Leaping Frog Chicken

“Every so often a recipe comes along that will change your life” These are the words from Jane Daniels Lear that convinced me to try this recipe from Gourmet magazine (June 2009). The combination of garlic, lemon and smoked paprika make a killer marinade and the method of opening up and flattening a whole chicken is much easier than the traditional spatchcocking, or cutting out the backbone. Give it a try over Labor Day Weekend and you will not be sorry!

Leaping Frog Chicken

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Serves	6-8
By author	margaret at The RIght Recipe

Ingredients

2 chickens (about 3 1/2 pounds each)
10-15 cloves garlic (smashed)
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided)
2 tablespoons hot smoked paprika
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 lemons (each cut into 6 rounds)

Directions

1.	Discard any visible fat from chickens. Rinse chickens and pat dry. Put 1 chicken, breast up, on a cutting board. Pull 1 leg away from body and with a sharp knife cut through skin between leg and breast until you hit joint (do not cut through joint). With your fingers behind joint, bend leg back until joint pops. Repeat with other leg. With kitchen shears, cut through rib bones (starting from thigh) on both sides of breast up to, but not through, shoulder joints. Open chicken, skin side up. Press on breastbone to crack and flatten with heel of your hand. Repeat with second chicken.
2.	Purée garlic with 1/4 cup oil, paprika, oregano, cumin, allspice, 2 Tbsp salt (preferably fine sea salt), and 2 tsp pepper in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir together 1 Tbsp marinade and remaining 2 Tbsp oil in a small bowl and reserve, chilled, for basting. Put chickens in a large 4-sided sheet pan. Using a few lemon slices as spreaders, rub some of marinade all over chickens, then stuff lemon slices with remaining marinade under skin of breasts and thighs. Marinate, chilled, at least 8 hours (and up to 12).
3.	Prepare grill for indirect-heat cooking over medium-hot charcoal (medium-high heat for gas) Oil grill rack, then grill chickens directly over coals, turning once (more if flare-ups occur), until browned, about 5 minutes total. Move chickens to area of grill with no coals underneath (for gas, turn off 2 burners if necessary and turn remaining burner on high) and grill, covered, turning occasionally and basting with reserved marinade mixture, until chickens are cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes (do not baste during last 5 minutes; discard any leftover basting sauce). Add more charcoal as necessary. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into serving pieces.