Nici Wickes: Butterflied BBQ Chicken with Mango Salsa

There’s nothing like a butterflied chicken sizzling on the BBQ – it’s juicy, full of flavour, and cooks evenly every time. Pair it with warm tortilla, fresh salsas, limes, and chilli and you’ve got yourself a fiesta of flavour!

Ingredients

• 1 free range chicken, butterflied (ask your butcher or do it yourself) & brined (optional, see note)
• 3 tbsps. olive oil
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 3 tbsps. tomato chutney
• 2 limes – zest and juice of one, the other cut into wedges
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tsp sea salt and ½ tsp pepper to season
• 1-2 tortilla per person
• Salsa – see below
• Limes, lettuce, guacamole to serve

Mango salsa

• 1 ripe mango, diced finely
• ½ red onion, diced very finely
• Small handful of fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
• Juice of one lime
• ¼ tsp salt

Method

1. Heat BBQ to medium-high. Rub chicken with 1 tbsp olive oil and liberally sprinkle with salt.
2. Place chicken on the grill, skin side down, with the BBQ hood down if you have one on your BBQ, or cover with foil or a large roasting dish if not. Cook for 15-20 minutes then flip.
3. Reduce temperature to medium and finish cooking – about another 30 minutes. I rely on a thermometer reaching 85-88 C, stuck into the thickest part of the thigh to tell me it’s cooked, but the old ‘tear the drumstick away’ method will do the trick too – it ought to come away easily.
4. Mix remaining olive oil, chutney, limes zest and juice, garlic, cumin, paprika and seasoning. Brush this all over the chicken once cooked and return to the BBQ for 2-3 minutes more. Rest the chook.
5. Combine salsa ingredients in a bowl.
6. Warm the tortilla on the grill, set out lettuce, salsa, guacamole, lime wedges and other ingredients and invite everyone to build their own taco!

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