How to prepare chicken for whole-grain BBQ cooking?
Whether cooked on a rack or in a pan, to be flavourful, chicken needs to be marinated. The secret to thorough cooking is toflavour it not only on the skin, but also underneath. Before brushing it on the outside, remember to slip garlic, herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage, etc.), a few knobs of butter or a little olive oil under the skin to intensely flavor the flesh. To brown and crisp the skin just the way you like it, coat it with the marinade of your choice: lemon, herbs, condiments, wine, beer, honey, maple syrup, etc., not forgetting a few pinches of fleur de sel and pepper. But when it comes to chicken, be creative. Break away from classic combinations and try out new flavors, and why not take your chicken on a trip to other parts of the world and revisit its barbecued chicken.
Recipe ideas for surprising marinades :
And remember to avoid thermal shock by taking your meat out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before cooking it on your Kokko, so that the outside of the chicken doesn't burn and the flesh doesn't harden.
Cooking chicken on a stand
There's a simple reason why whole chickens are particularly tasty: when meat is cooked on the bone, it retains its juices better in the flesh. This prevents the meat from drying out, leaving it tender and moist. For juicy meat, there are two ways to barbecue whole chickens. The first is to use a stainless steel or cast-iron chicken rack. Poultry placed vertically will benefit from even, gentle cooking.
All the cooking juices run into the gutter of the rack to feed the filling around the chicken. You can baste the meat with it several times during cooking to give it flavour, as detailed in our delicious recipe for Kokko roast chicken "à la canette".
Grill cooking
Another cooking technique, found notably in the Portuguese barbecue tradition and its indisputable Churrasco chicken, is to cook it directly flat on the grill. To do this, the chicken is cut in half in the centre to obtain a chicken that is shaped like a toad, hence the name 'poulet en crapaudine' (toad chicken), as in this 'American-style' grilled chicken recipe. American-style grilled chicken . This type of cooking is particularly appealing to fans of grilled flavours! As the chicken is in direct contact with the embers, basting it inevitably means running the risk of dripping marinade onto the embers, potentially fanning the flames and thus burning the chicken. Instead, brush the chicken with a brush during the last few minutes of cooking, when the embers are less hot.
When it comes to temperature and cooking time, be patient! To avoid burnt-out chicken, keep a close eye on the temperature, which should not exceed 200°. For a whole chicken weighing around 1.2-1.5 kg cooked on its stand, allow at least 1 hour cooking time. Grilled directly over the coals in a 'crapaudine', allow around forty minutes, depending on the weight of your chicken.
And if you're not sure what to serve it with, take a look at our our food and wine pairing ideas to find the perfect pairing and enjoy!
