TURMERIC GRILLED CHICKEN

TURMERIC GRILLED CHICKEN image

Categories Chicken

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 10

4 medium shallots, peeled
12 garlic cloves, peeled
3 fresh red jalapeño or long red Asian chiles, seeded, if desired, for less heat
3-inch piece of ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
4-pound chicken, butterflied
3 fresh limes

Steps:

Up to a day ahead, combine the shallots, garlic, jalapeño, ginger, turmeric, oil, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and puree into a thick paste. 2. Place the chicken in a large dish and smear it with the paste, making sure to thickly coat both sides, and slipping some under the skin. Cover loosely and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours. 3. Heat coals in an outdoor grill until they're covered in grey ash, or heat a gas grill on medium-high. Set up the grill for indirect cooking, with the coals spread out around the circumference of the grill, leaving an empty spot in the middle. 4. Place the butterflied chicken, bone side down, over the empty space in the middle of the grill. Cover and cook 20 to 30 minutes, checking occasionally, and adding more coals if the fire is burning too fast. You want to cook the chicken most of the way through on the bone side before turning. The bird should be nicely charred on the bottom. 5. Turn the bird carefully and continue cooking until the skin is nicely browned and crisp, and the internal temperature measures 170°F on an instant-reading thermometer, about 15 to 25 minutes more. 6. Carefully remove the chicken from the grill and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Cut the bird into pieces and drizzle with generous squeezes of fresh lime juice.