Celebrating March Break with Whole Roast Chicken and Grilled Eggplant Parmesan

The Smith/Horne girls visit Grandma!

 MARCH BREAK!! Over the years, this week has been a much anticipated time for our families. It brings back so many wonderful memories of family ski trips, a house filled with kids, cousins and friends, and many happy meal times. Luckily, we still have one in the family who we can celebrate the joys of March Break with, and we were happy to host Maddy during a quick visit to grandmas this week!

Our favorite simple family meal has to be a whole roast chicken prepared on our barbecue. It is comforting, can be eaten hot or cold, provides delicious options for leftovers, and of course, the prospect of chicken soup later in the week is so tantalizing!  As you know, the barbecue is extremelty versatile, you can roast the chicken over a drip-pan, on the rotisserie, or as we did this week, using the beer can method. I love the beer can method of roasting the chicken in my barbecue; and here is why! The clean up is virtually non-existent. I use a fresh, light, citrusy marinade. This along with the contents of the  beer can bastes the chicken while it roasts, making it juicy, tender and flavourful. The juices and the fat run back down the chicken, into the can and the reserve tray that the chicken is sitting in. There is a whole lot of flavour in these juices, so do not waste them! Once the chicken is finished, I remove the roasted chicken from its resting spot over the can and the reserve tray and set these aside in the refrigerator. When the contents have cooled, I scrape off the layer of solidified fat that has risen to the top  and pour the remaining juices into my stock-pot with the bones to make chicken stock.
We have a vegetarian in the family too, and it was super simple to prepare an eggplant parmesan while the chicken was roasting. We finished the meal off with some steamed spinach.

Whole Roast Chicken with Citrus Marinade

1 roasting chicken, 6 lbs
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
 Marinade:
1/4 cup canola oil
juice of 1 orange
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped herbs, whatever you have available
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp orange bitters
 1 tsp red chili pepper flakes
 1/2  can of beer




Preheat the barbecue on HIGH for 10 minutes. Turn off the centre burner, but leave the outside burners on.  Reduce heat to MEDIUM, so that the thermometer registers 425 F.

Season chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Gently massage the skin on the breast and legs, so that it loosens from the meat. Be careful not to tear the skin. This will create a pouch, so that you can pour the marinade into the space between the skin and the meat.
Prepare the marinade by combining all of the ingredients together in a measuring cup. Place the chicken in a baking dish, as indicated, so that you can capture and save the marinade that runs out of the chicken.

Prepare the chicken roaster and beer can by emptying half of the contents of the can. Pour any reserved marinade into the can, then carefully place the chicken, legs pointing down, onto the beer can/chicken roaster.

Place the chicken in the barbecue, above the unlit burner. With the lid closed, cook the chicken at 425°F for 50-60 minutes.
The convection heat from the lit burners will surround the chicken from all sides and roast it evenly.

It is finished when the internal temperature of the breast reaches 160°F. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Pepper is always hopeful.

  Grilled Eggplant Parmesan

2 large eggplants

1/4 cup canola oil

Tomato Sauce:
 1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cooking onion, diced
1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes
1 bottle Passata, Italian strained tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
2 sprigs fresh basil, chopped

3/4 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated

To grill the eggplant:
 Preheat barbecue on HIGH for 5 minutes, reduce to MEDIUM. Cut eggplant into 1/3 inch thick discs. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Pat the water that leaches out of the eggplant with paper towels.  Brush both sides of the eggplant lightly with olive oil. Place the eggplant slices on the grids and cook 4 minutes per side. Set aside.

To prepare the tomato sauce: Saute garlic and onion in a saute pan, until translucent. Add oregano and red chili pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Pour in the bottle of tomato passata and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add chopped fresh basil and season to taste.

To assemble: Cover the bottom of a 9 x 12 inch pan with tomato sauce. Arrange one layer of eggplant on top. Spread with 1/3 of the tomato sauce and sprinkle 1/4 cup of parmigiano reggiano cheese on top. Next, arrange the remaining eggplant on top, pour the remaining tomato sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake in an oven the has been preheated to 350°F for 25 minutes, or as we do, in the barbecue while the roasted chicken is resting.

Grandma wanted to commemorate the day with her first selfie!