This is how Vittorio grills chickens for the Misericordia Di Fiesole's cookouts: Simple, delicately flavored, and mild enough that you won't need to chase your drumstick with a bottle of Lambrusco. To serve four you'll need:
Prep Time: 2 hours,
Cook Time: 1 hours,
Ingredients:
- A chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds, 1.5-1.8 k)
- 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt (Kosher salt will work fine)
- 3-4 leaves of fresh sage
- 2 cloves garlic
- A 10-inch (25 cm) sprig of rosemary
- Freshly ground pepper to taste (go easy)
- A quarter cup of olive oil
Preparation:
Split the chicken up the breastbone, squash it flat, and fold the wings up behind its back.Strip the leaves from 8 inches of the sprig of rosemary (reserve the end to serve as a brush) and mince them with the sage, salt and garlic. Once the mixture is reduced to a paste, add a little bit of ground pepper to it, stir half the oil into it, and rub it into the chicken. Let the chicken marinate for an hour or so. In the mean time, build a fire in your barbecue; in terms of heat you should be able to hold your hand at rack level for 6-7 seconds when you put the bird on it. I generally start skin side up, and with the rack at least 6 inches (15 cm) above the coals -- even 8 if the grill will allow it. Cook the bird, turning it often and basting it with the remaining olive oil. Once it has shed the grease under its skin the coals will stop flaming up (lift the bird out of the way of the flames if need be to avoid char) -- at this point lower it to about 6 inches above the coals to crisp the skin. It will take an hour or slightly more to cook, and will be done when the meat begins to pull up along the drumsticks and the juices run clear if you insert a skewer into the hip joint.
Grilled chicken goes wonderfully with grilled sausages (the link is to a recipe for making sausage; if you're going with store-bought use sweet Italian sausages, and prick the skins before you put them on the grill) and grilled vegetables, or other picinc foods. You can also rub spare ribs with this seasoning mix.
Kyle's Variation:
Prepare the marinade above, adding to it 3-4 finely chopped salted capers (reduce the kosher salt slightly) and the finely chopped zest of an organically grown lemon; you should also replace half the olive oil with lemon juice. Cook as above, basting the bird with the oil, and also squeezing a little lemon juice over the skin-side each time it is facing up.
Serve your chicken with a zesty red wine, for example a Valpolicella Classico or a Bardolino, or perhaps Lambrusco if you are having a cookout. It will also be nice with a fruity, lively white wine such as Vermentino.
