Fireplace Chicken

The other night my wife, mother-in-law, and I were sitting in front of the fire drinking wine - pretty much what we'd done almost every night during the holidays - and somehow the conversation turned to  cooking with fire.  We'd already done the s'mores bit so the ante had to be upped.  I mentioned  something I'd seen on the net about cooking a chicken dangling by a string in front of the fire and just like that the next night's main course was set.

The following day a chicken was caught acquired from our local butcher, marinated, and trussed. I summoned my inner Barney Rubble (I always liked him better) and up she went.

Sounds a bit nuts, I know, but it worked and the chicken was delicious.

If you decide to give it a try take a look at the video below and keep these Do's and Don'ts in mind:

• Do pull your fireplace grate a little closer to the opening so that the heat on the chicken is more intense
• Don't pull it too close or the smoke may not draft up the chimney. A smoked house...not good. 
• Don't wait until after it has begun snowing or raining to bring firewood into the house
• Do tie the string to the hook with a knot you can untie to lower or raise the bird for the best heat
• Do put a pan under the chicken to catch the drippings otherwise messy, messy, messy.
• Don't be impatient. This is definitely slooooow cooking. Plan on 1.5-2 hours cooking time. 
• Do occasionally wet the string to make sure it doesn't burn and break.
• Do post a photo on Facebook or send me a note...I wanna see.
• Do enjoy. This is some good friggin chicken!

If chicken's not your thing, try a leg of lamb.