Thyme smoked chicken (Done on a Weber)

Served with a creamy white wine and thyme sauce, served rice and any vegetables. 

To smoke food, means to slowly cook over indirect heat and a low fire with smoldering flavorings such as herbs or special wood. For this recipe however it is a combination of smoking and roasting. Here we serve the chicken with a Bulgur wheat salad with fennel, egg, grapes and sun-dried tomatoes and a Roast potato with rosemary.

Serves 4

The chicken:
1 large free-range chicken, washed inside and out, and dried
3 tablespoons/45 ml olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice of ½ lemon
20 sprigs of fresh thyme, tied in two bundles
2 cups/500 ml chicken stock

The sauce:
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 cup/250 ml chicken stock
the pan drippings
1cup/250 ml fresh cream (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

The bulgur wheat salad:
250 g/9 oz bulgur wheat
4 small free-range eggs (small hen’s eggs or quail eggs)
1 fennel bulb, halved and finely sliced
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
25 g/0.8 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced
a handful of green seedless grapes, cut in half
3 tablespoons/45 ml chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons/30 ml chopped fresh mint
75 g (2.6 oz) black olives, stoned
¼ cup/60 ml olive oil
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons/30 ml lemon juice
salt and ground black pepper

For the smoking, we strongly recommend using the indirect cooking method in a kettle barbecue. Set up your grill for indirect heat by building a 2 zone fire, one on each side – drip pan goes in the middle under the meat. Make a charcoal fire and let burn until the coals are coated lightly with white ash.

• Rub the oil over the skin of the chicken and season inside and out with salt and pepper.
• Prepare the fire with two side fires and a central position for a drip try.
• Generously rub with olive oil all over, then place the chicken, breasts up, on top of the wire racks of the barbeque, over the hot coals (with the dripping tray directly underneath), then position the sprigs of thyme on each side of the chicken.
• Place the lid firmly on but keep the grill vents open, and cook for about 20 minutes. Then remove and discard the burnt thyme.
• Tip the carcass to let the juice in the cavity run into the dripping tray (do this every 10 minutes from now on), pour the chicken stock in the dripping tray, and place the chicken back on the grid with the breasts facing down.
• Replace the lid firmly again and continue cooking for another 20 minutes.
• Then make a small incision in the inside of each leg. If the juices run clear it is cooked, otherwise leave it for 5-10 minutes longer.
• Another way of seeing whether the chicken is cooked, tip it again to see whether the juices in the cavity is clear. If you are satisfied that the juices are clear, remove the chicken from the grill and leave to rest in a warm place, breasts side down, for at least 25 minutes.
• While the chicken is cooking, heat the oil in a saucepan and gently fry the garlic and shallot until golden.
• Turn up the heat then add the chicken stock and reduce until syrupy. Put aside until the chicken is cooked.
• When the chicken is cooked and while resting it, remove the dripping tray from the barbeque and drain off the excess oil.
• Pour the contents of the dripping through a strainer (scraping off all the bits that are stuck to the tray) into the reduced chicken stock and over medium heat, bring to the boil then add the cream (if using).
• Pour through a fine sift again into a clean pan and simmer gently until the sauce has thickened, stirring continuously. Check the seasoning.

To serve:

• Joint the chicken and place a serving of joints on warm serving plates.
• Spoon the sauce around and garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.
• Serve with the rice and other side dishes of your choice.
• If you wish, cut the chicken in easy serving pieces the Chinese way. A description of this method is in the Glossary.