Chicken on the grill, long and slow

On weekends during the summer, I like to cook on the grill, whenever I can. Sometimes, it is fast, like when I grill a steak. Other times I grill long and slow, like when I'm making barbecue ribs. A while back I decided to do a couple chickens, long and slow on the grill.

I had a couple of cut up chickens which I marinated for about four hours. I cooked those in my grill with charcoal and wood, not over the coals, but off to the side. It took a couple of hours, but it was worth the effort. Here’s what I did.

2 chickens, cut up

Olive oil

8 cloves of garlic

Red pepper flakes

Cajun seasoning

Adobo seasoning

Oregano

Thyme

8 limes

2 cans of beer

Louisiana Hot Sauce

Soy sauce

Preparation

Place each cut up chicken in a zipper bag. To each bag add 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin, 1/2 teaspoon each of red pepper flakes, oregano and thyme, as well as a generous sprinkle of adobo and cajun seasoning. Squeeze three limes into each bag. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to each bag and finally add a can of beer to each bag. Seal the bags and let them rest in the refrigerator for at least four hours. Turn the bag over once an hour.

Light the grill with a big pile of charcoal on one side, bordered by a 2” diameter hardwood chunk. When the coals are ready, line the chicken up off to the side, not directly over the coals. You’ll have to stack the chicken two or three pieces high, to fit it in a single line. That’s ok, you want that. The juices from upper pieces will baste the bottom pieces of chicken.

Close the lid of the grill and let the chicken slowly cook. Every twenty minutes, shuffle and re-stack the chicken so it cooks evenly. Add more charcoal to the pile as needed.

This should take at least two hours, so don’t get impatient and move the chicken over the coals. We’re just using indirect heat. During the first hour, baste the chicken with some of the leftover marinade. Stop after the first hour and discard the remaining marinade. 

After a couple hours, the chicken should be uniformly golden and ready to serve. Place the chicken in a bowl and sprinkle it with a little Louisiana Hot Sauce and a little soy sauce. Squeeze on the last two limes and bring it to the table. Toss or stir the chicken to distribute the sauces and lime juice.

Serving

Serve several pieces of chicken next two a big pile of brown rice. Now add a big pile of grilled broccoli, homemade bread and butter. Open a bottle of ice cold white wine from France (the one I served was from France. I don’t really care where you get your wine from). We all went back for seconds, so don’t feel guilty if you do too.