Butterflied Chicken

Sometimes its the journey not the destinaton, and that was the case for me with this recipe. This week's Barefoot Challenge was Butterflied Chicken, a tasty marinated bird that was boned and butterflied. Chosen by Stefany, from Proceed With Caution, this was a great choice for the group because it pushed everyone (or a lot of us) outside our comfort zones. You can check out what everyone else did here. I cook whole chickens often, so that was no problem, and I have butterflied a few in my time as well. But boning one? Never. (If you are a little squeamish maybe skip the next paragraph...)

So I took it slowly. First I cut down either side of the chicken's backbone with my poultry shears. Then I pressed the chicken flat to butterfly it. And then the tricky bit... I slowly worked my hands between the meat and the bones to remove the central bones, leaving behind the bones in the wings, and legs. I then halved the marinade ingredients for making only one chicken, and once marinated, I rolled the chicken up as directed to absorb the flavours all day in the fridge. All going well... but then I cheated, cooking it under the grill in the oven instead of on the BBQ (too cold tonight to be outside).

Apart from being pleased with my new-found boning skill, I really enjoyed the flavour and so did my husband but eldest darling daughter found it a bit too pungent and herby. I'm looking forward to leftovers tossed in a salad tomorrow. Thanks Stefany.

Butterflied Chicken

adapted from Ina Garten

1/8 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus 2 sprigs

1 large garlic clove, chopped

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoons lemon juice

Good olive oil

1 roasting chicken, deboned and butterflied

1/4 lemon, thinly sliced

Mix the chopped rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl to make a paste.

Place the chicken on a sheet pan, skin side up, and loosen the skin from the flesh with your fingers. Place 1/2 of the paste under the skin of each chicken. Rub any remaining paste on the outside and underside of the chickens. Turn the chicken skin side down and scatter the lemon slices and sprigs of rosemary over each chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Roll each chicken up, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat a grill with coals. Spread the coals out in 1 dense layer and brush the grill with oil. Unroll the chickens, place them on the grill and cook for 12 minutes on each side.