Whole Grilled Chicken With Lemon And Garlic - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 head garlic
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
For the paste
lemon zest, from 2 lemons
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
For chicken
1 whole chicken, 4-5 lbs
kosher salt
black pepper, freshly ground
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, thinly sliced (optional)

Preparation

To roast the garlic, remove papery outer sking from the head and cut about 1/2 inch off the top to expose the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and grill or bake at 350 until the cloves are soft (30-40 minutes).
To make the paste, squeeze the roasted garlic from the individual cloves into a small bowl. Add the lemon zest, 1 tablespoons of the lemon juice, rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Remove and discuard the neck and giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Loosen the chicken skin gently with your fingers and spread half of the roasted garlic paste under the skin on the breast.
Season the inside of the chicken cavity with salt and pepper and add the rosemary sprigs. Truss the chicken with cotton string. Pour the remaining 1 tablespoons of lemon juice and the wine (carefully) into the cavity.
Coat the outside surface of the chicken with the other half of the paste, pressing it into the skin.
Grill the chicken, breast side up, over Indirect Medium heat until the juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees in the breast, about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours. Halfway through grilling, slide three lemon slices under the string on top of the breasts (optional).
Transfer the chicken to a platter, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before removing the string and carving. Serve warm.