I don't know if this happens to you, but it seems like every damn time I grill chicken (breast, pieces, whatever) it always takes foooorrrreeevvvveerrrrr to get done. Ha! But not this time! This is my new favorite (and easy) way to cook it.
What you'll need are 2 bricks (we have a couple laying around the basement from when they built the house), a whole chicken (innards removed, skin on), and a marinade.
Now, you can pretty much choose any marinade you like - perhaps you're feeling spicy - but I went Mediterranean.
Marinade
3 large cloves of garlic, peeled
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 tsp oregano
juice from one lemon
1/2 cup olive oil (I used "extra light tasting" since I'm not a fan of EVOO's taste unless it's on bread)
(you could add a dash or two of balsamic vinegar if you like)
Pulse in the food processor (yeah, like I'm gonna mortar&pestle that out, ha!) for about 30 seconds. You want it to be thick, but not like a paste. More like a chunky dressing, so if you need to, add more oil.
Split the bird down the backbone so it's spread eagle. Rinse off, pat dry. Stick it in a lasagna pan, or at least some container with higher walls, and pour half the marinade on the outside. Massage it in well and then flip the bird over to massage in the remaining half of the marinade. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and let it sit in the icebox for a few hours.
After a few hours, get the grill going. You want it medium hot when you cook, so keep that in mind. (Medium heat = bare hand over the center of the coals for no longer than 4-5 seconds)
Since our bricks had been in the basement with creepy-crawlies for years, we washed them off :) Wrap them in foil.
Now to grill:
Liberally salt & pepper the bird's skin and tuck the wings underneath so they don't burn. If you are using regular table salt & pepper, don't be as liberal as I am with my grinders.
Let as much marinade as possible to drip off the chicken before putting it on the grill. Oil + flames = HOLY SHIT! MY EYEBROWS!
Place the chicken SKIN SIDE DOWN directly over the center. Place a brick on each side of the breastbone so it weighs on the chicken. Resist the urge to fiddle with it - just let it cook for 14 minutes.
After 14 minutes, the skin should be browned and crispy. Using tongs, and perhaps a helper, flip the chicken over to cook in the inside. No need to replace the bricks as the chicken's already flattened. You want the breast temperature to get to about 165 and the thigh to about 150. Carry-over heat will even it out as you let it rest under foil for 10 minutes. Carve and enjoy!
"The lady's stacked and that's a fact - ain't holding nothing back!"
In my family, we don't see a point to getting the grill going if we're cooking only one thing, so I chose side dishes at the last minute. This is my new favorite way to make potatoes on the grill!
Buttery Grilled Taters
3-4 Yukon gold or new potatoes (waxy are better than starchy because you don't have to peel them)
2 tbs butter
1tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
Dice potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes as uniform in size as possible to ensure quick, even cooking. Melt the butter in the microwave until it's fully liquid. Sprinkle salt, garlic powder, and pepper into the butter and toss with diced potatoes.
Make a little round foil "boat." (I could've used an aluminium pie pan, but why bother?) Make sure to make it double-thick so it doesn't burn on the grill. Spread buttered tater pieces into the boat in a single layer. Make a little foil hat and cover it loosely. Place on the grill for about 20 minutes. They'll be nice and soft and browned and buttery - like hash browns but not as crispy. I did this when we first poured the hot coals into the grill so we didn't waste that high heat before putting the chicken on. Nom nom nom soooo good.
My Favorite Grilled Asparagus
bunch of asparagus, woody ends chopped off.
Put them in a freezer bag, drizzle in some olive or canola oil (2 tsp at most depending on how big the bunch is). Sprinkle in some Montreal Steak seasoning (I don't know why it's so good on asparagus, but it is! The spices get crunchy on the grill) and mush it all around so everybody gets a little wet.
Place on the grill (make sure they don't fall in! I lost 9 by my brother's count this time) and let them cook for about 10 minutes. The tops should be slightly charred, the bodies should be bright green and tender, meaning if you pick one up with tongs, it will be a little floppy but not flaccid. Nobody likes flaccid asparagus.
The best part about this chicken under a brick meal is that all the pieces - breast, leg, thigh - was done at the same time! And it was juicy!
The downside, of course, is asparagus pee. Yuck.
