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Recipe Detail Page
Grilled Half-Chickens with Mezcal BBQ Sauce
Summer 2024
A grilled half chicken offers you the best of both worlds. Not only does the bird cook evenly, but it’s easier to move around the grill than a spatchcocked whole bird. Tajín, the MVP of our dry rub, is a Mexican salt flavoured with lime and chilies. You can find it at many large supermarket chains as well as most Latin-American grocers. To save time, have your butcher split the chickens in half for you.
Serves 8
MEZCAL BBQ SAUCE
1/2 cup (125 mL) ketchup
1/2 cup (125 mL) lager
1/3 cup (80 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup (60 mL) mezcal
2 tbsp (30 mL) cider vinegar
1 tbsp (15 mL) hot sauce, preferably Valentina
1 tsp (5 mL) garlic powder
1 tsp (5 mL) freshly ground black pepper
TAJÍN DRY RUB
1/3 cup (80 mL) Tajín
1/3 cup (80 mL) dark brown sugar
2 tsp (10 mL) freshly ground black pepper
CHICKEN
2 whole chickens, each 2 3/4 to 3 lbs (1.24 to 1.36 kg)
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
1. For the sauce, stir ketchup, lager, orange juice, mezcal, vinegar, hot sauce, garlic powder and black pepper in a small pot. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to maintain simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to coat back of a spoon, about 20 minutes. You should have about 1 cup (250 mL). Set aside to cool.
2. For the dry rub, mix Tajín, sugar and black pepper in a small bowl until evenly combined.
3. For the chicken, split chickens in half by cutting along one side of the breastbone and then one side of the spine. (Use a sharp chef’s knife or poultry shears.) Rub all sides with oil then sprinkle generously with dry rub, about 3 tbsp (45 mL) per half. Save rest of rub for another use.
4. Oil grill and preheat barbecue on high until it reaches 500°F (260°C).
5. Turn off burners on one side of barbecue. Arrange chicken halves, skin side down, on unheated side. Close lid and cook for 10 minutes. Flip chicken, close lid and continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breasts reads 165°F (74°C), about 30 to 40 minutes. Baste with sauce in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove from barbecue, tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Serves 8
