Barbecued tarragon chicken

After years of apartment living and no access to a barbecue, I decided to take advantage of one of the benefits of home ownership and I bought myself a Webber charcoal kettle "Q" recently. I'm still learning how to master it, but I do feel like it's a throwback to the 1950s in my little backyard when I use it, what with the bag of charcoal and wooden matches and all.

The big bonus of the barbecue is that means I don't have to heat up the kitchen. The downside, I've learned, is that all my clothes smell like smoke after I'm done cooking. Perhaps everyone in the '50s spent all summer with the faint whiff of charcoal and burned meant about them?

Last weekend I decided to try my hand a little barbecued chicken. At first, I wasn't sure what to do about the marinade -- until I remembered the huge plot of tarragon I have in the garden. I've never grown tarragon before, and wasn't quite sure what to do with it. But a few quick minutes of Googling later, I came up with this solution that would put a dent in the old crop, and I had the other ingredients handy as well.

Here it is working its magic on the wee bird. I spatchcocked this one, which is essentially just cutting out the backbone so the chicken lays flat on the barbecue. I froze the backbone to use in chicken stock another time (read: when it's about 30 degrees cooler in my kitchen!)


And here it is after it was cooked. It took about 30 minutes or so, over indirect heat. The legs fell off when I took it off the grill, so that's a sign it's done!

I also barbecued some corn in the husks at the same time. I soaked the corn in water for a few minutes before putting them over the coals. It was good, but a bit tricky to husk, what with the peels being bloody hot and all.


Dijon and tarragon grilled chicken (from Bon Appetit)

•1/3 cup chopped fresh tarragon
•1/4 cup Dijon mustard
•1/4 cup dry white wine
•1 tablespoon olive oil
•1 tablespoon honey

Combine ingredients in processor. Process until smooth. Place chicken in glass baking dish. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Pour tarragon-mustard mixture over chicken; toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour or refrigerate 2 to 4 hours, turning occasionally.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Place chicken on barbecue. Cover and grill until chicken is almost cooked through, turning every 5 minutes and basting with marinade, about 30 minutes. Grill without basting until chicken is cooked through, about 7 minutes longer. Serve chicken hot, warm, or at room temperature.