Chicken On The Grill

This is the way my friend Martha taught me to grill a whole chicken. Martha is one of the best cooks around and everything she's ever made for me has been delicious. In the grilling months we switch from roast chicken to this chicken. It's really good and makes life easy.

Right now this morning or at some point today try to find 5 minutes to dress up your chicken with s&p, cumin, paprika, a little chili powder or whatever you like. Just s&p is fine. Stick it in the fridge but take it out an hour before you're ready to cook it. There's no law saying that you have to do this but room temperature meat cooks faster and more evenly, as I'm sure you know. It's one of those little things that make a huge difference, like letting meat rest before you carve it.

When you light your grill, and I am referring to a charcoal grill, bank the fire to one side. If you have a gas grill my heart goes out to you because you can't actually cook on a gas grill and I urge you to reconsider your decision to go gas. I know you're saving TONS of time by not having to wait for the coals to get hot, like a full 12 minutes, but that is time that could be spent sipping a gin & tonic and doing a crossword puzzle so really what are you saving?

When the fire is hot simply put the chicken on the grill off the coals. Cover the grill and go away for an hour. Be sure to leave the cover vents open. If you are pressed for time you can spatchcock the bird and it will probably cook in half an hour. (It's really fun to say "We're having spatchcocked chicken for dinner.") If you go away for more than an hour that's fine. A

perfectly cooked, moist juicy, yummy chicken will be waiting for you when you return. It will have a pleasant smokiness to it. Obviously, it's good hot, cold or at room temperature. And anything you like will go with it.