Whenever I'm on holiday I always take my trusty charcoal grill with me. It's nothing fancy, just a cast iron fire grate with an adjustable cooking grid above it. My favorite pastime and one thing that never ceases to relax me is sitting by my grill watching the food sizzle and spit on the coals whilst I sip a nice cold glass of white wine.
Grilling for me isn't just about the smell and tastes it's also about the sight and sound too and there's nothing to beat those sounds together with the sight of smoke lightly wisping into the warm evening air - fantastic. I wish it could go on forever so I try to make it last as long as possible.
The best way to do this I find is a spatchcocked chicken. It's doesn't take much effort to control because all you have to do is turn it over after twenty to twenty five minutes and grill the other side - perfect for my relaxation therapy! To be honest if I'm in a really lazy mood then a liberal dusting with salt and pepper is perfectly adequate to produce great tasting chicken with a golden crispy skin but then sometimes it's nice to do something a little different.
My holiday this last year took me to the Amalfi coast of Italy. Dramatic scenery, beautiful blue Mediterranean sea, rocky coast line with amazingly dangerous roads and crazy Italian drivers. Driving along the roads was a feat of concentration in itself but occasionally I got to look at the view rather than concentrating solely on where I was going (and what was hurtling towards me in the other direction!). By the roadside were the local farmers selling their wares and my oh my I haven't seen lemons so big and ripe in a long time so I just had to stop.
Lemon got me thinking because traditionally it goes great with chicken and I could feel a marinade recipe coming on. Keeping it simple I bought a couple of lemons a bulb of garlic and a clump of basil and headed back to my camp ground knowing that the rest of the ingredients for my idea were off the shelf.
I took the zest and juice of one of the lemons and placed it in a small mixing bowl, chopped in a clove of garlic and ripped up the basil leaves. I finished it off with a tablespoon of olive oil and then with my grilled chicken marinade recipe prepared I set about to spatchcock my chicken.
Once the chicken was flat I put my hand under the skin and gently parted the skin from the flesh of the bird taking care not to break the skin. From the breast I was able to gently move onto the thighs and part the skin there so I'd got most of the bird available for my marinade. I poured the marinade under the skin and onto the meat and then gave it a bit of work with my hands to ensure an even spread of basil and garlic.
Salt and pepper to season the skin and I was ready to grill, medium hot coals, twenty to twenty five minutes each side - oh, and don't forget the chilled glass of wine!