Julio's Delicatessen

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Adapted from Urban Italian by Andrew Carmellini

For the Marinade

• 2 heads garlic
• ½ cup rice vinegar
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup grapeseed or other light-flavored oil
• 2 Tb dried oregano
• 2 Tb fresh rosemary
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeds removed
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 Tb kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 Tb sugar

For the chicken

• 2 whole chickens, backbones removed and halved
• Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Roast the garlic – cut the top of each head of garlic off, exposing the tops of some of the cloves.  Drizzle each head with some olive oil, sprinkle with some kosher salt, and wrap in foil.  Bake the foil-wrapped garlic at 450 degrees for about an hour.  Unwrap the foil and allow to cool until handleable.

Make the marinade – remove the cloves from each head of garlic.  Place in a mixing bowl and mash with a fork into a smooth paste.  Add all other ingredients and stir to combine.

Marinate the chicken – Place the chickens on a large platter or in another type of container that will hold the marinade.  Pour the marinade over the chickens and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Heat a charcoal grill to 350 – 400 degrees.  About an hour before you want to start cooking, place the chicken on the counter and allow it to come to room temperature.

Place chickens on grill skin side down.  After about 15 minutes (or whenever the skin is golden brown), flip the chickens and continue cooking, skin side up, for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the breast reaches 160 degrees.  Remove from the grill, cover loosely with foil, and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.  Cut the chicken into pieces and serve.