Take your chicken breasts, skin on, bone still in, trim off the rib cage bones if they are there, any hanging loose skin and tags of meat - anything that would stick out and burn. Soak the meat in a brine of 2 quarts water and 1/3 cup table salt (this is a weaker brine than usual) for about 1 hour. Rinse off with water and pat dry with paper towels.

Season with pepper on all sides. Have your 6 quarts charcoal hot and placed on side of the grill and let the grill rack heat up for about 5 minutes. When it's hot, brush with your wire brush and then mop the wires with a paper towel soaked in oil. This cleans and seasons the grill and you should do it every time. Place the chicken breasts on the hot side of the grill, skin side down, just long enough to start rendering the fat, 6 to 8 minutes, and turning every couple of minutes. They should be light brown and have grill marks. Move the meat to the cooler side of the grill with the thickest part of the chicken pointing toward the hot coals. Cover them all with a big sheet of foil and put the lid on the grill. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, until internal temperature is 150 degrees. Move them back over the hot coals, bone side down and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Flip so skin side is down and cook to 160 degrees internal temperature, about 2 minutes. Remove to a platter.



Cherry Tomato Salad with Balsamic Dressing

2 pints cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup juice from tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 shallot, minced fine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (a good one)
Pepper
8 oz whole milk mozzarella
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil

Place the quartered tomatoes in a mixing bowl. Mix in the salt and sugar with a rubber spatula. Let stand 30 minutes. Place them in a salad spinner and spin for 45 to 60 seconds. Put the tomatoes back in the mixing bowl and strain the liquid that came from them. Press the pulp to get as much of the jelly material as you can. You need 1/2 cup of the juice. Put it in a saucepan with the balsamic vinegar and shallots. Cook over medium heat at a simmer to reduce it to 3 tablespoons, fairly thick, should take about 15 minutes. When reduced, transfer to a bowl and cool it to room temperature.

When cooled, stir in the olive oil and pepper. Check for seasoning, but it shouldn't need salt. Then pour over the tomatoes. Stir in the cheese and tear the basil leaves in large pieces and stir into the tomatoes.


How do you know the charcoal grill is ready:
A slice of sandwich bread on the grill for 20 seconds. Burned: coals are too hot, pale: coals are not hot enough.