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15
Mediterranean Chicken
Pesto
(You may also use ready-made pesto):
• 3 cups fresh basil leaves (loosely packed)
• 3 tbsp. lightly toasted pine nuts
• 2 cloves roughly chopped garlic
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
Pop all the ingredients into a blender and blend until you have a paste.
Rub
(Use
ProQ®
Herbilicious Rub if want to skip this step):
• 1 tbsp. course sea salt
• 1½ tbsp. cracked pepper corns
• 1 tbsp. dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano
• 1 tbsp. ground coriander
If you like a bit of a “kick”, add some crushed chilli. Mix all the ingredients by hand
in a mixing bowl.
Chicken
1 large, preferably free range chicken, completely defrosted.
• Preparation - Loosen the skin on the breast of the chicken and using a spoon,
insert the pesto between the skin and flesh, taking care not to tear the skin.
Once you have a few spoonful’s in place, massage the bird until the pesto
is evenly distributed. Take a bit of the left-over pesto and rub it all over the
outside, then sprinkle on your prepared rub (the pesto will help it to stick).
• Set up your smoker to run at 225-250°F/105°C-120°C, and place the bird
on the cooking grill of your smoker. Close the lid, open the bottom door
and throw on some wood for smoke flavour. With a consistent temperature
the bird should be done in around 3½ hours. Remember to use a probe
thermometer to check if it’s done (165°F/73°C).
