: 1 slice of pork bacon is 43 calories and 3 grams of fat.

Serves 6

  • 1 ½ pounds (720 g) new red or white potatoes
  • 1/3 cup (40 g) minced red onions, or to taste
  • 1 hard-boiled egg, diced
  • 1/3 cup (50 g) sliced celery
  • 1/3 cup (50 g) diced dill pickles or dill pickle relish
  • 2 tablespoons light or nonfat mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon French’s Yellow mustard
  • 3 tablespoons reduced-fat or nonfat Thousand Island dressing
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the potatoes with their skins on, until they are tender, but not mushy. There is a fine line here, so check them after about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. When they are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into ½-inch (1.25 cm) cubes. Mix the red onions, eggs, celery, and dill pickles with the potatoes and set aside.
  2. In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, and Thousand Island dressing. Add it to the potatoes and gently mix until the salad is well combined. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving. Garnish with the parsley and serve.

 

121 Calories In
Protein: 4 g; Carbohydrates: 24 g; Fat: 1 g; Fiber: 3 g; Sodium: 427 mg; Carb Choices: 1½; Diabetic Exchange: 1½ Starch

121 Calories Out
Women: Walk: 29 minutes | Jog: 14 minutes
Men: Walk: 25 minutes | Jog: 12 minutes

Calorie Cuts

The nutritional breakdown is for this reduced-fat version of the potato salad. The full fat version clocks in at 166 calories and 7 grams of fat per serving. If you can spare the extra calories, feel free to use regular mayonnaise and Thousand Island dressing.