Monday, July 28, 2014

Pollo alla Diavolo


This was incredible! My barbecue last night and my variation on the Italian classic Pollo alla Diavolo, or the devil's chicken! The chicken is split and butterflied "en crapaudine".Pretty simple. I take my big chefs knife and stick through the chicken and cut one side of the backbone by pushing down on the top of the chicken. Then I open the chicken up and cut out the other side of the backbone and slit the sternum so it opens flat. I marinade the chicken for at least 6 hours, but i did this one over night. I used approximately 1/2 cup of lemon juice...2 lemons should give you that amount. A teaspoon of black pepper. A half cup of olive oil. Most recipes will tell you to use red pepper flakes. I need more heat! So, I used two big soupspoons of chinese chili garlic paste. The garlic paste is a little salty, but I think in a marinade, you need a little more. I put the chicken and the marinade in a freezer bag and use a tie to close it, squish it around and put it in the fridge. The marinade in the bag technique is a great idea. I get a pretty hot barbecue going and I had the chicken in the broiler rack on the top level of my barbecue. My chicken was almost a kilo and it cooked in about 25 minutes. Test it with a fork where the thighs meet the body and when the juices run clear, it's cooked. I want a little crispy blackness in places. I also baste the chicken with the rest of the marinade as it cooks. Take it out of the rack, I put it on a cutting board when it's done and chop it into 4 portions and it's gone in no time! I used a little fresh thyme for the food porn photo op, but that is not at all necessary.  I had the left over marinade soaked lemon halves in the broiler rack, because I love broiled lemons!

1 comment:

Ol'Buzzard said...

Sounds delicious.
the Ol'Buzzard