With just about a month to go until we move the days have been flying by at breakneck speed. Over Memorial Day weekend we were in upstate New York celebrating our niece’s college graduation. It was a beautiful event, and one we would not have missed.
Now that we are back home there is plenty to do. Along with all the packing, selling of furniture, and pre-moving stuff that must be done, our schedule is filled with lunches, dinners, parties, and other farewell events with friends and family as we begin the long good-byes.
I’ve been so busy that meal time has become a game of what can I make with what’s here since I can’t seem to get to the store to shop. But tonight I wanted to make a real dinner and decided on the Tuscan-Style Chicken Under a Brick pictured above.
This is the best chicken dish I have made in quite a while. After the crazy weather we’ve been having, one day cold, one day rainy, it seems summer has arrived a month early. Suddenly it was very hot and humid today (something I will not miss in San Luis Obispo).
But when summer is in the air all I want to do is grill, or should I say have my husband grill…so I found this fantastic recipe from Steven Raichlen who is well known for his grilling and barbeque prowess.
While buying my chicken (oh, and I bought two so we could have it again tomorrow night since I know I will not have time to cook), I also bought some fresh supersweet corn. Of course, it is too early for it to be locally grown, but it was pretty darn good nonetheless.
It gave me a chance to try something I have not had before. Slather the warm corn with a light covering of good mayo, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, a sprinkle of kosher salt, a grinding of fresh black pepper, and top it all off with some grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese. All I can say is YUM!
I have seen recipes for Mexican corn done similarly, but with cotija cheese and cayenne pepper. And at the Farmer’s Market in San Luis Obispo they offer grilled corn on the cob on a stick with those toppings in addition to the melted butter, but I had never tried it. But now I have, and you should, too! Unless you’re a purist like my husband…only melted butter for him!
Anyway, I divert from the main point of this blog post and that is the deliciously crispy and succulent brick chicken. Oh, and by the way, when I decided to make it I hadn’t thought about the fact that I didn’t have any bricks.
So my husband went next door to our dear neighbors, and asked if they had any bricks we could borrow, and sure enough they did! We are really going to miss them (for many reasons), not just because they have bricks when we need them.
Tuscan-Style Chicken Under a Brick (adapted from recipe by Steven Raichlen)
Ingredients
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped ( use more if you love garlic)
2 tablespoons stemmed fresh rosemary leaves, plus the remainder of the bunch for serving (optional)
2 tablespoons stemmed fresh sage leaves, plus the remainder of the bunch for serving (optional)
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
scant ½ cup coarse kosher salt
2 chickens, 3 and ½ to 4 pounds each
2 lemons, cut in halves, and grilled for serving
2 bricks wrapped in aluminum foil
Directions
Place the garlic, 2 tablespoons each of chopped rosemary and sage, and the pepper in a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade and pulse to finely chop.
Add the salt and process to mix.
Transfer the rub to a jar with a tight fitting lid. This makes about ¾ cup of herbed salt rub, more than you’ll need for this recipe.
Note: Don’t let the amount of salt scare you…it almost acts as a brine giving you a very moist chicken. Also, you are only using enough to use as a dry rub. You can cut back to ¼ cup if you like.
The leftover rub is also excellent for seasoning veal and pork, and will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.
Remove and discard the fat just inside the neck and body cavities of the chickens. Remove the packages of giblets and set them aside for another use. Rinse the chickens, inside and out, under cold running water, then drain and blot them dry, inside and out, with paper towels.
Spatchcock the chickens. (That is removing the backbone so the chicken can be opened up and flattened.After turning over, press down firmly on the breasts to flatten This allows the whole chicken to cook faster, and more evenly). Also known as butterflying.
Generously season the birds on both sides with the herbed salt rub.
Set up your grill for indirect grilling. This will give you a crisp, moist bird without the risk of flare-ups or burning. Preheat the grill to medium, about 300- 350 degrees.
Arrange the birds skin side up in the center of the grate away from the heat and place the foil wrapped bricks on top.
Cover the grill and cook the birds until golden brown and cooked through, 40 minutes to one hour.
Place the lemon halves on the grill away from the direct heat for the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Remove and squeeze on the chicken before serving.
