Simon & Garfunkel Chicken
Simon & Garfunkel Chicken
Simon & Garfunkel Rub
Makes. About 1/4 cup, enough for about 8 large whole chickens
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon dried crushed sage
1 tablespoon dried crushed rosemary
1 tablespoon dried crushed thyme
1 tablespoon dried crushed oregano
1 tablespoon dried crushed basil
1 tablespoon dried crushed bay leaf
1 tablespoon groubd black pepper
1 tablespoon dried crushed hot red pepper (cayenne or chipotle)
About the parsley. Fresh parsley is a lot better than dried. If you can, buy fresh parsley, chop it, and freeze it in a zipper bag. As you prepare this recipe, leave out the parsley, and then, when you get ready to use it, add the frozen parsley after the rest of the rub. It will defrost rapidly and taste better.
Optional. Mix a tablespoon of rub with 6 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil an hour or so before cooking to make a paste. Use this as a baste during cooking.
.
1) Measure everything and dump it into a blender. If your measurements are
not precise or if you lack one or two ingredients, no wars will break out,
but I think the bay leaf and rosemary are essential. Crushed bay leaf may be
hard to find so you can use whole bay leaf. Just take about 8 leaves and
crumble them in your hand, measure the crumbled amount and add more if
necessary. If you use a powdered herb, cut the quantity in about half. The
pepper will add a little heat, but not much, but you can cut it out if
you're a wimp or amp it up if you're a tough guy. 2) Put the lid on the
blender (very important), and run it on high for a few seconds, turn it off,
and run it again. Continue pulsing about 10 times until you have small
flakes about the size of the letters in a newspaper. Add them to the jar and
shake. 3) How to use this stuff. Coat the meat with vegetable oil or olive
oil, sprinkle on the rub liberally, even if you are a conservative. If time
permits, let the seasoned meat sit in the fridge for an hour or three. The
oil is important because many of the flavors in the herbs are oil soluble
and the time in the fridge helps the flavor permeate. 4) Grill or bake.
Simon & Garfunkel Chicken Recipe Ingredients 1 chicken 1 tablespoon
cooking oil or olive oil 1 tablespoon (maybe more) Simon & Garfunkel Rub Do
this 1) Oil the bird all over and sprinkle the rub on generously. Leave it
in the fridge for a few hours. The oil helps extract the flavor from the
herbs and helps hold in moisture during cooking.
2) Preheat the grill to medium high. In this photo the bird is on an E-Z
Que, my favorite rotisserie system. The front and rear burners are on high
and the middle burner under the bird is off. The temp gets up to about 400F.
Chicken is naturally tender and does not nead to be cooked low and slow like
ribs. A 3 pound bird will be ready, 165F in the deepest part of the breast,
in 45-60 minutes. Use a good meat thermometer so you do not overcook. When
you take the bird off, let it rest for about 15 minutes. This allows the
moisture to cool slightly so it does not gush out when you cut it, and the
temp will rise to about 170F. The twigs burning in the background are dried
basil from last year's herb garden, but you can use any kind of wood chips
or pellets. Chunks take too long to ignite and give up their sweetness.
Optional. If you don't have a rotisserie, you can make great chicken by
grilling on the grates the old fashioned way, by cutting it in halves or
quarters before cooking, flipping every10 minutes or so.
Another way to cook it is to butterfly the bird by cutting it along the
backbone and flattening it with the palm of your hand. Or you can sit it on
a beer can.
3) When you take the meat off, let it rest about 10 minutes. The easiest way
to cut it into halves and quarters is with scissors, not a knife.
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