I love it when your finishing sauce doubles as a marinade… such is the case with this Salsa verde roasted chicken and potatoes. I roasted them on the Bull Vertical Poultry Roaster for crispy skin all around.
Salsa verde, in this case is not the Mexican salsa made with tomatillos. It is an Italian sauce made with olive oil, garlic, capers, anchovies, vinegar or lemon juice, and parsley… and a few other herbs that I through in. BTW – there is nothing strict about the herbs in the sauce. If you don’t have some or just don’t like them, use more parsley.
Vertical Roasted Salsa Verde Chicken with Potatoes
Author: Jeff Parker
Recipe type: Indirect
Serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients
- For salsa verde:
- 1 cup packed parsley leaves
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped oregano
- 1 tablespoon chopped thyme
- 1 jalapenos, chopped
- 2 anchovies
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
-  -
- For the chicken:
- 1 whole chicken; about 4 pounds
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 can (12 oz.) lager-style beer
- 1½ to 2 pounds small yellow, red, and purple potatoes
-  -
- Extras:
- Bull Vertical Poultry Roaster
Instructions
- For salsa verde: Add all ingredients except the oil to the bowl of a food processor. Blitz a few times until everything is evenly chopped. With the motor running, pour in the olive oil. Measure out ½ cup, cover and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use..
- Remove neck and giblets from chicken cavity and trim off any excess fat. Place the bird in a shallow baking pan. Use your fingers to loosen the skin over the breast and around the thighs. Use 2 tablespoons of the salsa verde (not from the reserved ½ cup) and rub underneath the skin. Pour the remaining sauce over the bird and rub to coat inside and out. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours or as long as overnight; turning occasionally.
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and blot away the excess marinade with a paper towel until it is fairly dry. Season liberally with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Set up grill for indirect cooking (no heat source directly under bird) over medium heat. Stabilize the heat around 325°F.
- Cut the potatoes in half and place in a bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the reserved marinade and season with salt and pepper. Scatter them around the bottom of the roaster in a single layer.
- Open the beer and drain half of the can - into your mouth of course - and set the can in the “cup holder” of the vertical roaster. Slide the chicken over the beer can and you’re ready to go. (If you are not using the vertical roaster, set the chicken over the can so that the legs and can form a tripod. Carefully place beer can and chicken on grill over drip pan.)
- Close the grill cover and cook 1¼ to 1½ hours or until internal temperature of the breast meat is 160°F and the thigh meat registers 175°F. Carryover cooking will raise the temperature another 5°F to 10°F.
- Remove from grill and let sit for 10 minutes. Carefully slip the beer can out of chicken and carve. Spoon some of the remaining salsa verde over the carved chicken and serve the rest on the side (stir in a little extra olive oil, if it is too thick).
Cheers and Happy Grilling!
~Jeff
Mr Fitz says
That looks the business!
Jeff Parker says
Thank you, Mr. Fritz!
Anne Maxfield says
Looks great and I love it when the potatoes roast under a chicken! Still waiting on some stubborn snow to be able to access the grill….
Jeff Parker says
There is nothing better than potatoes roasted with chicken fat and juices… unless it’s duck! Arrgh to your snow this year. Usually New York has thawed out by now. Soon!