Simon & Garfunkel Chicken

Simon & Garfunkel Rub is a wonderful herb rub that is great on chicken, turkey, and veggies. One of my favorite uses is on skinless chicken. Yes, with the exception of the wings, that beautiful golden bird at right is nekked. More than one guest has pronounced this the best chicken they have ever tasted.

Why skinless? The skin is like a giant lipid laden condom that prevents the flavor from entering the meat and then it makes my belly bulge. I know the skin tastes good, but trust me, the chicken tastes better with the skin off and a flavorful rub like this.

You don't have to rotisserie the bird, but I think it is juicier if your do. When you roate the meat, the juices flow around the meat as it turns, basting it, rather than dripping on the coals.

Recipe

Ingredients
1 chicken
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
1 tablespoon (maybe more) Simon & Garfunkel Rub

Do this
1) Oil the bird all over and sprinkle the rub on lightly. Don't make a thick coat. Leave it in the fridge for a few hours. The oil helps extract the flavor from the herbs and helps hold in moisture during cooking.

2) Preheat the grill to medium high. In this photo the bird is on an E-Z Que, my favorite rotisserie system. The front and rear burners are on high and the middle burner under the bird is off. The temp gets up to about 400F. Chicken is naturally tender and does not nead to be cooked low and slow like ribs. A 3 pound bird will be ready, 165F in the deepest part of the breast, in 45-60 minutes. Use a good meat thermometer so you do not overcook. When you take the bird off, let it rest for about 15 minutes. This allows the moisture to cool slightly so it does not gush out when you cut it, and the temp will rise to about 170F. The twigs burning in the background are dried basil from last year's herb garden, but you can use any kind of wood chips or pellets. Chunks take too long to ignite and give up their sweetness.

Optional. If you don't have a rotisserie, you can make great chicken by grilling on the grates the old fashioned way, by cutting it in halves or quarters before cooking, flipping every10 minutes or so. Another way to cook it is to butterfly the bird by cutting it along the backbone and flattening it with the palm of your hand. Or you can sit it on a beer can.

3) When you take the meat off, let it rest about 10 minutes. The easiest way to cut it into halves and quarters is with scissors, not a knife.

This page was revised 8/25/2008

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