Half Grilled Chicken with Burnt Chilli Hot Sauce

We’re going to start by separately removing the two halves of the chicken and then removing the bones. Begin by removing the first two joints of the wing, the tip and the flat, leaving the drumette attached to the breast. Just slide through the cartilage with your knife. Remove the wishbone and then cut away the breast from the breast bone, keeping your knife snug to the bone. Draw your knife back to free up the leg, pop out the joint, and remove from the body (including the drumette) being careful to keep the skin between the breast and the leg attached. Lift away half of the chicken. Repeat with the other side.

To remove the leg bones, pop the chicken skin-side down onto your cutting board and use your knife to trace along the thigh and drum bones, exposing them from beneath the skin. Slide your knife underneath and cut them away from the flesh. Repeat with the other half. You now should have two halves of deboned chicken, with just the drumette (little wing) attached.

To make the brine, mix your cold water with fine salt. Stir until completely dissolved. Lower in the deboned chicken and set aside in the fridge for 2 hours. Whilst the chicken is brining, prepare your BBQ for grilling.

Once brined, remove the chicken and discard the brine. Pat the chicken very dry with paper towels and rub with olive oil. Grill over a medium heat (nothing too hot!), skin side down, for 12-13 mins or until very crispy. Flip and finish the meat side for 4-5 mins or until fully cooked, if you’ve got a thermometer, you’re looking for 68-69°C. Once cooked, remove from the heat and rest in a little olive oil.

Whilst the chicken rests, toss the spring onions with olive oil and grill until blackened and wilted.

Carve up the chicken into chunks and serve with the grilled onions, lemon juice, a big dollop of tahini and plenty of the chopped chilli hot sauce.

Mix the tahini and yoghurt in a bowl with finely grated garlic and lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and let the mixture down with water if it’s a little thick. You’re after a thick, spoonable texture.

Toss the chillies with a little oil. Pile onto a raging hot grill and cook until very charred. Once completely blackened, tip into a bowl and cover to steam through. Clean the chillies of their charred skins and deseed. Finely chop the flesh into a paste and mix with olive oil and sherry vinegar. Season and set aside.