Laid Back Chicken

One of these soft nearly-summer evenings, My Beloved and I were more in the mood for kicking back on the sofa with a glass of iced tea than for cooking, so we took the lazy man's (and woman's!) route to a delicious dinner, planking.

We loved planked food, both fish and poultry. It couldn't be easier and the results are reliably smoky, moist and scrumptious.

You can purchase thick planks from the chi-chi poo-poo cooking stores, four for about 20 bucks and, in theory, they are re-usable. We prefer the lumber store method where you can purchase virtually a lifetime supply of thin, untreated cedar shingles for about $30. They are not re-usable, but I think of that as one of their virtues - no washing, no fussing, just pitch 'em after they have delivered up their smoky essence to your delectation! If you decide to use the lumber store method, however, make doubly sure they are untreated cedar as you don't want fire retardant in your food.

I had a nice free-range, organic chicken in the fridge so all I did was wash the plank and the chicken in cold water, arrange said chicken on said plank, lay the plank on the grill over the white ash coals in our Weber grill, put on the cover and go chill on the sofa for an hour.

I guess we could have basted it or checked on it but we didn't - we just spent that hour chatting and relaxing. At the end of the hour, we took the chicken off the fire and let it "rest" for about 10 minutes before slicing while I steamed some greenie beanies to go alongside. The result was deeply smoky and juicy, even the white meat, and the skin was delightfully crisp and crackly. The perfect dinner for a lazy nearly-summer evening.