Sunday Smoke: Two Birds, Two Meals

Ingredients

• 2 whole chickens, about 1.5kg each
• 100g salted butter, softened
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 small bunch thyme, leaves picked (about 3 tbsp)
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 2 lemons, zested and halved
• 2 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1 tsp coarse black pepper
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 chunks apple or cherry wood for smoking
• 800g baby new potatoes, halved
• 2 red onions, cut into wedges
• 400g Tenderstem broccoli
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1 lemon, halved
• 4 brioche buns
• 6 tbsp good mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 8 cornichons, sliced lengthways, plus 2 tbsp brine from the jar
• 2 tbsp pickled sliced jalapeños (optional)
• 80g rocket or watercress
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced
• ½ cucumber, shaved into ribbons

Method

1. Take both chickens out of the fridge an hour before you cook and pat them bone dry inside and out with kitchen paper — wet skin steams instead of crisping, and the whole point of a smoke is bronze, lacquered skin.
2. Mash the softened butter with the garlic, thyme leaves, parsley, lemon zest, salt, pepper and smoked paprika until you have a green-flecked paste. Slide your fingers under the breast and thigh skin of each bird to loosen it, then push two-thirds of the butter under the skin and smear the rest over the outside. Tuck a spent lemon half into each cavity and tie the legs together with string — a tight bird cooks evenly.
3. Set up your kettle BBQ or smoker for indirect cooking at 150°C: coals banked to one side, drip tray of water under the grill on the cool side, lid vent open over the birds to pull smoke across them. When the coals are ashed over and grey, drop on a chunk of apple or cherry wood.
4. Sit both chickens on the cool side, breast-up, with a little space between them so smoke can move around each bird. Lid on, vents set so you're holding 140–150°C. Don't lift the lid for the first hour — every peek loses 10 minutes of cook.
5. After 1 hour, top up with a few fresh coals and the second wood chunk. The skin should already be turning the colour of strong tea. Continue smoking for another 1 to 1¼ hours, until a probe in the thickest part of the thigh (not touching bone) reads 74°C and the juices run clear when you pierce it. Total cook is roughly 2 to 2½ hours.
6. While the birds finish, toss the new potatoes and red onion wedges with the olive oil and salt on a tray. Slide the tray onto the BBQ alongside the birds for the final 45 minutes — they'll catch smoke and the potato skins will wrinkle and crisp. Add the Tenderstem for the last 10 minutes, turning once, until charred at the tips.
7. Lift both chickens onto a board and tent loosely with foil. Rest for 20 minutes — this is non-negotiable, the juices need time to settle back into the meat or they'll run out the moment you carve. Squeeze the charred lemon halves over the vegetable tray.
8. Carve bird number one for Sunday lunch: legs off first, then breasts off the crown in two whole pieces and sliced across the grain. Serve with the smoky potato-and-veg tray, a jug of the resting juices and a sharp green salad.
9. Once bird number two has cooled to room temperature (about 40 minutes), strip every scrap of meat off the carcass with your fingers — fingers find shreds and tendons that a knife will miss. Pack the shredded meat into an airtight container and chill overnight; the smoke flavour deepens and mellows by morning. Save the carcass for stock.
10. To build the picnic sandwiches on Monday: stir the mayo with the Dijon, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the cornichon brine — that splash of brine is what lifts a sandwich mayo from fine to memorable. Split and lightly toast the brioche buns. Spread both cut sides generously with pickle mayo, pile on a heap of cold smoked chicken, then layer cucumber ribbons, avocado, sliced cornichons, optional jalapeños and a tangle of rocket. Press the lid on firmly so it travels well.