[GLLUG] Picnic II: Grilled Chicken

[Clay Dowling]

Chick Tower wrote:
> Well, if you guys want to wait until September to do our grilling, we 
> can.  We originally said we'd do it in August, though, so we would have 
> time to plan it, and see how well that worked out.  But we had better 
> decide something soon.
>   
Let's call it for August 1st.

Now, everybody on this list, let me know if you can be there.  We have
two birds to grill.  My experience last night is that a bird can
probably feed six to eight people and fully sate their desire for
chicken.  Also, the chicken is awesome. So unless you have family
obligations that can't be broken, you want to come and eat these chickens.

If anybody wants to eat something besides chicken, please bring it
along. I think there will be a spare grill that you're welcome to cook
your food on.  Charles and I are bringing grills especially for the
chicken, so there should be space on the grill that is already there for
cooking non-chicken items.  On the chicken grills the chicken tends to
hog all the space, so don't go looking for room there.

How this chicken will be cooked: there will be a small charcoal fire at
one edge of the kettle grill.  There will be a chicken in the center of
the grill, with a can of cheap domestic lager shoved in a very
uncomfortable place (not the fack seat of a Volkswagen), and standing on
end. Near that, there will be grillers and spectators, with cheap
domestic lager poured gradually into the other end. After each can of
cheap domestic lager is consumed, the grillers will rotate the birds
(roughly every half hour).  After three beers per griller the birds
should be ready to eat.  It is important to use only cheap domestic
lagers in cans for the timing--stronger beers will result in burned
chicken and possibly the world turning sideways.  Substituting glass is
not recommended either, because it's hard to balance a chicken on a long
neck.

Given that timing, I think the grillers should arrive around 11am to
start preparing the fire and to begin the timing process (a practice
round in suggested).  Additional people to assist with the timing are
definitely welcome.  Others should probably start showing up around 1pm,
with birds servers somewhere between 2pm and 3pm.

We also need to have the birds thawed the night before.  David or Jeff,
I can make arrangements with you guys to either pick up the birds on
Thursday and take care of the prep myself, or walk you guys through what
needs to be done.  The birds are best if brined the night before or
early on the morning of.  It seems to have a similar effect to the
salt-coat that Eduardo uses for the beef, and makes a very juicy, tender
bird.

Clay