Spring Chicken

Here's another of those lumpy yard birds, this one a pastured French Redbro chicken from Katz Rock Hill Ranch in Suisun with green garlic slid under the skin of breast and thigh and stuffed in both cavities with a whopping handful of fresh oregano, thanks to Chilebrown, who brought us his garden trimmings along with a generous package of Cajun bacon to try.

We met at Catahoula for the hand-off, as he was headed to the city to buy another of his favorite Guy Things, a pizza stone for the barbecue. I can pretty much guarantee that he will tell you about it in due course.

In the same bag as the bacon was a huge bouquet of oregano and rosemary so fragrant that the guy at the next table was enticed to stop and sniff it and to ask me what it was. (Note to friends seeking dates - bring fresh oregano to the coffee shop as a great conversation starter).

Not content with filling the cavities with oregano, I sprinkled some over the olive-oiled skin for good measure. The divine combined scents of chicken and herbs as it heated in the oven were nose- and appetite-tickling for almost an hour as the bird roasted. This chicken was leaner than most others we've tried but absolutely moist and delicious, due in part to the basic bird, which was wonderful but also thanks to that heavenly combination of green garlic and fresh oregano that made for a truly springy chicken.