Aug 09 2016
I had an overload of little plum cherry tomatoes so I made up this caprice pasta salad and got some skinless boneless chicken thighs to have with it.
My salad was 12 oz. gluten free penne, 1 ½ pounds cherry tomatoes, 12 oz. mozzarella, 1 shallot, a large handful of fresh basil, some lemon zest, salt and pepper. The dressing was 1/3 cup olive oil, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, minced garlic whisked together then added the basil, shallots and tomatoes. I let set while I cooked the pasta about ½ hour total. When the pasta was cooked and cooled I mixed it and the mozzarella in and let that set about ½ hour before going in the fridge.
The chicken thighs were placed in a dish, a little kosher salt, and garlic flakes on top, Mr. Yoshidas added to cover and in the fridge 5 to 6 hours. I turned them half way through.
I heated my Traeger to 225 deg. I rinsed the thighs and placed in lightly oiled muffin pan. I covered each with a little Yoshidas and a little garlic flakes then Big D’s Big Kahuna went on four and the Margarita went on two for me. The muffin pan went in the smoker for 45 minutes then I removed them from the pan and direct on frog mat. Being in the pan they set up some and will hold a nice shape for the rest of the cook.
I upped the temp to about 280 deg. grill level for 45 minutes and went to 300 deg. the last 15 minutes to get to an IT of 170 deg. Total cook time was 1 ½ hours. All was served with some toasted English muffins and of course some butter!
It tasted pretty good, the Big D’s seasoning went well with Mr. Yoshidas. I had one thigh with the Margarita and one with the Big Kahuna.
Smokin Don
