Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Early Bird

You wouldn't know it now as the weather took a quick turn to the autumn yesterday, but here in NOCA, as my Navy brother calls it, we were having summery weather although it's nearly Hallowe'en. I'm not complaining, mind you - I was enjoying the warmth and sunshine!

On the other hand, roast chicken seems like something I'd rather not do when the afternoon temperature hovers around 85 or even 90 with scant breeze - too hot for the oven. So, I decided to plank a whole chicken early in the morning before the heat built and serve it cold for dinner.

After washing the bird, I stuffed it with a halved lemon, trussed it so it wouldn't hang out over the plank and positioned it on my widest untreated cedar shingle with the dark meat toward the thin end of the plank so it would get more heat than the white meat. I put in lots of charcoal, as the bird needs to cook for almost an hour at about 300 degrees (our Weber grill has a built-in thermometer). When the coals were well started, I dropped the plank onto the grill and closed the cover.

Look how beautifully it turned out! It was moist with perfectly done dark and white meat, a deeply smoky flavor right down to the bone and a just a sneak of lemon curling through the smoke. This early bird is a great solution to hot weather meals.

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8 Comments:

Blogger Kitt said...

Wow, that looks great! And on the grill, even. I'm impressed.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008  
Blogger Dagny said...

That looks very tasty. It's a shame I'm considering giving up meat for a few weeks.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008  
Blogger Ms Brown Mouse said...

They are selling cedar planks down at a local bbq shop, I think I'll ask Mr Brown to pick one up - that looks really, really good.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Kitt, it's a piece of cake - when you are finished with the shingle, you just throw it away! Not like the ones in high-end cooking stores which they claim can be reused - those you would have to wash.

Dagny, when you're back to "fighting weight" you can try this!

Morgan, I just use untreated cedar shingles - one use, throw away, no worries!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008  
Blogger Ms Brown Mouse said...

I'm not sure where I'd get a untreated cedar shingles - I may have to do some googling!
(Roofs round our way are terracotta or cement tile or metal).

Thursday, October 30, 2008  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Morgan, I have found them at lumber yards in huge bundles that you can either use for the rest of your life or share with like-minded friends. If you find them, ask first if they have samples so you can try it (usually those are free). The whole bundle, however, only costs about $30 in the U.S., so it's not a huge investment. If you can't find 'em, I'll send you a few - they are light and wouldn't cost much!

Thursday, October 30, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The bird looks great (and I got some planks through Pampered Chef) but the serving platter has me drooling! It's beautiful.

Thursday, October 30, 2008  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Mrs. L, that one came from very southern Arizona, just a mile or two from the border, the only green one I've ever seen from Mexico.

Friday, October 31, 2008  

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