Grilled chicken is totally ubiquitous - it's on every menu and it's usually no big whoop. In fact, it's often boring. But this chicken is SOOOOO worth getting excited about! It's slathered in mustard, lemon, rosemary, and spicy crushed red pepper so it just titillates you palate with flavor. Then it's grilled until the outside is tangy, crusty, and crispy while the inside stays nice and moist. To make this as super-secy as possible, it's served with a perfectly charred and caramelized lemon half for an extra squeeze of flavor.
Ingredients
4 lemons, 2 zested and juiced, 2 halved
1 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
Kosher salt
Extra virgin olive oil
2 3-pound chickens, backbone removed, and split in half
Serves 4
Time: About 2 1/2 hours, mostly unattended
Method
- In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest, juice, mustard, rosemary, red pepper, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the mustard mixture to loosen it slightly. Slather this mixture generously all over the chickens and let them hang out for up to 2 hours a room temperature or overnight in the fridge. (If any of the mustard mixture is left over, save it for reslathering while the chicken is cooking.)
- Preheat the grill to medium (you want the chicken on the grill as long as possible without burning to develop lovely crispy, tasty tangy skin). Place the chicken on the grill skin side down and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. If the chicken flares up, move it to a cooler part of the grill; you don't want sooty film on the chicken (it won't taste as good).
- Once the chicken has started to brown and crisp, it's a good idea to close the grill to allow the heat to cook the chicken from all directions. You want to cook the chicken skin side down for a total of 10 to 12 minutes, then turn it over and cook it for another 10 to 12 minutes. If you're using a grill pan, you can transfer the chicken to a 375°F oven when it's ready to flip so it can finish cooking. If there is a leftover mustard mixture, use it to paint the skin of the chicken on the second side. The chicken is done when an instant read thermomter registers 165°F.
- When the chicken is nearly done, place the lemon halves on the grill cut side down and leave them alone until brown and caramelized, 5 to 6 minutes. (These will smell great while they're grilling!)
- Remove the chicken from the heat and serve with the grilled lemon for extra lemony goodness.
That's what I call a tangy chick!
Source
Cook like a rock star, Anne Burrell, p.146-7