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I love grilling not only for the big flavors it brings to food, but also because it’s an active form of cooking. You’ve got to pay attention and respond throughout the process.

MUSHROOM-STUFFED BRICK-ROASTED CHICKEN

This recipe uses boned half chickens. It’s easiest to order these from your butcher: Request two small birds, under three pounds each if possible, and ask for the breast and leg meat to be kept together—attached to a single piece of skin, that is—for the end two joints of the wing to be removed, and for the drumstick meat to be kept intact for each half. (I include instructions for doing this yourself in the Symon Says note. If you like to butcher, this is fun; if you don’t, you may find this a bit difficult.) Alternatively, you can substitute skin-on boneless chicken breast halves.

The mushrooms do many things in this preparation. They form an interior garnish for the meat; they perfume the meat; they prevent the breast meat from drying out as the leg meat requires longer cooking; and they release their own juices as the chicken rests. Placing hot bricks on the chicken contributes to the short cooking time.

I recommend serving this on a bed of Red Potatoes with Arugula, removing the chicken directly from the oven onto the potatoes so that you retain all the juices the mushrooms and chicken release during the five-minute rest.

Serves 4

4 2½-pound chickens, halved and boned, or 4 8-ounce skin-on, boneless breast halves

½ recipe Seared Wild Mushrooms

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Wrap 4 bricks in aluminum foil and place them in the oven.

Arrange a boned chicken half flesh side up on your cutting board. Lift the tenderloin from the breast and deepen the crease where it rests by pushing on it with your index finger. Stuff this area with some mushrooms, then fold the tenderloin back over the stuffing. (If using chicken breast halves instead, the process is the same.) Stuff the thigh and leg meat with mushrooms. Repeat with the other three chicken halves. Season them all liberally with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 large ovenproof skillets over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of oil to each. Put the chickens into the hot pans skin side down, top each with a brick, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the bricks, flip the chickens, and roast in the oven until the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 160°F, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the birds from the oven and let the chickens rest for 5 minutes before serving.

To bone the chickens yourself: Start by slicing along one side of the keel bone, the central bone that divides the breast halves. Continue to cut following the rib cage and capturing as much meat as possible. Slice your knife down along the wishbone and through the wing joint, which will separate the breast meat and the wing from the carcass. Next, find the joint where the thigh attaches to the carcass and cut through that, being careful to keep the leg and breast together (they’re attached only by the skin at this point). Bring your knife blade down the length of thigh bone on the flesh side of the thigh, cutting the bone away from the flesh, and cut through the joint attaching it to the drumstick. Remove the thigh bone. Next, cut right around the leg bone (drumstick), starting at the thigh end, with the goal of freeing the bone from the meat and skin of the drumstick; using a paper towel to get a good grip, pull the bone out through the drumstick meat (you may want to chop off the joint at the fleshy end of the drumstick to facilitate its popping through). Remember, you want to keep the drumstick meat whole so that you can easily stuff mushrooms inside. Now you’re all set.

VEAL CHOP MILANESE WITH ARUGULA SALAD

This is a very simple dish to make and is also one that works with all sorts of different meats, such as chicken, pork, beef, and most game. It makes a great late lunch or early dinner