SIZZLING SUMMER TOM KERRIDGE
Spatchcock gochujang chicken
‘This year, forget burnt burgers and scorched sausages – if you’re going to the trouble of lighting a barbecue, do it some justice and make the most of the incredible flavour you can get by cooking over coals or embers. Here, I’ve come up with four options for the barbecue. They require a little extra effort than just throwing something on the grill, but they’re the recipes I cook at home over the summer in place of our usual Sunday roast. They also make a special Saturday night supper with friends. And, though I’m happy to barbecue in any weather, I’ve also given indoor options for each.’ Tom
This is best cooked on a kettle or other lidded barbecue over indirect heat, as the marinade can burn when cooked directly over hot coals. If you don’t have a kettle barbecue, you can always start the chicken in the oven and finish it over the coals for a bit of smoke. If you want to keep the bird whole, this also works using the ‘can’ chicken method, but I like to do it with a can of non-alcoholic ginger beer or fizzy lemon & lime drink instead. SERVES 4 PREP 30 mins plus at least 1 hr marinating COOK 50 mins MORE EFFORT
1.8kg whole chicken 200ml non-alcoholic ginger beer (optional) 1 bunch of spring onions, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal small bunch of coriander, leaves picked sesame oil, for drizzling For the marinade 3 tbsp gochujang paste 3 garlic cloves, finely grated 2cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar 1 tsp fish sauce 1 tsp golden caster sugar
Whether you need ideas for seafood, red meat, chicken or veg, BBC chef Tom Kerridge has all summer barbecue bases covered photographs JONATHON GREGSON
tip
1 Put the chicken on a board breast-side down with the legs facing you. Using kitchen scissors or poultry shears, cut along either side of the backbone and remove it (freeze it to use for stock). Open the chicken out, turn it over and push down the breastbone to flatten. Cut a few slashes in the legs and thighs. 2 Whisk the marinade ingredients together. Reserve 2 tbsp and rub the rest all over the chicken, working it under the skin. Cover and chill for at least 1 hr or overnight. 3 Light the barbecue, stacking the coals on one side. When the flames have died down and the coals are ashen, lay a flameproof foil tray or old roasting tin over the empty side and pour in the non-alcoholic ginger beer or 100ml water. Set the grill on top. Place the chicken skin-side up on the grill, cover with the lid and cook for 45 mins. Baste with the reserved marinade, then re-cover and cook for 5 mins more. Move the chicken to the hotter side of the barbecue for 5 mins, to char the skin a little, being careful not to burn it. The chicken is ready when the legs pull away easily and a digital probe thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh and breast reads 70C. Lift onto a board, rest for 10 mins then scatter over the spring onions and coriander. Drizzle with sesame oil.
Tom Kerridge is a BBC presenter and chef-owner of The Hand and Flowers, The Coach and The Butcher’s Tap in Marlow, Kerridge’s Bar & Grill at The Corinthia Hotel, London, as well as The Bull & Bear in Manchester. His latest cookbook, Tom Kerridge’s Outdoor Cooking (Bloomsbury Absolute), is out now. @ChefTomKerridge
46 BBC Good Food Middle East August 2021
RAIN OR SHINE To cook indoors, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6 and roast the chicken for 35-40 mins on a baking tray, then put under a hot grill for 5-10 mins to char the skin.
