Flaming chicken.

As nice as it is to have a roast dinner on a Sunday night,   the temperatures being what they are the last thing you want to do is put the oven on and make the kitchen even hotter.  And we do have a few barbeques,  one bought,  one given and a larger one bought for when there is more than just us two.

A favourite and different way of roasting chicken is this,  but as we were planning on a late - after the sun had gone down - barbeque last night and  I had salad ideas in mind,  plus we'd eaten a wonderful spicy meal the night before,   I decided to make a garlic and parsley butter to push under the skin and around the legs of the chicken.  Then I planned on cutting the chicken up the middle , sort of a butterfly effect so it'd cook better.  Then I thought that the garlic herb butter would not be sealed in, as normally I'd split the chicken down it's breast bone.  Big rethink, then John said why not cut the chicken down the middle of it's underneath, that way the breast skin is intact and the butter is less likely to run out.

Garlic parsley butter made,   pushed under the skin,  chicken split underneath and then I pushed it flat and butterflied it.  Into the fridge for the day to soak?  marinade?  anyway for the flavours to mingle and then about 8pm we lit the bbq.  And poured the first of few glasses of wine while it cooked.

(Then our neighbours decided to do a little chainsawing,  yes I know,  why start at 8pm on a nice quiet Sunday evening but we do have a secret weapon - music.   The louder the chainsaw,  the more we turn it up,  doesn't drown out the noise but it certainly helps.)

Anyway,  we fanned the flames of the bbq,  the chicken started to sizzle,  we turned it around and around and finally added the prunings from the sage bushes that I'd cut earlier in the day.

I know these flames look big,  but that was just the oil and butter spitting.  It was juicy and tender and very flavourful.  Leftovers tonight.  Without the noise of the chainsaw.