Sunday, Jul. 29, 2007, 12:53 p.m., Recipe: Grilled Poissin (young chicken)

Adapted from Nigel Slater's Grilled chicken with garlic and lemon butter
Serves 2 (approx.)
Preparation time 1-2 hours
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins

2 poussin/young chicken (thaw completely if frozen)
2-4 T olive oil
1 medium lemon, juice only (reserve the zest for the butter)
3-4 small red or orange chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper

1. Wash birds inside and out. Pat dry on kitchen paper.
2. Spatchcock the birds:
   1. Lay the bird breast down;
   2. Use poultry scissors (or cleaver you can control) to remove the backbone from the bird - starting from tail to neck, cut beside the backbone through bone + flesh + skin, and then cut on the other side of the backbone - the bone is entirely removed;
   3. Gently open up the bird at the wing blades to expose the breast bone;
   4. Use a sharp paring knife to score/shallow slit the breast bone - this will let the wing blades open fully;
   5. Turn the bird bone-side down;
   6. (Optional: use the back of a teaspoon to gently ease the skin away from the flesh;)
   7. Use 1 skewer through the wing-breast-wing;
   8. Use 1 skewer through the drum-breast-drum.
3. Put the birds in a shallow tray.
4. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, and garlic, and chillies. Add the freshly ground black pepper.
5. Rub the marinade well into the chicken on both sides. (Optional: rub the marinade between the flesh and skin, using the afore prepared loosened skin.) Add more freshly ground pepper.
6. Cover and leave to marinate in a cool place for at least 1 hour.
7. Get the grill hot. Then turn temperature quite low so that the birds cook right through to the bones before the skin browns too much.
8. Put the birds onto an oiled grill rack so that the delicate skin-side is away from the heat.
9. Flattened, a healthy poussin should take about twenty to thirty minutes, depending on the heat of your grill. Remember to turn it half way through.

For the herb butter
1 clove young garlic, finely chopped
37.5g approx. butter
large pinch of dried rosemary, finely chopped
zest of 1 medium lemon
sea salt

1. Mash all ingredients together well.
2. Stand for the flavours to infuse.
3. Use at room temperature.

The poissins were bought for $13.50-ish for two; and will be served with cucumber & dill salad (as that is what we have on hand).

Update: We also had some German pumpernickel. Very tasty and filling.

I think the lemon butter ought to have been used to baste the chicken, rather than using the marinade. The bird should have been marinaded for longer than 1 hour, as the flesh was still too chicken-flavoured. Definitely try the option of putting marinade under the skin next time.

If there is a next time. I have no idea whether the poissin are organically/ethically raised.

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(c) Sockii