Grilled Whole Chicken
- 1 chicken (about 3 1/2 to 4 pounds)
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Fresh-ground black pepper
- The day before cooking, if possible, remove the backbone from (or ask your butcher to do this): 1 chicken (about 3 1/2 to 4 pounds).
- Use a pair of poultry shears or a knife to cut through the thigh joint and rib bones along either side of the backbone.
- Turn the chicken breast side up and flatten the bird by pressing down on the breastbone with the palm of your hand, pushing until you hear the bone snap.
- Brush the bird lightly with: Olive oil.
- Season all over with: Salt, Fresh-ground black pepper.
- Cover and refrigerate.
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator an hour before you are ready to grill.
- Prepare a bed of coals and let them burn down until medium-hot (the coals should be covered with white ash).
- Clean the grate and set it 5 or 6 inches above the coals to heat.
- Place the bird on the hot grill, bone side down, and cook until browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Turn and cook until the skin is brown and crispy, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Turn again and continue cooking, turning every 5 minutes until done.
- Depending on the fire this will take from 30 to 40 minutes total.
- Check at the thigh bone to gauge the doneness.
- Keep an eye out for flare-ups and overbrowning.
- Move the chicken to a cooler place on the grill if it is cooking too quickly, or turn it more frequently from the start.
- Remove from the grill when done and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
- Marinate the chicken with chopped fresh herbs, grated lemon zest, and crushed coriander seeds in addition to salt and pepper.
- When using a sauce, brush it on the chicken 10 minutes before it is done.
- If it is put on earlier, the sauce will burn.
- Cook smaller pieces of chicken in the same manner; they will take less time to cook.
chicken, olive oil, salt, freshground black pepper
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-whole-chicken-387258 (may not work)