1 hr 30 mins plus resting
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serves 6
About the recipe
Who doesn’t love hot honey? The sweetness and spice are what make this BBQ chicken dish so special. Cooking the potatoes between the coals so they get extra golden, while sitting the chicken on the bars above so that all the tasty honey butter and cooking juices rain down, is a genius way to add beautiful bonus flavour.
Ingredients
1.2kg new potatoes
2 lemons
1 bulb of garlic
1 bunch of thyme (20g)
3 bay leaves
2 chillies
1 x 1.5kg free-range chicken
3 tablespoons hot honey, plus 1 teaspoon
100g unsalted butter (softened)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
extra virgin olive oil
2 large bunches of watercress
2 large bunches of wild rocket
Method
- Light the barbecue (see HOW TO SET UP A CHARCOAL BARBECUE).
- Wash the potatoes and tip into a sturdy roasting tray. Speed-peel the zest of both lemons and finely slice, then halve the garlic bulb and one of the lemons and place it all in the tray with the bay and half the thyme. Halve and deseed the chillies and place in the tray, then toss everything together well.
- Place the softened butter and 2 tablespoons of hot honey in a bowl with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Strip in the remaining thyme leaves, then scrunch everything together well.
- Use a large sharp knife to carefully cut down the back of the chicken, so you can open it out like a book, then score the legs. Using your fingers or a spatula, gently part the chicken breast skin from the breast meat, being careful not to rip it.
- Push most of the butter into the space you have made between the meat and skin, massaging some under the skin of the legs, rubbing any leftovers all over the bird.
- Position the tray of potatoes in the bottom of the barbecue, between the coals (ensuring the coals are not touching the tray), placing the chicken on the bars above, skin-side up. Cook with the lid on and vents open for 1 hour, or until golden and cooked through, then remove from the barbecue – the internal temperature should be 65-70ºC. Place the chicken on top of the potatoes to rest (the internal temperature needs to reach 75ºC), drizzling over another tablespoon of the hot honey.
- Put the mustard, 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon of hot honey and a pinch of salt and pepper into a large bowl. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and mix well. Pile on the watercress and rocket, tossing gently when you’re ready to eat. Delicious served with all the usual vegetable BBQ sides.
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