2 people
DINNER
Ina Garten Back to Basics (p. 106)
Whole chicken - 1 (3 1⁄2 lbs)
Lemons - 3
Garlic - 3 cloves
Rosemary - 3 sprigs
Chicken - flatten by standing upright and cutting out the backbone with a knife. Spread the chicken open on a board with the skin side down. Cut around and remove the breast bone with a boning knife
Lemons - zest to yield 2 tsp, juice to yield 1/3 cup of juice and cut one lemon in half
Garlic - mince to yield 1 tbl
Rosemary - mince to yield 1 tbl
Sprinkle the chicken with 1 tsp salt on each side. Combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary and 1 tsp pepper in a ceramic or glass dish just large enough to hold the flattened chicken. Add the chicken, and turn to coat. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, turning once or twice.
When ready to grill, prepare a hot charcoal fire on one side of a grill (or turn a gas grill on low heat). Spread 1⁄4 of the coals across the other side of the grill. Place the chicekn on the cooler side, skin-side-up and weigh it down with the dish you used for marinating. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes until the underside is golden brown. Turn the chicken skin-side-down, weight it down again with the dish and cook for another 12 to 15 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Place the lemon halves on the cool side of the grill, cut side down, for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove the chicken to a plate or cutting board, cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Cut the chicken into quarters, sprinkle with salt and serve with the grilled lemon halves.