Il Galletto Al Mattone

We use our grill year-round, but it gets frequent use during the hotter months. Last weekend, we grilled stuffed chiles and then chicken under a brick. This grilled chicken with an Italian name comes from Mario’s Italian Grill. In the introduction of the book, he explains that Italian grilling isn’t so different from that in the US. However, in Italy, nuance is important as there is only ever minimal interference with the primary ingredient. There are no thick sauces, and the marinades are simple. I read this a year ago and enjoyed Mario’s wit sprinkled throughout the book. In the tuna like fiorentina recipe after suggesting a cooking time for a rare tuna steak, he wrote: “If you want your tuna more cooked than that, throw the steaks directly into the trash bin and buy some cans of good tuna instead.” That made me chuckle. Last summer, I tried the clams in cartoccio and the tuna and calamari spiedini. Now, that I’ve flipped through the book again, I remember there’s a simple recipe for homemade ricotta to use in the marinated zucchini with ricotta and bottarga, and I just mentally bookmarked that. And, look at that, I haven’t cooked, or grilled, from the vegetables chapter yet. I do get distracted when I have a cookbook in front of me.

Back to this grilled chicken. It was very easy to prepare and was seasoned with only fennel pollen, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme. Speaking of fennel pollen, when I made the charred tuna spiedini last year, I headed off to the grocery store with every confidence that I would find some there. Two grocery stores and phone calls to two other markets later, I was not able to locate any fennel pollen in Austin and might have been somewhat frustrated by that. Eventually, I placed an order with Market Hall Foods and since then, fennel pollen has had a home in my spice rack. So, my shopping list for this dish was: chicken. The backbone was removed, and I saved it for stock, and the breastbone was cracked so the bird could be flattened. Once the herb/spice mixture was patted onto both sides of the chicken, and under the skin as is my habit, it was wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for several hours. While prepping the grill, a brick from the backyard was wrapped in a double layer of foil. It was set on the grill to pre-heat. The chicken was removed from the refrigerator, allowed to come to room temperature, and rubbed on both sides with olive oil. It was placed on the grill, skin side down, and the hot brick was set on top of it. After 15 minutes or so, the brick was set aside so the chicken could be turned, and the brick went back on top. After another 12 minutes or so, the chicken was done.

That was the fastest and easiest method of grilling a whole chicken I’ve used. The under a brick concept is nothing new, but I’d never actually tried it. As Mario promised, it produced a cooked chicken with incredibly crisp skin and succulent, juicy meat. Fennel pollen is like ground fennel seed only more intense. It has an herby aroma, and it adds incredible flavor to meat and fish. The flavor of the fennel pollen and thyme permeated the meat, and this was one of the best tasting chickens off a grill that I can remember. It couldn’t have been simpler to prepare, and the flavors were straightforward and perfectly combined. The brick trick definitely works wonders.

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