Pollo alla diavola
by Amy Gulick, https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/

In Italian cooking, alla diavola or al diavolo is a whimsical term meant to evoke images of hellfire when grilling meats over hot coals. Yet in ‘the devil’s way’ can also speak to a dish’s piquancy, whether from the addition of fresh or dried red chilli, black pepper, spiced vinegar, and so on. The recipe for ‘devilled chicken’ here uses both cayenne and black pepper, and unites the two imaginative notions of alla diavola, being both grilled over red-hot coals and seasoned with a picante dry rub.

FMM: This is an nice alternative way to roast chicken in the oven, instead of grilling as in the recipe. The skin was very crispy and flavorful, and a nice sauce formed in the bottom of the pan. We used a large skillet that was a perfect fit for the chicken. Blue cheese dressing was a nice dipping sauce.

1 chicken, free-range and young, weighing 1.25–1.5kg, spatchcocked
1 tbsp of coarse sea salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp garlic powder, concentrated
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika, smoked or spicy
olive oil, 4–5 tbsp [4 tbsp worked well]

Place the salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and paprika in a spice grinder or traditional mortar and pestle. Grind to a fine powder

Set 1 tablespoon of the mixture aside in a small bowl and thoroughly rub the entire chicken with the remainder

Let the seasoned chicken rest at room temperature, covered, for about 30–45 minutes

Prepare a charcoal barbecue. Once the coals are glowing and turning ashy, grill the chicken on each side for 5–7 minutes until the skin is slightly charred

Transfer the chicken to large grill-proof aluminium tray

Add the olive oil to the set-aside dry rub and combine. Brush over the entire top side of the chicken

Return the pan to the barbecue and close the lid. Cook at 200–225°C for an additional 20–30 minutes. [This can also be roasted in the oven. We set the oven to 350 degrees F. and it took about 2 1/2 hours. We aslo placed 4 sprigs of fesh rosemary on top of the chicken before putting in the oven.]

Garnish with fresh rosemary (optional) and serve with your favourite hot sauce or spicy mayo [Spicy mayo - 1/2 mayonnaise + 1 1/2 Tbsp. Siracha sauce. Blue cheese dressing was also good.]

Serves 4