Cooking Cardiologist Is The Master At Heart Healthy Chicken
Grilled Splat Flat Chicken
Richard Collins, MD
The Cooking Cardiologist®
The Internet lists 36,400,000 results for chicken recipes from grilling, frying, roasting, pressure-cooking, sautéing, stir-frying or cooking upright on a beer can. There are a number of video sites demonstrating how to flatten a whole chicken. Don’t panic, while a tire goes flat, a flattened chicken is better on the grill. A splat flat chicken brings all the parts of the chicken to the grill surface for even grilling. The grilling time is also shortened.
Combine this technique with the included healthy marinade and you will be reducing harmful carcinogens on the grill. This marinade helps to protect the insides. Remember, since the chicken is directly on the grill surface, the grill temperature should not be hotter than 3000F. For a gas grill, set burners on low to medium low. For charcoal grilling, move the coals to one side and grill indirectly for slow steady cooking. Avoid any flames as the skin will be overly charred and the insides will not be cooked to a perfect temperature of 1700F.
1 whole organic chicken approximately 4 pounds, cleaned and parts removed
1 pair of poultry scissors
Extra salt and pepper for seasoning
On a protected surface, lay down the whole chicken with the breast side down with legs facing you. Using poultry shears, cut along the edge of the backbone. Complete the other side. Remove the backbone, discard or save for making chicken stock. Turn the chicken over and “splat it”, pushing down hard onto the breastbone. Tuck the wings in and place the chicken in a large heavy zip-lock bag. Place in the refrigerator. Prepare the marinade.
For the marinade:
1–cup rice vinegar
2T dry mustard
2T olive oil
2T fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2t sugar
2t salt
Optional: fresh herbs such as 4-6 sprigs of tarragon, thyme or rosemary
Combine all ingredients into a medium bowl. Whisk to completely mix ingredients. Pour into the zip-lock bag. Seal and evenly distribute the marinade. Return to the refrigerator. Marinate for 3-4 hours, turning occasionally to coat all parts. If fresh herbs are desired such as tarragon, add them to the marinade before placing in the zip-lock bag.
Preheat grill to a medium to low temperature. The grill oven lid should register approximately 3000F. Avoid any flames. Place the inner side down, season the breast surface with additional salt and pepper and grill for 15 minutes. Flip and grill the breast side for 15-20 minutes, making sure not to over char the surface. Flip again and continue to grill roast until internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken registers 1700F. Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with grilled slices of lemons over the top of the breast garnished with roasted vegetables along the sides.
Serves 4
Nutrition Info: (Calculated cooking with chicken skin, then removing before eating) Calories: 140, Total Fat: 6 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Trans Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol, 65 mg, Sodium: 200 mg, Carbohydrate: 0 g, Protein: 20 g
Diabetic Exchanges: 3 Lean Protein
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