Chamomile Brined Spatchcock Chicken with Kale Chimichurri Sauce
Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner
Trying to figure out what special meal to make for Scot for Father’s Day is something I work on every year. He is an incredible step-dad to my kids and a support to me as their mother and I find this one day when I purposely want to spoil him a bit. Now mind you, he loves 95% of what I make and gives me constructive criticism when creating a new recipe or fine tuning an oldie-but-goodie.Scot loves a good roast chicken but it is 100 degrees here and has been for a few weeks. The thought of turning the oven on for an hour makes me cringe so I opt for a chicken on the grill but I decided to spatchcock it so the skin can get really crispy and satisfy that craving for chicken skin.
We love the restaurant in San Antonio called Clementine. We have eaten there a few times but they also share recipes and thought I would take a few and do my spins on them to make them more me.
I settled on the chicken and thought it would pair nicely with chimichurri sauce. I love chimichurri sauces on chicken, pork and beef. The bright flavors make me happy and thought that this would be a nice addition to the menu.
Remember brining is to bring flavor and moisture but you don’t want to do it for too long or it makes the meat spongy and no one likes spongy chicken.
Chamomile Brined Spatchcock Chicken with Kale Chimichurri Sauce
A delightfully moist chicken with a bright citrus flavor served with kale chimichurri sauce
Ingredients
- Chicken (whole, pieces however you want to cook it)
- Brine
- 1 head of garlic, halved with skin on
- 10 bags of chamomile tea, tied together
- 1/2 c Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 4 lemons, cut in half
- 1/4 c. Brown sugar
- 1 bunch fresh oregano
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 2 TBSP Aleppo pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 gallon warm water
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground pepper
- Chimichurri
- Zest of 1 grapefruit
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 1/2 TBSP Sherry vinegar
- 1 bunch of tuscan kale, stripped and chopped into large pieces
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 shallots, in big chunks
- 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 coriander
- 3/4 cup favorite fruity olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
Chicken
Put the water in a container large enough to hold the liquid and a chicken. Mix everything together until it dissolves and is room temp.
Add chicken. You can do pieces, a whole chicken or spatchcocked. Put in the fridge for 4-6 hours. Remove the bird from the brine and put on tray. Pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and let sit for fan hour.
Heat the grill to 400 degrees. Put skin side down and cook until the skin is nice and crisp, about 10 minutes. Flip over and cook for another 10 minutes. Check the temp of the bird. You want it to be 165 degrees. If it is getting too crisp and has a long way temp wise to go turn the temp down. Cook to temp not time.
Pull off the grill when 165 degrees and rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Can be served with Chimichurri sauce.
Chimichurri
Put everything in the food processor but the oil. Pulse until fine. Add olive oil and pulse to combine. Taste and add more S & P if needed.
Notes
Sauce can be made ahead but might loose some bright color.