Grill Charms by Leslie Haywood - Barbecue Master Getting Organized

I've known Leslie Haywood for a while now and have an interview with this neat inventor on my Yes You Can Grill site. She came up with the idea of grill charms which are similar to wine charms but go into your foods on the grill to keep track of special grill orders.

It's one thing to have an idea and get something made, and it's another story to be successful getting the word out, and Leslie has done a fabulous job in taking her invention from the drawing board to the porches of home grillers across the nation. So, I have to give a shout out and say, "You go grill charm girl!"



The grill charms come in various sets depending on what you track on your grill (or what you need to). You could, for example, get the steak set and mark the different levels of doneness.

When I won a set of Grill Charms at Oshawa Ogre's Views, News & BBQ's, I was stoked and surprised. Fred and I chat on Twitter. I saw his barbecue grill charms contest and I do some giveaways too, so I usually support other bloggers by entering. I think, probably like many others, that I'll never win. But, there have been several online contests where I have won a prize. So, I'd say, "Be sure to enter!" You never know, and it's fun to get something cool in the mail even if it is all natural toothpaste for children which I am still puzzling over. That showed up in the mail, and I have teens, but we tried it out anyway. Pretty good stuff but kind of random looking in my bathroom with no kids in the house.

The set of grill charms I selected were the spicy or not set. It includes 6 grill charms. There are two hot peppers, two peppers with flames, and two peppers with x over them (mild of course). Here I am the hot Momma, my older son likes his food spiced up but not over the top, and the younger one is mild all the way. So, this means I can mark the meats and not have to keep track of which heat level is where on the grill and then on the serving platter.



Tonight I grilled chicken, and I had a spiced up piece with Stubb's hot barbecue, one with medium, and then two for Eli with KC Masterpiece Bourbon barbecue sauce (mild but bold).

I just pressed the grill charms in. They are about the size of a dime and the back has a little squiggle bar that keeps them secure in the meat or whatever you're grilling.

Then, I put the chicken in the Traeger and worked on some syllabi for classes which start next week. I'd go check and turn the meat now and then but not often (Traeger pellet grills are low maintenance). And, I did not have to think about which one was which on the pellet grill, since they were labeled with the grill charms.



Our chicken turned out great, and there were no questions or mix ups about which ones were which heat level. I gloried in my spicy grilled chicken while Eli chowed down on his mild chicken breasts.

The grill charms cleaned up easy and look brand new even after time in a smoker. I just hand washed them in a little soapy water.

Grill charms would be great gifts for your friends who grill but also a nice treat to pick up for home. It really did make it super easy to keep track of the different sauces and heat levels. And, it's always nice to simplify when possible.

As an added bonus, these also look real neat and impress folks. My son thought they grill charms were great and sends a hug to Leslie (-: for making sure he does not accidentally end up with my spicy hot grilled chicken. We won't tell him that he sent hugs. You know how teen boys are - kind of shy (-:

Melanie's Big Acres Chipotle Maple BBQ Sauce on Chicken Tonight

It was fast food night here. That means chicken on the little gas grill. Grilled boneless chicken breasts or the little tender strips take only minutes.

I sauced the chicken with Melanie's Chipotle Maple BBQ sauce. It is part of a collection of gourmet sauces I carry at my OpenSky grill store. I only pick my favorites to go in the store, so you can always check out what I consider hot when it comes to griling and barbecue - or the products I can get in the store anyway.

The gourmet sauces taste fabulous. Instead of having a tomato flavor as most bbq sauces, you get a whole new flavor blast. With the Chipotle Maple, the sauce features pure maple syrup, natural honey, and dark molassas. Then, the pepper gives it a little zip. So, the chicken has a wonderful sweet taste with a little bite but not enough to rule it out for those who can't handle much heat. My younger son isn't big on tongue burning sauces, and he likes Melanie's barbecue sauces.

We also love Big Acres Chipotle Maple BBQ on pork chops and pork loin. It is also good and a change of pace on pulled pork sandwiches, although (being from North Carolina), we usually use vinegar based barbecue sauces on pork shoulder or butts.

I was in and out in 15 or 20 minutes with the gourmet grilled chicken with the sauce added the last five minutes so the natural sugars did not burn. Remember not to do thick sauces too soon on the grill. It does not take long to heat and carmelize thick barbecue sauces.

How to Grill Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - Grilled Chicken Recipe

Boneless, skinless, chicken breasts on the grill.

One of my buddies saw my chicken photo and wanted the chicken breast recipe. It's a super simple grilled chicken recipe that I started doing last year when cooking for larger groups.

What I do is either buy the boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut them in two or three pieces all close in size, or Food Lion here sells them cut like that and called chicken tenders or strips I think.

There are several reasons for doing the chicken in small strips on the grill:

1. The chicken strips cook faster than full chicken breasts or bone in chicken. The time is in the same range as hot dogs.

2. Since the chicken grills quick, it stays moister (unless cooked too long).

3. The chicken has less fat and is healthier with no skin (which can be a problem though with larger pieces which can get dry).

4. The small grilled strips really can be finger foods - just a little messy with the sauce but not bad.

How to Make Boneless, Skinless Grilled Chicken

Before grilling marinate the chicken for an hour or so or do that in the morning or the night before. You can use your favorite marinade, but I generally use bottled Italian dressing - the oil based type and not the creamy. This just adds moisture and also keeps the chicken from sticking to the grill.

Heat the grill to medium hot or with coals burned down well if using charcoal. Let the grates heat too, because cold grates make foods stick. You can also spry Pam on the grates, but with the marinade, the chicken is not bad to stick.

Grill for around 4 minutes and flip the chicken strips. Put barbecue sauce on top and grill again around 4 minutes (or a little less). One last flip of the chicken to sauce the other side if you like and just enough time to heat.

Times vary on grills and the size of the chicken pieces. The chicken will look white and not pink. And, it really does not take long with the chicken cut this way.

As far as the barbecue sauce, we used John Boy and Bill's Original BBQ sauce here. It's excellent. We also like Stubbs. Kraft or any other type you like works well. One favorite here at our house is Chef Hymie Grande bbq sauce. It just happens to be diabetic sealed, but it tastes fabulous. I get that when my parents eat over. Just try some different barbeque sauces and see what you and family and friends like.

This is one of my many quick and easy barbecue recipes and tricks for rocking the grill. You can find more articles here at the blog and at my web site Yes You Can Grill. It really doesn't have to be hard to make and take forever to cook to be delicious, although I do have some more labor intensive and time consuming grill recipes that are worth the extra effort for sure.