Publican Chicken

I saw this dish on this forum, a few years ago, I think, and it sounded really good, but I never got around to making it until now.  I’ve seen 3 different ways to make it, though: recipes posted online that supposedly are the original recipe, a BGE-ized version here, and the way Chef Paul Kahan himself said he actually did it in a video. 

The biggest difference between the way he did it and the other ways is that he only grilled it to sear and get a bit of char on the chicken, and then took it off the grill, put it in a skillet or something, and roasted it in an oven.  Because he did that, he wound up with pan juices from the chicken and the marinade, and he then poured those juices over the cooked chicken and french fries served with it, adding a little lemon, too.  Those yummy-sounding juices wouldn’t be available if it were just cooked like a regular spatchcock chicken on a grill.

Unlike other versions, I’ve seen, he also did not marinate it overnight, but only salted it overnight (dry brine), and then marinated it with the seasonings I gather an hour or so before cooking it.

So I decided to try it his way.  I dry-brined (salted) the spatchcocked chicken overnight, then marinated it for about 3 hours, then grilled it just to char, then roasted it in the oven till done.  When I was heating it up to grill, I let the temp get away from me, and it was a little over 600° rather than the 500° I had been planning, but I thought it'd be OK and went ahead anyway, but at that temperature it got more charred than I had wanted even very briefly.  It was still really delicious, though.  I was so concerned while it was on the Egg, though, about getting it on and off the Egg quickly that I forgot to take pictures while it was actually on the Egg, but you'll still see before and after.

I didn't have french fries, but my wife, who LOVED the chicken, said next time we definitely need to try it with the fries, because no kidding, the pan juices and a bit of lemon over the chicken was great, and it'd be great on the fries as well.

Publican Chicken

Ingredients:

1 3-pound chicken, spatchcocked and deboned, save wings and legs.  (I had a 5-lb chicken, the smallest I could find, and I only spatchcocked it, didn’t debone it.)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon Espelette pepper (or Spanish smoked hot paprika, but the chef really recommended the Espelette)

1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano

2 cloves garlic, sliced

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

The night before, spatchcock and salt chicken, refrigerate. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, lemon juice, brown sugar, Espelette pepper, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper. Mix well.

Add chicken to marinade, turning it until coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (maybe 2 or 3 wouldn’t hurt).

Set oven to 325°. (I originally thought 400° for a “hot” oven, but because his was essentially boneless but mine is just spatched but still on the bone, I cooked it slower and longer.)

Grill chicken, skin side down first, direct, hot, maybe 550° or so, get a good char. Flip, char a bit on the other side.

Put in a pan, and roast in the oven until done by Thermapen. Carve, pour pan juices over chicken and any potatoes. He also squeezed lemon over it all, so maybe have lemon wedges on the side?