Pollo al Mattone – Barbecued Chicken Under a Brick

Whether you cook a chicken on the barbecue or in the oven, butterflying it speeds up the cooking process by half. By butterflying I mean to remove the backbone and flatten it out. It’s easy to do with a good pair of kitchen scissors, and if I’m honest I find it strangely enjoyable.

To make things easier buy a number of chickens at a time, get them all butterflied in one go and place in snap-lock bags with the marinade ingredients. Squish them around to coat and freeze ready to go. Then you’ve got a marinated chicken ready for the barbecue anytime.

Adding the weight of something heavy, like a brick, presses the skin as flat as possible to the heat source, enabling the chicken to get crispy and charred on the outside while the inside remains moist and tender. My favourite kind of roast chicken! To do this you will need to wrap a brick in a double layer of foil prior to using. Keep it especially for this job.

Pollo al Mattone - Barbecued Chicken under a brick

Crispy and juicy butterflied chicken cooked on the BBQ.

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Servings: 4

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 medium chicken
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• juice and finely grated rind of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• flat leaf parsley, chopped, for serving
• lemon wedges, for serving

Method

 

1. Using a pair of sharp kitchen scissors, cut down either side of the chicken’s backbone and remove. Trim any hanging skin and turn over with breast facing upward. Using the palm of your hand press down, you will hear a crack as the breastbone flattens out
2. Place the olive oil, dried herbs and seasonings, lemon rind and juice into a bowl and combine. Put the chicken into a large snap-lock bag, or a baking tray and pour over the marinade. Make sure the chicken is thoroughly coated by using your hands to rub in. Ideally you would like to allow it to marinade in the fridge for 8 hours, but if you don’t have the time leave it for as long as possible. The flavour will improve the longer it stands.
3. Bring the chicken to room temperature before you cook it.
4. Preheat a hooded barbecue to medium–high heat. Place the chicken, breast up, on the middle of the barbecue plate. Cook for 5 minutes, then turn the middle burners off, leaving the outer ones on so the chicken will now be cooking over indirect heat. Place the brick on top. Close the hood and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Open the hood, and using oven mitts, remove the brick and carefully turn the chicken over. Replace the brick, close the hood and cook fora further 10 minutes. Repeat, twice, turning the bird and replacing the weight a further 5 minutes each side by which time the chicken should be cooked through. Check by piercing the joint at the leg, if the juices run clear it is cooked.
6. Remove from the barbecue and place on a large cutting board. It can be served as is, or you can chop it into individual pieces. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and serve with wedges of lemon.

Recipe from my book – Easy Home Cooking Italian Style, New Holland Publishers