Rotisserie chicken with apricot, pine nut and freekeh stuffing

Name: Rotisserie chicken with apricot, pine nut and freekeh stuffing
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Ingredients: 1 free-range chicken, approximately 1.5-2kg; 1 lemon; 3 tbsp of olive oil; 1 tsp dried thyme; 1 tsp dried oregano; 2 large garlic cloves, crushed; fine salt; freshly ground black pepper; 100g of freekeh; 2 tbsp of olive oil; 2 tbsp of lemon thyme leaves; 1 tsp chopped rosemary; 1 lemon, zested and juiced; 1 medium onion, finely diced; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 50g of pine nuts, toasted; 50g of dried apricots, chopped; 1 tsp sumac

by GBC Kitchen

Item 1 of 1

Main
easy
4-6
1 hour 40 minutes

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

5.00

This incredible rotisserie chicken is our go to recipe when we're feeding a big group. The beauty of the rotisserie is that you get incredible flavour and caramelisation all over the bird, whilst a stuffing of thyme, pine nut, dried apricot, lemon and sumac infuses the chicken from the inside. Click the link for more of our top summer barbecue recipes!

First published in 2019

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There's something very appealing about how minimal this roast chicken is – there's lots to be said for roast chicken with all the trimmings, but this rotisserie chicken is a different beast. The challenge was to try and create a chicken that was a meal in itself. The answer? Stuff it with whatever you'd want to eat it with!

Aside from the aesthetic beauty of that, it also makes the most of the amazing flavour that you get from a barbecue. There's nothing quite like a chicken cooked over coals, and when the chicken is rotating on a rotisserie, you just get an amazing caramelisation all the way around that enhances the whole flavour. Meanwhile, the stuffing is inside the bird, flavouring it from the inside and absorbing all those delicious chicken juices. It's a perfect recipe in that sense – nothing is wasted, apart from the odd drip of chicken fat onto the coals; even that encourages flavour though, via a brief spurt of flame and a waft of extra smoke.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

1 free-range chicken, approximately 1.5-2kg
1 lemon

Marinade

3 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
fine salt
freshly ground black pepper

Stuffing

100g of freekeh
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of lemon thyme leaves
1 tsp chopped rosemary
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
50g of pine nuts, toasted
50g of dried apricots, chopped
1 tsp sumac

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Equipment

Ceramic barbecue
rotisserie attachment for barbecue

Method

Start by preparing your barbecue – set up the rotisserie attachment and preheat your barbecue to 200ºC

Prepare your chicken. Remove the end wing pinion and the wishbone – for the latter, carefully cut around the wishbone at the neck end of the bird, then release the two spokes from the body. Twist the wishbone around until it comes out cleanly

Mix together the olive oil, dried thyme, dried oregano and garlic and rub the marinade thoroughly into the bird, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies. Leave it to marinate a little whilst you prepare the stuffing

To make the stuffing, sweat the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of oil until lightly caramelised and softened, then set aside

Add the other tablespoon of oil into the pan and toast the freekeh over a medium heat until brown and nutty. Add the lemon zest and juice, thyme leaves, rosemary, sumac and water. Bring to a boil, then put a lid on the pan and simmer gently until the freekeh has absorbed all the liquid – approximately 10–15 minutes

Stir the freekeh together with the cooked onions, toasted pine nuts and apricots. Taste for seasoning and allow to cool for 10 minutes before you stuff the chicken

Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper, and stuff the cavity of the chicken with your freekeh stuffing. Use a fresh lemon to seal the cavity – this will help to keep the stuffing inside the bird whilst it's on the rotisserie

Thread the chicken onto the rotisserie skewer and clamp tightly in place with the claws. Attach to the rotisserie and roast for 70 minutes with the lid closed. When you put the chicken inside the barbecue, the temperature will probably drop to around 180ºC – keep it around the 180–200ºC range and it'll be fine. Some of the fat will drip onto the coals and cause the occasional flare up, but that just adds to the flavour!

To check your chicken for doneness, give the legs a wiggle – they should feel loose and wiggly, if they're still firm it means the brown meat hasn't fully cooked yet. You can also skewer and test to see if the juices run clear. Once your chicken is cooked, remove it from the rotisserie and let it rest for 10–15 minutes under some tin foil

Remove the stuffing from the bird with a spoon and carve up the chicken as you like!

First published in 2019

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GBC Kitchen

GBC Kitchen is where you'll find accessible, inspiring recipes with a twist, from our in-house team of recipe developers. Perfect for mid-week meals or special occasions alike, GBC Kitchen recipes will help you become a more confident cook, and impress those around you in the meantime! Don't forget to check out our brand new How to Cook guide every month, which focuses on a specific ingredient and ways to use it, alongside four brand new recipes.

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