Pollo alla Diavola Toscana sulla Brace

Ingredients

• 1 (approx. 1.6 kg) whole chicken, backbone removed, spatchcocked
• 2 tsp fine sea salt, for seasoning; increase if brining
• 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
• 1 tsp dried chilli, crushed
• 1 lemon, halved, for dressing
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, for dressing
• For the optional brine
• 2 litres cold water
• 80 g fine sea salt, to make a 4% brine
• For the salsa verde (Florentine trattoria tradition)
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, finely chopped
• 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp capers, rinsed
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Method

1. 1
   If brining: dissolve 80 g salt in 2 litres cold water. Submerge the chicken, refrigerate for 6 hours, then remove and pat completely dry. Whether brined or not, use kitchen scissors to cut along both sides of the backbone and remove it entirely. Open the chicken flat on a board, skin-side up, and press firmly down on the breastbone with the heel of both hands until it cracks flat. The bird should lie completely level with no arch.
2. 2
   Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt, coarsely ground black pepper, and crushed chilli. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour. The surface should feel dry and the seasoning visibly adhered to the skin.
3. 3
   Prepare a charcoal grill to very high heat. The coals should be glowing white with no black patches. Place the chicken skin-side down directly over the coals. Set the mattone — a brick wrapped tightly in foil — squarely on top of the chicken, pressing every part of the skin into full contact with the grill. This is where the dish lives or dies: without the weight and without charcoal at high heat, the skin buckles away from the grill, gaps form, and the defining char-and-crackle of pollo alla diavola cannot develop. Grill skin-side down for 15–18 minutes until the skin is deeply charred, dark, and crackling-crisp — not burnt and flaking, but firm, caramelised, and fragrant with wood smoke.
4. 4
   Remove the mattone. Flip the chicken bone-side down. Grill for a further 12 minutes. The juices running from the thigh joint should run clear, not pink, when pierced at the thickest point.
5. 5
   Transfer the chicken to a board and rest for 10 minutes without cutting. The flesh should feel taut and springy rather than soft when pressed at the breast — the sign that the juices have redistributed and the breast will not dry on cutting.
6. 6
   Dress with a squeeze of lemon and lay fresh rosemary sprigs over the bird. Cut into four pieces and serve immediately with salsa verde alongside. The herb sauce should smell sharply of parsley and vinegar against the smoky char of the skin.