think this is one of the best Tuscan summer recipes!
The split chicken (the English call it spatchcocked) is rubbed with Tuscan herbs and grilled with a brick on top to keep it
flat and to ensure that it cooks evenly! Serve with lemon wedges, drizzled extra virgin olive oil, and a sprinkling of salt.
Here's how to split the chicken. Open the chicken along the backbone using kitchen shears. (If you like, remove the backbone.) Then open the chicken, like a book. Turn it bone-side down and crush it down with your hands on the breastbone. Pull each of the legs hard until they are pulled out of the socket, and then press hard down, flattening the chicken. The chicken will be flatter, hence cooking more evenly.
I do a range-top version using boneless chicken thighs marinated in
red wine vinegar, Tuscan herbs, black pepper, and chili flakes (this is pollo
al diavolo), cooking them in a cast iron skillet or as pollo al mattone. In the United States, you can buy a circular terra cotta weight designed to fit cast iron skillets.
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