Super citrus chicken

Make a flattie: Turn the chicken over with the breastbone facing down. Use kitchen scissors to cut along both sides of the spine to remove it. Flip the chicken over again and press down with both hands on the breastbone until it breaks.

In a bowl, mix the garlic, tomato sauce, soy sauce, both types of paprika and cayenne pepper. Add the juice of 1 naartjie and the zest of both naartjies.

Stir in the olive oil.

Put the spatchcock chicken in a Ziploc bag and add the sauce. Let the chicken marinate for a few hours or overnight.

Reserve the marinade in a bowl and add the marmalade. Make sure the chicken is at room temperature before you put it on the braai. Braai it skin down over hot coals for about 10 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden brown. Then turn it and move it to a cooler part of the grid.

Baste with the marinade and turn it every 10 minutes or so.

After about half an hour, test the chicken by pushing a sharp knife into the thickest part – if the juice runs clear, the chicken is cooked. Remember, the chicken will still cook for a few minutes once you’ve removed it from the grid, so don’t leave it on the braai too long.

Once the chicken is off the coals, cover it with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. While you’re waiting, halve the second naartjie, sprinkle with sugar and braai the two halves flesh down. Carve the chicken and drizzle the pieces with olive oil and warm naartjie juice.

Recipe reprinted with permission of Go! Magazine
Text and image: Aletta Lintveld

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