Francis Malma is the most famous grill master in South America
the sort of guy who once filmed an entire series on grilling on a glacier in Patagonia
So when I first heard about his salt-crusted chicken cooked in an Orno Albarro wood-burning oven
well, I bought my plane ticket for Uruguay the next morning. The salt crust seals in the moistness and flavor
The spectacular presentation speaks loud enough for itself. Start with a four-pound chicken, preferably organic
Cut a whole clove of garlic in half and rub the outside of the chicken
Then place the garlic in the cavity. Cut a whole lemon in half
and rub the outside of the chicken. Place the lemon half inside the cavity
Next, place a couple of fresh bay leaves in the cavity And a couple of rosemary sprigs
Next, fold the wingtips under the chicken And take about two feet of butcher string
And truss the chicken Bring it under the tail of the chicken
And over the ends of the drumsticks Loop through once and pull the chicken tight
Then pull the ends of the string between the thighs Under the wings
Around and under the chicken And tie again on the other side
Make one loop, then a second loop Pull tight That is a surgeon's lock knot
Then loop the end through and tie the chicken tight And cut off the ends of the strings
Season the outside of the chicken all over with freshly ground black pepper
And sprinkle the chicken with rosemary as well. Why bother trussing the chicken
It gives it a more compact and professional appearance Next the salt crust Start with about six pounds of coarse salt kosher or sea and pour it into a bucket
Then add about two cups of water. and start mixing the salt
You're looking for a mixture with the consistency of wet snow. Francis Melman actually has three restaurants in South America
including one in Garzan, Uruguay. He's also the author of a spectacular book on live-fire cooking called Seven Fires
Okay, now to put this all together, take some of the salt
and arrange it on a cast iron plate to make a pedestal
Place the chicken on top, and then completely pack it in and surround it with the salt mixture
This process of salt crusting and baking is not limited to South America
It's also a popular technique in Italy where it's used to make salt-crusted branzino, sea bass
Pat the salt crust with your hands to make sure there are no cracks or fissures
Let me wash my hands and I'll show you the oven. This is a wood-burning oven. It's lined with firestone
This is the home-size model of the professional ovens used in pizzerias and restaurants with wood-burning ovens
A few hours earlier, I built a hardwood fire, and you use whole logs on a bed of embers
It takes about two hours for the oven to come up to temperature. Push the embers back against the back of the wall to make room for the chicken Temperature one Mississippi two Mississippi three Mississippi
Ouch! It's about a 400 degree fire. So take your chicken and place it in the oven
Cooking time will be about an hour and a half. and what you want to do is turn the chicken halfway through
so it cooks evenly on both sides. You can close the door
I like to leave it partially open so you get good airflow. What's going to happen, you have both the radiant heat from the firestone
the direct heat from the coals, and the smoke that's going to infuse and permeate through the salt crust
Now, let me show you how to make the sauce. The sauce is a simple variation on South American chimichurri
It starts with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic. Mash these ingredients together into a paste with the back of a wooden spoon
This releases the aromatic oils from the garlic. Next, add finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
a sort of breath freshener that counteracts the pungency of the garlic
and diced fresh tomato. Finally, whisk in the best South American extra virgin olive oil you can find
The idea is to make a simple condiment that complements, not overpowers, the chicken
And you just want to check the seasoning. Mmm, bingo. That is fantastic olive oil
So we'll open the oven door and just rotate the chicken
Remember, the pan will be excruciatingly hot, so wear thick protective gloves And you can use a meat hook to help you turn the cast iron plate So we continue cooking the chicken another 40 minutes
The chicken should be done. And place it on a large baking sheet
It's very hot, so you want to let it sit for a few minutes
Now, how do you know the chicken is cooked? Well, if you make this often enough, you sort of get a feel for it
But you can also use an instant-read meat thermometer. Gently tap it through the crust
You're looking for 180 degrees? We've got it. Take a heavy implement like a cleaver and..
And of course, you want to do this in front of your company
because it's just so utterly cool. The fragrance of the lemon of rosemary, really nice
So then you want to take a pastry brush and start brushing off the excess salt
The idea of salt crusting, an ancient technique designed to seal in moisture and flavor
Finally, don't forget to cut the trussing straight. Let's see how we did
Take a couple slices of the breast meat. and you can spoon a little of the parsley tomato sauce
Mmm! That chicken is so moist, and surprisingly, it's not in the least bit over salty