Good chicken in the bag with this method

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), May 7, 2003 | by TERESA J. FARNEY

In previous columns, I've told you about some bizarre methods for producing juicy grilled chicken: sticking a chicken on a beer can, putting a chicken under a brick, removing the backbone from a whole chicken so you can flatten it on the grill.

Now another one has crossed my path, thanks to Joel Gregory, publisher of Chile Pepper magazine.

It's Uncle Mike's Chicken in a Bag, which comes from a family recipe prepared at the Hard Eight Pit Bar-B-Q Restaurant in Stephenville, Texas.

"This makes the most moist, delicious chicken you will ever eat," says Gregory, who first tried it when the restaurant opened in February and has been singing its praises ever since.

The restaurant's cooks cut whole chickens in half and slather them all over with lemon butter and a barbecue dry rub. Then they put the chicken halves in paper lunch bags, roll the end down, push the air out and staple the bags shut. The bag is given a good spray of cooking oil and put on the indirect area of a gas or charcoal grill.

It's important that the chicken halves be placed bone-side down, and the bag be kept away from direct heat. Cooks there recommend keeping the heat between 225 and 250 degrees, though when I tried it the first time, the chicken was not quite done (but, my oh my, was it a juicy, moist creation).

The next time I tried the recipe, I let the temperature hover around 350 degrees and got perfect results.

And, no, the bags don't catch on fire. They are protected with the oil and are kept away from direct flame.

I've included the recipe. If you'd like to watch a pit cook prepare this, go online to chile pepper.com and click on Laptop by the Stovetop for an action-filled video.

One thing I discovered, however: There is no advantage to using the grill. The bag protects the chicken from picking up any of the "grill" flavors.

You can find chicken-in-the-bag recipes that call for oven baking instead (or bake the chicken using this recipe and place the sealed bag in a baking dish to catch any drips).

If grilled flavor is what you really want for your chicken, try one of the methods developed by grilled-chicken guru Steven Raichlen. He's the brains behind the other, aforementioned techniques: the beer can, the brick method and spatch-cocking (removing the backbone).

He developed them to address a common problem with grilling chicken - some parts finish cooking before others are ready, to the point of being overdone.

For beer-can chicken, you place a whole chicken on a half-full can of beer, then set it on the indirect-heat area of the grill and cook it until done. The steam created by the boiling beer keeps the chicken moist, and the bird is more evenly cooked. Best of all, it works and is a great showstopper when served perched on the beer can.

The spatchcock method involves butterflying a chicken by cutting down the backbone and spreading it out the way you'd open a book. The flattened-out bird is placed ribside down on the grill and cooked until done. This allows the thick parts to cook more evenly.

A similar method is used for the chicken under a brick: The bird is butterflied and placed rib-side down on the grill. A heavy brick covered in foil is placed on top of the bird to weigh it down.

The weight of the brick and the heat it accumulates during cooking evens out the cooking process.

Though Raichlen hasn't tried the paper-bag chicken, he is doing research on T-shirt Trout. Yes, that's fish wrapped in a clean T- shirt and cooked on the grill.

"I haven't tested the recipe yet," Raichlen says. "I'm waiting for my wife to have a girl's night out before giving it a try in case the fire gets out of control."

Teresa J. Farney's column appears Wednesdays. Reach her at 636- 0271.

UNCLE MIKE'S CHICKEN IN A BAG Yield: 4 servings

1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds) Lemon butter, to taste Barbecue rub (cook's preference) 2 paper lunch bags

Procedure:

1. Preheat grill or oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cut chicken in half. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels. Season chicken with lemon butter and rub. Place each chicken half in a paper lunch bag. Roll bag and staple shut. Spray entire outside of bag with nonstick cooking spray.

3. Place bagged chicken on grill away from direct heat, bone side down, and cook 2-2 1/2 hours. If baking in the oven, place bagged chicken on baking tray to catch any drips and cook 1-1 1/2 hours.

Nutrition data per 6-ounce serving: Calories 406 (49 percent from fat); 22 g fat (sat 8.2 g, mono 7.9 g, poly 3.7 g); protein 48 g; carbohydrates 2 g; fiber .03 g; cholesterol 169 mg; sodium 497 mg; calcium 24 mg. Source: Chile Pepper magazine