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| Rosemary Smoked Chicken Under a Brick (Chicken al Mattone)
Italian Tuscan
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We have had the extraordinary pleasure of dining with cookbook author Fran Raboff and her husband Al in their hilltop home in Santa Cruz, California. We arrived one summer evening to find Al on the deck loading up the grill with an enormous pile of fresh rosemary, then laying butterflied chickens on top and compressing it all with heavy weights. The aromas of that evening, combined with the balmy ocean breezes and the delicious wines we were sipping, are memories that are summoned every time I make this dish.
Prepare this dish when you need to cut back your rosemary bushes. Invite some friends over, throw a basketful of rosemary on the grill, and cook up a few chickens. The recipe can be multiplied infinitely. If you don't have fresh rosemary, you can sprinkle a bit of dried over the chicken right before grilling.
WARNING: This cooking of this dish cannot be left unattended. The rosemary will likely catch on fire and will need to be extinguished, and the more rosemary you use, the bigger the fire. I keep a large plastic jug of water near the grill to douse flare-ups and suggest you do the same. Small flare-ups that go out quickly are good - these will produce the smoke that provides the extraordinary flavor to the chicken.
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| Ingredients |
1 3 to 4 pound chicken
Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 orange or lemon (juice only)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt, to taste
12 long sprigs of fresh rosemary (or more)
Special Equipment: 2 bricks, wrapped in aluminum foil
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Steps
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| 1 | Butterfly the Chicken: With poultry shears, split the chicken along the backbone and press to lay flat. Place in a glass baking dish. |
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2 | In a small bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients, squeezing the juice from the orange or lemon into the mixture and discarding the rinds. Pour over chicken, and turn chicken to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate and let marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. |
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3 | Remove chicken from refrigerator. Prepare a gas or charcoal grill to achieve low, steady heat. |
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4 | When grill is ready, lay rosemary sprigs side by side on grill. Remove chicken from marinade, shaking off excess. Place chicken, skin side down, on top of rosemary, then place bricks on top, one on each half of the chicken. |
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5 | Cook for 45-60 minutes (depending on the heat produced by your grill), turning once after 25 minutes. Watch this carefully, as the rosemary and the olive oil can cause it to flame up. When you turn it, brush the now-burnt rosemary sprigs aside, lay the chicken on the grill, and again place the bricks on top. |
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6 | Remove from grill and cut chicken into serving pieces. Arrange on a platter garnished with fresh rosemary sprigs. |
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| Yield
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original recipe: 6 servings
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| Product
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Foodie Kitchen products used in this recipe!
Tools used in recipe:
Poultry Shearers
Citrus Reamer
Salt and Pepper Mills
Salt and Pepper
Saucemaster Whisk
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