Grilling: Butterflied Herb Chicken
With the onset of a warm spell, my thoughts had wandered to more summer-like fare, but a resurgence of the blistering cold has me back in total comfort mode.
Roast chicken has been my crutch to get me through this winter, but as an admitted cold-wuss, I wanted to be able to grill a chicken while minimizing my outdoor time. So instead of roasting a chicken on the grill, I opted to butterfly it, spread an herb butter under the skin, and cook it directly over the flames, making the total cooking time for a whole chicken about 25 minutes.
The high heat produced a crispy skin (although slightly charred in parts), while the herb butter kept the bird moist and flavorful, creating a fast alternative to a true roast chicken on the grill that's on par with the real deal.
Grilled Butterflied Herb Chicken
Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons of your favorite herbs (such as thyme, sage, tarragon, oregano, etc)
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 whole chicken (3 to 3 1/2 pounds),butterflied
Procedure
1. Mix the butter, herbs, garlic, and salt and pepper together in a small bowl.
2. Using your fingers, carefully separate skin from each side of side of the breast and thighs and spread about 1 tablespoon of the herb butter under each area. Season skin with additional salt and pepper to taste.
3. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread coals out evenly. Place chicken skin-side down on the grill and cook until skin is deeply browned and crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. Flip chicken over and continue to grill until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast registers 160°F, about 10 to 15 minutes more. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Carve and serve.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
6 Comments:
looks SO good, mmmm.... i bet you enjoyed that dinner!
pooch at 11:59PM on 02/27/09
How do you cook a butterflied chicken on a charcoal grill? I tried it once and the fat dripped onto the coals and I had an instant bonfire. Now I only cook butterflied chicken under the broiler. That way, I don't get sabotaged by gravity!
minstrel at 4:16PM on 02/28/09
@minstrel: Flare-ups are a problem with butterflied chickens over the coals, which is why my skin ended up charred in places. I've found that if I start having a flare-up, I put the cover on for about a minute, and that takes care of the problem.
If you have a two-zone fire, you can also move the chicken away from the coals until the fire subsides, and then try moving the chicken back.
Joshua Bousel at 4:23PM on 02/28/09
Thanks for the advice, Josh! I'll give it a try again sometime soon.
minstrel at 4:33PM on 02/28/09
I grill all year round. Cold, hot, rain, wind, snow(if we ever get any ever again) I don't care. I fire up the grill more often than the average person, and charcoal or wodd is the only way to go. I'll never go back to gas ever again. My motto is "If you don't have time to use charcoal or wood, then you should stay in the kitchen".
This sounds great!!!
@Minstrel: You can always use the indirect method of heating on any charcoal grill. Just keep an eye on the grill temp, and rotate when needed. This recipe would seriously kick major butt using the indirect method anyway. Add a little hickory to the coals while cooking,and near the end, move the chicken over the coals and let the skin get to the desired crispyness.
Raiders757 at 2:37AM on 03/01/09
I make a very similar bird cooking it under the broiler. Living in Manhattan has some limitations, one of which is not having access to a backyard or a grill.
But it still comes out delicious, albeit without the woodsy flavor that you get from a grill.
In some places, they call it spatchcocking. I wrote about it here...
http://tastytravails.blogspot.com/2009/01/spatchcocked-chicken-for-dinner.html
weinoo at 12:08PM on 03/01/09