Italian Grill - Mario Batali [41]
Place the chicken skin side down on the grill, cover the grill, and cook, turning occasionally and moving the pieces as necessary for even cooking, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the skin is dark golden brown and the juices run clear when pierced at the thickest part. As the different pieces cook through (the wings and thighs will probably take the least time), move them to a cooler part of the grill to keep warm.
Transfer the chicken to a platter, sprinkling the pieces generously with hot pimentón. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Real diavola is very spicy, but if you want to tune it down a little, that’s OK too.
CHICKEN THIGHS
WITH SNAP PEAS AND AGLIATA
SERVES 6
12 garlic cloves, crushed
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 salt-packed anchovies, filleted, rinsed, and patted dry, or 4 oil-packed anchovy fillets, drained
½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 shallots, sliced ¼ inch thick
½ teaspoon anchovy paste
1 pound snap peas, blanched in boiling water just until bright green, chilled in an ice bath, and drained
Olio Piccante (page 33) for drizzling
COMBINE THE GARLIC, ½ cup of the oil, the anchovies, parsley, and bread crumbs in a food processor and zap until smoothish.
Put the chicken thighs in a large bowl and sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture, turning to coat well. Arrange in a single layer on a platter and put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for indirect grilling.
Place the chicken thighs skinned side up on the cooler part of the grill, cover the grill, and grill, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes per side.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and anchovy paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the snap peas and cook, stirring, just until heated through. Transfer the snap peas to a platter and set aside.
Arrange the thighs on top of the snap peas and serve with a drizzle of olio piccante.
These chicken thighs are coated with a garlicky bread crumb mixture and cooked slowly over the cooler part of the grill so you end up with juicy meat and toasted herbed crust. (Be sure to scoop up all the delightful little clumps of flavorful crumbs from the grill and scatter them over the chicken.) Start the thighs boned side down so that by the time you flip them over, the “presentation side” will have dried a bit and won’t stick to the grill.
SPICY BLACK-PEPPER-COATED
DRUMSTICKS
SERVES 6
12 chicken drumsticks
Kosher salt
½ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce, preferably chipotle
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed in a spice or coffee grinder
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 fennel bulbs
4 ounces Gorgonzola dolce
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 400°F.
Place the drumsticks on a baking sheet and season all over with salt. Bake for 20 minutes (25 minutes for very large drumsticks).
In a medium bowl, stir together the buttermilk, Tabasco, fennel seeds, and pepper. Set a wire rack over a small baking sheet.
As soon as the drumsticks come out of the oven, toss them, in batches, into the butter-milk and turn to coat, then place skin side up on the rack to drain. Spoon a little of the mixture, with fennel seeds and pepper, over each one, and set aside. (The drumsticks can be baked and marinated up to a day ahead; leave them on the rack, cover, and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before grilling.)
Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill.
Trim the fennel bulbs, cut lengthwise in half, and cut out the core. Cut into ¼-inch-wide bâtonnets and toss into a bowl of ice water.
Crumble the Gorgonzola into a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add the vinegar