HONEY TAR-ragon CHICKEN

Doesn't that look TASTY!

I love cooking and eating whole chickens.  I don't mean that I eat the whole bird, I just enjoy chicken cooked in its most unadulterated form.  Naturally, the cavity of the chicken becomes a place to stuff all sorts of yummy goodness, allowing flavors to permeate through the meat.  Usually I stuff a chicken with some type of citrus like lemon or orange (not lime, in my opinion lime overpowers chicken's delicate flavor), onion, garlic, and herbs. Easy as pie, and it is a great way to experiment with different flavor combinations.

For this recipe, the chicken is cooked on the grill, but could certainly be roasted in the oven.  However, if you have never grilled a chicken whole, try it out!  It  keeps your kitchen from over-heating in the middle of summer and produces a golden brown bird with crispy skin and juicy meat.  Here I use a honey based sauce which caramelizes while the chicken cooks, producing extra crispy skin.

Below I've provided instructions for cooking either on a gas grill or a charcoal grill (I use charcoal).

Honey Tarragon Chicken

1 roasting chicken, 4-6 lbs.
2 lemons
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves, smashed
4 sprigs of tarragon
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry.  Cut one lemon and the onion into wedges.  Stuff the chicken cavity with the wedges, two sprigs of tarragon, and the garlic cloves.  Position the chicken on its "shoulders" and carefully drizzle 1 tablespoon of honey into the cavity.  Keep the chicken upright for a few minutes to allow the honey to drip down and around the lemon and onions.  You should be able to balance the chicken.  Next place the chicken breast side up.  Using your fingers and starting at the tail cavity, loosen the skin of the chicken.  Carefully insert the remaining tarragon sprigs under the skin, one over each breast, and truss the chicken.  If you need more instructions on how to truss a chicken, check out the Reluctant Gourmet, here.  Insert a digital thermometer, with a long cord, into the thickest part of the thigh, being careful not to touch the bone.  The thermometer cord needs to be long enough to reach outside the grill, other wise don't use it.

All trussed up

In a small bowl whisk together the remaining honey, the oil, the mustard, and juice from half a lemon.  This will be brushed over the chicken as it cooks.

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill (see below) for indirect grilling over medium heat.

Charcoal Grill
Ignite the coals.  When they turn ashen white arrange the coals on either side of the fire bed, leaving a vacancy in the center, and place a drip pan in that vacancy.  This pan collects the dripping juices and fats, preventing flare ups.  Make sure to position the handles of the grill grate over the coals.  This allows you to easily add more coals if need be, to maintain temperature.  Place the chicken, breast side up, on the grill rack, over the drip pan.  Cover the grill and cook, adding more coals about halfway through grilling, until the chicken has reached a temperature of 170°F.  For those without a thermometer, this should take 1½-1¾ hours.  The chicken is done when the juices of the thigh run clear.  Brush the sauce over the chicken a couple of times during the last 15 minutes of cook time.



Gas Grill
Preheat the grill using all of the burners.  Then turn off the burner directly below where the food will sit.  Place the chicken breast side up over the no heat zone.  If using a three burner grill, adjust the burners on either side of the chicken, so as to provide even heat.  If using a two burner grill, the chicken will need to be rotated throughout cooking to ensure even cooking.  Cover the grill and cook until the chicken has reached a temperature of 170°F, or the juices of the thigh run clear, about an1½-1¾ hours.  Brush the sauce over the chicken a couple of times during the last 15 minutes of cook time.  Grilling instructions for the gas grill preparation were adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Grilling.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before carving.  The temperature will rise another 5°-10°F while resting.