{"id":5044,"date":"2011-10-18T15:32:44","date_gmt":"2011-10-18T22:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/?p=5044"},"modified":"2011-10-18T15:32:44","modified_gmt":"2011-10-18T22:32:44","slug":"a-chicken-on-every-grill-italian-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/a-chicken-on-every-grill-italian-style\/","title":{"rendered":"A chicken on every grill, Italian style"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Chicken is not usually the first choice for grilling at my house.\u00a0 We’ve eaten far too many dull, dry chicken breasts over the years.<\/p>\n

Yet a whole chicken was one of the best things we grilled this year.\u00a0 It was rich, juicy and intensely flavored.<\/p>\n

The secret is the classic Italian method of cooking chicken under a brick\u2013 or al mattone<\/em>.\u00a0 The skin gets incredibly crisp and the meat stays moist.\u00a0 Add a lively rub of garlic and rosemary and it’s irresistible.<\/p>\n

I like to serve it on a bed of peppery arugula. The warm juices from the chicken make an ideal dressing.<\/p>\n

If grilling season is winding down now where you live, you owe it to yourself to try this technique before packing the grill away for the winter.\u00a0 You’ll never think of chicken the same way again.<\/p>\n

This isn’t one of the fiddly dishes that require a lot of new ingredients or special equipment.\u00a0 It helps to have a sturdy pair of poultry shears to butterfly the chicken but you can use a large chef’s knife for that chore if you’re careful.<\/p>\n

The bricks for which the recipe is named are just inexpensive construction materials wrapped in foil.\u00a0 We cleaned up and wrapped a rectangular concrete stepping stone we already had, instead, and it works just fine.\u00a0 A heavy skillet weighted with a couple of cans is an alternative.<\/p>\n

Although it’s fun to pound the rub in a mortar and pestle, a blender or food processor will do the job.<\/p>\n

Because the bird is butterflied first, it needs less time on the grill, which helps preserve its natural juices.\u00a0 The bricks, which are preheated, also speed things up by ensuring the maximum surface of the chicken is exposed to the heat and the meat cooks uniformly.\u00a0 No more undercooked thighs or sawdust dry breasts.<\/p>\n

Chicken this good is making us reconsider our old prejudices.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK<\/strong>
\nServes 4<\/em> <\/p>\n

1 whole chicken (3-4 pounds)
\n3 cloves garlic, peeled
\n1 tablespoon salt
\n1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
\n2 large sprigs rosemary
\n1 lemon
\n2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
\n2 large handfuls of arugula, washed and dried<\/p>\n

About an hour before you’re ready to begin cooking, remove chicken from refrigerator, rinse and pat dry with paper towels.\u00a0\u00a0 Place chicken, breast side down, on a large cutting board and, using heavy duty kitchen shears, cut along each side of the backbone all the way from top to bottom. Remove backbone and open chicken like a book.\u00a0 Turn chicken over on the cutting board so the skin side faces up.\u00a0 Place the palms of both hands together over the breast bone and press down hard, putting your weight behind it, to crack the bones and flatten the chicken.\u00a0\u00a0 Remove excess fat and dry again. Set aside on a large baking sheet.<\/p>\n

In a large mortar or food processor, smash garlic and salt to a paste.\u00a0 Chop rosemary finely and add to mortar with pepper.\u00a0 Mash until a chunky paste is formed.\u00a0 Stir in the zest from the lemon, reserving the fruit.<\/p>\n

Rub garlic, rosemary and lemon paste onto the chicken, inside and out.\u00a0 Set aside.\u00a0 Preheat grill with two bricks, wrapped in a double layer of aluminum foil, placed over the hottest section.<\/p>\n

When you’re ready to cook, remove the bricks while you oil the grill rack with a thick wad of paper towels dipped in oil.\u00a0 Place the chicken, skin side down, on the cooler side of the grill and cover with bricks.\u00a0 Close grill lid and cook for 10 minutes.\u00a0 Remove bricks from chicken and set aside while you turn the chicken over with a large spatula, being careful not to tear the skin, and move it to the hot side of the grill.\u00a0 Cover chicken with bricks and close lid again.\u00a0 Let cook for 15 minutes.\u00a0 Keep a spray bottle at the ready to douse any flareups as the fat drips onto the coals or burners.\u00a0 Remove bricks again, turn chicken over and leave it on the hot side of the grill.\u00a0 Cook for about 5 minutes more, until an instant read thermometer registers 165 degrees when inserted into the thicket part of the thigh.<\/p>\n

Remove chicken to a\u00a0 platter on which the arugula has been piled.\u00a0 Cut reserved lemon into quarters and squeeze over chicken and greens.\u00a0 Drizzle olive oil over all.\u00a0\u00a0 Let rest for 5 minutes and serve.<\/p>\n

Aleta Watson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chicken is not usually the first choice for grilling at my house.\u00a0 We’ve eaten far too many dull, dry chicken breasts over the years. Yet a whole chicken was one of the best things we grilled this year.\u00a0 It was rich, juicy and intensely flavored. The secret is the classic Italian method of cooking chicken … Continue reading A chicken on every grill, Italian style<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5044"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5098,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5044\/revisions\/5098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}