The key to grilling large pieces of chicken is patience. Starting with the skin side up reduces flare-ups, and medium heat gives you browned (not blackened) skin and juicy flesh.
Ingredients
8 Servings
Step 1
Toss anchovies, garlic, olive brine, olive oil, and lemon juice in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Place half of anchovy mixture in a large resealable plastic bag; add onion and chopped oregano. Cover and chill remaining anchovy mixture.
Step 2
Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to bag, seal bag, and toss to coat. Let marinate 4–12 hours.
Step 3
Prepare grill for medium heat; generously oil grate with vegetable oil. Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip back into bag (a few pieces of onion and oregano still clinging are okay); discard marinade. Starting skin side up, grill chicken, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and cooked through, 30–40 minutes.
Step 4
Meanwhile, set out reserved anchovy mixture and let come to room temperature. Use the side of a chef's knife to smash olives, crushing and pitting them at the same time (smash again if very large). Add olives and lemon zest to anchovy mixture.
Step 5
Place chicken on top of Tomatoes in Chile-Fennel Oil and spoon anchovy-olive mixture around. Top with oregano leaves.
Do Ahead
Step 6
Chicken can be grilled 4 hours ahead. Store at room temperature and assemble dish just before serving.
Leave a Review
Reviews (6)
Back to TopI've made this many times before, exactly as written. Always great. This time, I had frozen thighs and drumsticks, and a dilemma. I wanted to make this in the evening, and only remembered about mid-day that I needed to defrost the chicken and then marinate it. My solution was to make the marinade, put it into an unsealed vacuum bag with the frozen chicken and toss it in the freezer for an hour. Then vacuum seal the bag. Cooked sous vide at 165F for 4 hours, then grilled to sear it and crisp the skin. It worked out really well - legs and thighs were tender and juicy, and well seasoned from the marinade. I'll continue to make it with the original method, but it is good to know that there is a sous vide option that works quite nicely.
tlucke
Boston, MA
7/11/2020
This recipe is delicious. I ended up marinading the chicken for two days as our plans changed suddenly and it came out wonderful! I've made this several times and husband loves it. Especially delicious with home grown tomatoes!
darz
San Pedro, CA
9/12/2019
极好的!伟大的味道。我爱你可以grill it ahead. Made it exactly as written (except marinated it overnight, so approx. 17 hours in the fridge). Serving it with the Tomatoes in Fennel and Chile Oil linked to this recipe or another marinated tomato side is essential! We had 4 adults at dinner and quite honestly, I don't see how the 4.25 lb chicken could have been stretched to feed 8! Also I used a Kosher chicken as it keeps the chicken meat moist.
jsbjk
Winnetka, IL
7/16/2019
Made it exactly as stated, came out perfect, the best home cooked chicken I have ever had.
adelka
7/22/2016
This was absolutely amazing - the juiciest chicken that my husband has ever bbq'd. Skin was so crisp! I used anchovy paste instead of actual anchovies.
mtnmeye
Denver
7/1/2016
Turned out very well. Flavorful and juicy. The kids loved it, no leftovers. I marinated chicken drumsticks overnight. Also, I didn't want to grill in the rain. Placed all chicken pieces in a shallow baking dish, poured in all remaining marinade and baked in a 300F oven for 1.5 hours to render the fat, turning once. Finished last 10-20 minutes at 425F which browned and crisped the skin.
familymeals
Raleigh, NC
9/5/2015
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