Honey Glazed Pepper Chicken
If you’ve never made or tasted an entire chicken made on the grill, stop what you’re doing and continue reading this! Chicken on the grill is always a good way to go. But grilling an entire chicken is an experience of its own. You have not had good chicken until you try it like this. The first time we had a whole chicken grilled my husband made it via the method of spatchcocking. He doused it with Nandos hot sauce 3-4 times for the last 15 minutes (30-40 min grill time) . By the end of it, the chicken was so juicy and flavorful.
If you know us well by now, you may have guessed that we have chosen another Bon Appetit recipe. This by far is one of the best recipes we’ve tried out and I highly recommend trying this out!
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. black peppercorns
4 Tbsp. pink peppercorns, divided (we weren’t able to find this so we just used black peppercorns)
6 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 3¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided
1 3½–4-lb. whole chicken
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil, plus more for grill
2 medium Fresno chiles, thinly sliced (we used Calabrian peppers as that was what we had on hand and it worked just as well!)
½ cup fermented garlic honey, honey, or pure maple syrup (we used bourbon maple syrup…YUM)
3 Tbsp. Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
Directions:
Finely grind black peppercorns and 2 Tbsp. pink peppercorns in a spice mill or mortar and pestle. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in 5 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt; set seasoning aside.
Place chicken, breast side down, on a cutting board and use kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone to remove (freeze and save it for stock!). Open chicken and turn skin side up. Press down on center of breast to flatten chicken—you should hear the breastbone crack. Using a chef’s knife or cleaver, split chicken in half through breastbone. Pat dry; rub all over with 1 Tbsp. oil. Sprinkle reserved seasoning all over, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies. Place on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Chill, uncovered, at least 8 hours and up to 2 days.
Coarsely grind remaining 2 Tbsp. pink peppercorns in spice mill or mortar and pestle. Cook chiles, honey, vinegar, and remaining 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture just turns amber in color and is reduced by about half (it should coat a spoon), 10–12 minutes. Stir in pink pepper and set aside.
Prepare a grill for medium heat. Lightly oil grate. Set chicken on grate, cover, positioning vent over chicken if your grill has one, and grill, turning every 5 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thighs registers 120°–130°, 15–20 minutes. Uncover and continue to grill, basting with honey mixture and turning chicken every 2–3 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thighs registers 175° and 155° in the thickest part of breast, 10–15 minutes longer. Transfer to a cutting board and place skin side up. Let rest 30 minutes before carving.
