I didn’t eat meat for years. Not because of ethics or anything like that, I just stopped liking it. One day, a while back, I thought “BBQ chicken sounds good.” Not the kind with barbecue sauce on it but herbed, marinated chicken. This is what I had and it’s still my favorite way to barbecue.

The easiest way I marinate is in a ziploc. I know it’s not that environmentally friendly but neither is using a bunch of water to wash a big bowl that raw chicken has been in. It’s a no-win really.

First I followed Thomas Keller’s instructions in Ad Hoc at Home and cut my whole chicken (locally source from my CSA) into 10 pieces. My grandfather was a butcher, therefore my mom can break down a chicken in about 30 seconds. The result of that being that I never had to do it! So, I’m learning from a book…Keller does a wonderful job instructing.

Then, into the ziploc the chicken goes with:

1 red onion, halved and sliced
2 t good, stoneground mustard
1 big twig of rosemary, leaves removed and coarsely chopped
Enough red wine to cover the chicken (~1/2 a bottle)
Black pepper…just grind for a while!

Put that into the fridge for as long as you’ve got. I had about an hour. I’ve left it in overnight before and it’s great that way.

From here it’s just coat it with olive oil and salt, put it on the grill and cook it until it’s done. I’ve found it’s hard to instruct people on grilling since every grill is different and persnickety. I use a gas grill for convenience. I know exactly where to put the dials on my grill to cook the chicken through without burning. That is a different setting than my old grill. So, get to know your grill.

I just made a quick arugula salad with a little balsamic, Stonehouse olive oil, salt and pepper to go alongside the chicken. Great, summery, yummy, organic dinner!