Cut the chicken in half. Remove the backbone and rib cages.

In a saucepan heat the oil and add the garlic. Heat gently for a minute or so. Add the water, salt and sugar. Bring to a slow boil and whisk a minute or two to form an emulsion. Allow to cool.

Place the chicken halves in a vaccuum seal pouch and add the brine. Vaccuum and seal. Place in the refrigerator a day or a week.

To make the aoli use a mini food processor or similar. Add the egg yolk, 1 tsp lemon juice, half the garlic and 50ml of oil. Blend on medium speed for 20 seconds. Check to see if you have a firm starter emulsion. Carry on adding 50ml of oil at a time. Add some of the garlic powder half way through and then the remaining as you go. Add salt and lemon juice to taste towards the end. Decant to a glass jar.

Set the chicken on the bench for a hour. Unseal and let excess moisture run away.

Set the cast iron baking dish with a wire rack into the upper middle rack. ie about 20 cm below the griller element. Use the full griller on High. Let the oven get to temperature.
Place the chicken skin side down on the rack. Grill 13 minutes.

Turn the chicken to skin side up. Spray with canola oil. Move the baking dish to the upper racks using the slightly lower rack. ie about 10cm below the griller element. Grill for 11 - 15 minutes.

Remove the cast iron baking dish to the bench and rest 30 minutes.The cast iron baking dish continues the cooking process as it stores and then emits lots of energy while resting. Let the oven cool to < 70 deg and use as a food warmer to rest the chicken longer if need be.


1 chicken 2kg (best you can get)

Brine::
75ml Peanut Oil
1 Tbs salt
1 Tbs brown sugar
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped and crushed)
500ml water

Aoli::
300ml Peanut oil
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped and crushed)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp garlic powder
1 egg yolk at room temp
Dash salt

---------------------------------------
The first time I tried this aoli I used Extra virgin olive oil. Brain washed by the celeb chefs. Blah. Disgusting. Unedible. A simple change to peanut oil and it was great.

There are uses for EVOO in a greek salad or such. Can't think where else I would ever use it. But that's just me.
This is my version of the best chicken I have ever had bar none. From a Charcoal chicken joint that used to exist in Bankstown. In the 90's and beyond I had a business nearby. I quickly became hooked on this chicken. Far too much garlic with an outragious aoli and great chips. This guy had 60L drums out the back brining good quality chickens in a garlic emulsion at room temp. Not sure for how long. Then he butterflied the chicken and wired them to a four sided frame over a charcoal rotisserie turned up high. Then he had two commercial blowers (huge turbos) blowing on the coals. Serious heat that cooked eight chickens in 15 minutes. Wow. Someone told me the locals were outraged when the health dept and workplace health and safety seemingly closed him down. I'm outraged. What happened to great food from other cultures!

Grilling is dependent on a few factors and these times are for my modern oven using a deep cast baking dish that slides into the oven racks. So you might need to sort out your grilling times to suit your situation. First the underneath is grilled about 20cm below the grill in a hot oven with the door closed. Then the top is grilled much closer to the grill, again with the door closed.






Click Image
image of chicken with garlic

copyright 2012  LB designs