What’s cooking today: Spatchcock chicken smoke-braaied under a dome

It wouldn’t be accurate to call this smoked chicken, but there is an element of the rosemary smoke flavouring the chicken. I first marinated the chicken in Dijon mustard mixed with honey.

The best way to secure a spatchcock chicken (so that you can turn it over on the braai easily) is to use two skewers. Here’s a video showing how to do it:



Ingredients

1 whole chicken, spatchcocked (see video)

4 Tbsp Dijon mustard

3 Tbsp honey

Salt and black pepper to taste

Several large rosemary branches

A dome such as that for a wok

Method

Mix together the honey and mustard and season with salt and pepper. Prepare the chicken according to the video and brush it all over with the marinade. Skewer the chicken crossways using two firm skewers (see video). Leave it to marinate for three or four hours.

Make plenty of coals. Keep more on the side to shovel in.

Place the rosemary branches on hot coals.

Place the spatchcock chicken under-side down on the grid, not too close to the coals, so that it does not cook too quickly or burn.

Place the dome over the chicken.

Turn every 10 minutes or so.

Cook for about half an hour on each side. DM/TGIFood

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Champion of the Year 2021. His book, foodSTUFF, is now available in the DM Shop. Buy it here.

SUBSCRIBE: There’s much more from Tony Jackman and his food writing colleagues in his weekly TGIFood newsletter, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. Subscribe here. Also visit the TGIFood platform, a repository of all of our food writing.

Mervyn Gers Ceramics supplies dinnerware for the styling of some TGIFood shoots. For more information, click here.