Wow.
Time Flies.
How do bloggers do it?
Ok. Where I live on the south shore of Massachusetts, we get nailed by these things called Nor’easters. Well, this last year, weather people started calling them “Bombogenesises”. Just another twist on the word “storm” with a terrifyingly scientific bent on it. Lets’ take the part of the bible, the book of Genesis, that shows how God supposedly created the world, and add the word “bomb” to it. Yay! Congrats Weather Channel, you just created another word that when mentioned, basically turns a trip to the grocery store to get some storm provisions into a peek at what a possible zombie apocalypse might look like. I’m surprised you didn’t go with “Revelations Cyclone”-maybe next year.
But I digress…
Anyhoo, stuck at home during this latest crazy nor’easter with the hyped-up-on steroids-name, we lost power, which living by the ocean typically accompanies these occasions. Luckily we have a gas range that is still functional when the power goes out. We have no way of calibrating the oven, but the stove top cranks. We also have this wonderful thing called a propane grill. Mine is not fancy but 100% used, loved, and battle scarred. I’m not one of these dudes that buys the most expensive, shiniest twelve-burner 6000BTU grills that money can buy just as a trophy, but then only uses it to cook hot dogs on it with his bros, while they drink Natty ice once a summer…
No man, screw that.
My grill is an unexceptional work-horse, three-burner, Weber, Spirit grill from Home depot. It un-glamorously sits in my asphalt driveway about three large steps from the mud room door that leads to my very modest kitchen. $600 bucks and some know-how, and that thing will not only feed a hungry neighborhood, but will take you through the most testosterone induced, grill fantasies you could ever imagine. I bolted a rotisserie to it, and slow-turn-roasted pork shoulders for hours set above heaping roasting pans of yukon gold potatoes, cooking the potatoes in the drippings; I’ve loaded it up with cast iron, hardwood chip boxes and smoked things for days on end; I have a stone that I throw on there, crank the heat up and fire off beautiful artisanal pizzas; In the summer when we’re lucky enough to get fresh lobsters, I’ve cut them in half and grilled them, shell-side-down, drowning in garlic butter; yet so much more. Heck, I could unapologetically brew coffee in a stock pot on that thing if I wanted too. Not bragging, just saying my grill is a work horse and I’m a firm believer that the more love you show it, by using it for what it’s meant to be used for, the more love it will return – tenfold.
Trophies are for grandma’s curio cabinet.
One of these many loves that my grill has returned to me was just this last weekend in the throws of of a powerless, cold, and scary few days, with few things to eat and no where to get groceries, a pizza or let alone gas for miles.
I had a chicken in my fridge and my fridge was thawing after losing power for three days, so I needed to cook it. I had fennel seeds, sea salt and olive oil aplenty, and a gas top range to toast these fennel seeds, to draw out their inherently savory, dusty, licorice flavor. I had to my horror, forgotten that I had given away my mortar and pestle to someone in need and was only left with a 25 year-old spice mill. but without power, for a moment my dreams were dashed. Crumpled and thrown up into the tempest that was literally tearing the limbs off of my quaint, picturesque, New England, seaside town.
But, desperate times do not only call for desperate measures, but they do also inspire strokes of genius! There’s a twelve volt outlet in the dash board of my inherited 2000 Pontiac Vibe. I used to scoff at that outlet, especially when we got our new SUV with the latest technology; Apple Drive, Bluetooth, Siri, a GPS with a touch screen, more USB ports than you could shake an iphone5s with a shattered touch screen at…
I say “used to” because wouldn’t you know it? That little 12 volt, two-pronged outlet gave my little 25 year-old spice mill the elixir of life that so many folks in my neck of the woods were longing for at that moment. A twist of the ignition key, a rumble of that little Toyota engine, and “zip zip zeeeeeuuuuuww“. I took off the lid, and in a beige puff of licorice scented, pulverized culinary heaven, not only did my going-on-twenty-something car interior suddenly smell like I had wandered into a spice vendor at a marché at St. Remy, in Provençe, but I suddenly had ground, toasted fennel seeds for my storm inspired chicken!
The rest is history.
And the recipe is below.
One whole, preferably naturally raised or organically raised chicken.
1/4 Cup fennel seeds
1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil
One lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Take ¼ Cup of fennel seeds and place in a small pan over moderately high heat and toast, tossing frequently until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Make sure you don’t let them get too dark.
Put toasted fennel into a spice mill or crush with a mortar and pestle until powdered.
Set aside.
Rinse and dry a whole chicken.
Flip the bird, breast side down and cut along the back bone with poultry shears preferably and remove the backbone.
Spread it open to reveal chest cavity.
Take the heel of a large chef’s knife and find the cartilage and bone between both breasts and press down firmly enough to cut through half of the cartilage. Flip bird back-side down and with your hands, as if you wer giving the chicken CPR, press down on the breast firmly. This will make the chicken able to splay out so that it will cook more consistently.
Line a large baking sheet or dish large enough to hold the whole chicken, with foil and put chicken on it. Rub chicken all over with extra virgin olive oil and generously season with sea salt and fresh black pepper on both sides of chicken. Rub ground, toasted fennel seeds all over chicken.
Heat grill to full whack (mine goes up to about 550 degrees)
When grill has heated thoroughly, take a wire brush and clean grill grates of debris. Then, bunch up a paper towel and put it in a stainless-steel bowl. Drizzle towel with vegetable oil and using tongs, oil the grill before placing the chicken on it.
Place chicken, breast side down in middle of grill, then lay a sheet of foil over chicken. Top chicken with heavy cast iron skillet if you have one, or a large brick. This will “press” or weight the chicken down and make it cook more evenly which in turn will make it moister and more succulent.
Cover grill and cook for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, take cast-iron skillet and foil off of chicken. Take a metal spatula and tongs and slide spatula under chicken, being careful not to let chicken skin stick to the grill and tear away from chicken, as that’s what will be naturally basting the bird while it cooks. With the spatula under the bird, use your tongs to grasp it with your other hand and with one motion, flip the bird over to cook on its’ back side.
Place foil and cast -iron skillet back on top of bird.
Cover grill and cook 10 more minutes.
After ten minutes, take of weight again and flip bird over once more so the breast side is down. Put weight back on bird., close grill and cook for 10 more minutes.
The total cooking time at this point should be 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, open grill and check temperature with a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh and breast. When thermometer reads 165 the chicken is done.
You might need to cook a few minutes more or it might be done, depending on the size of the chicken. If it needs to cook longer, make sure you put the weight back on top of the chicken, and closed the grill lid.
When chicken is done cooking, take weight off, remove from grill and put on a large platter and tent with a large piece of foil. The chicken will rest and the juices will naturally distribute throughout the bird as the meat relaxes.
After about 10 minutes the chicken is ready to serve. You can serve the chicken whole on the platter, or chop into large pieces with a heavy knife which helps with serving.
At this point cut a lemon in half and generously squeeze fresh lemon juice all over chicken, sprinkle with some fresh sea salt and serve, spooning the lemony pan drippings over top.
tpchow 