Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Grilled Rosemary, Garlic, and Lemon Chicken

I recently hooked up my new grill and I've been having a blast grilling everything under the sun. My recent conquest has been whole chicken on the grill and this dish just just kicked so much ars. Smoky, garlicky, and bright from the lemon, but the most important aspect to cooking chicken is it should be cooked through, but still juicy. One tip I learned is keep the breastbone in as it kept the meat incredibly juicy. I served these with a side salad and some grilled potatoes (baked them 40 mins, then sliced em up and finished on the grill to get em nice and crispy) served with some bravas sauce and alioli. So eff'n good and perfect outdoor food weather. Apologies for the pictures - need to clean my droid lens every time I take a picture.

Grilled Rosemary, Garlic, and Lemon Chicken
Ingredients
1 whole organic chicken
4 sprigs Rosemary
3 lemons juiced
10 cloves crushed garlic
sea salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil

1) Remove chicken backbone and butterfly - rinse. Take chicken and let marinate in lemons, garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper for at least a 1/2 hour.
2) Set up three zones on your grill if you can. One Medium heat, one low heat, and one off zone. On a clean grill over medium heat, rub grates with some oil to prevent sticking.
3) Take chicken out of the marinade and pat chicken down with some paper towels. Place skin side down.
4) Be careful to watch for flare ups and don't move it otherwise you won't get the nice grill marks.
5) After 7-10 minutes, flip the chicken over. You may need to move the chicken off to a low zone if it's burning up to quick. The key is to really watch the grill and chicken constantly to make sure you have control.
6) Cook for probably another 10-15 minutes but keep checking. I was doing the poke test to check if the chicken was done, but you could probably use a thermometer. Legs should be about 170F or if you push the meat it should be slightly firm to the touch - not squishy. Another check is if you pick the chicken up the juices should run clear - if there's any blood throw it back on the grill.
7) When finished take the chicken out, add more olive oil and lemon. This is a real powerfully flavored dish - bright from the lemon, rich from the olive oil, and the charred smoky skin tastes delicious.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dude! These two recipes look like identical ingredients that have been rearranged on the plate to look different. Step it up a notch!

P.S. Is that a rubber chicken?

Aramis said...

Pictures do like like ars...need to use the better camera since the droid doesn't cut it at night. Ingredients are very similar but using different marinades which actually tasted quite different. Chicken was actually pretty juicy and flavorful but pictures do suck...