Forget about gas grills, fancy technique, or complicated ingredients lists. More often than not, all it takes is a fire, a ton of olive oil and lemon, some garlic, and some herbs to transform meat and seafood into party-worthy fare. The secret to flavorful grilled chicken is rubbed with olive oil, garlic, and herbs (oregano most commonly), placed over a moderate fire, squeezing a lemon over the meat every so often, and cooking until the skin is crisp. It’s a great way to get tons of flavors into the meat with very crisp skin, but unfortunately it doesn’t reliably deliver juicy meat. The problem is that by squeezing lemon over it repeatedly, you end up adding liquid to the surface, which in turn makes the skin take a very long time to crisp up. By the time the skin finally gets crisp, there’s plenty of lemon flavor, but that internal meat is dry and overcooked.
In my own backyard I’d much prefer to have the whole package: crisp skin, flavor, and perfectly cooked meat.
One potential solution is to simply omit the lemon juice basting steps while cooking, which, while it helps ensure the chicken crisps in time, ends up losing you flavor. Squeezing lemon over the finished chicken is just not quite the same.
The solution turned out to be a two-stage flavoring process. Instead of making an olive oil-based rub, I decided to combine the aromatics into a emulsified vinaigrette, packing garlic, chopped fresh oregano, olive oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest into one flavorful sauce.
Serves 4
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 3 whole lemons
- 5 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
- 3 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 whole chicken, 3 1/2 to 4 pounds
DIRECTIONS
- Grate 2 teaspoons zest from 1 of the lemons into a large bowl with a lemon zester or microplane grater. Split that lemon plus 1 more lemon in half and squeeze 3 tablespoons juice into bowl. Add garlic and oregano. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in olive oil to form an emulsified vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels and place breast-side-down on a large cutting board. Using sharp kitchen shears, remove the backbone by cutting along either side of it. Turn chicken over and lay out flat. Press firmly on breast to flatten the chicken. For added stability, run a metal or wooden skewer horizontally, entering through one thigh, going through both breast halves, and exiting through the other thigh. Tuck wing tips behind back. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Using your hands, rub 1/2 of vinaigrette evenly all over the surface of chicken, working it into every nook and cranny.
- Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to the highest heat setting, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate.
- Place chicken skin-side up on cooler side of grill with legs facing towards hotter side. Cover grill with vents on lid open and aligned over the chicken. Open bottom vents of grill if using a charcoal grill. Cook until instant read thermometer inserted into deepest part of breast registers 120°F, about 30-45 minutes. Carefully flip chicken and place skin-side-down on hotter side of grill with breasts pointed towards cooler side. If using a gas grill, reduce heat to medium-low. Press down firmly with a wide, stiff spatula to ensure good contact between bird and grill grates. Cover and cook until skin is crisp and instant read thermometer inserted into deepest part of breast registers 145 to 150°F, about 10 minutes longer. If chicken threatens to burn before temperature is achieved, carefully slide to cooler side of grill, cover, and continue to cook until done. Do not leave the lid off for longer than it takes to check temperature.
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, split remaining lemon in half and place cut-side-down on hotter side of grill. Grill until well browned, about 5 minutes. Carve chicken, drizzle with remaining vinaigrette, and serve immediately with grilled lemon halves.
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