Publican chicken:
I can’t be surprised that the roast chicken we make at the Publican is our most famous dish, because it’s “crazy good,” said Paul Kahan in Cheers to the Publican (Lorena Jones Books). “It’s what I’m eating when I’m in the restaurant and it’s what I’m making at home, whether people are coming over or it’s just me and my wife.”
The idea for the dish arose before my partners and I even talked about creating a modern beer hall in Chicago. Donnie Madia and I visited a Portuguese restaurant in Montreal that roasted butterflied chicken over charcoal, then served it over fries, and I knew someday we’d do something like it.
In our interpretation, we cook the chicken over wood and season it with Mexican oregano and a non-AOC version of piment d’Espelette, a smoky ground pepper that’s “one of our absolute favorite ingredients.” Still, “the real secret” is pre-salting and then marinating the chicken, a two-step process that makes the flesh “tender, juicy, and zingy.” For marinade: 2½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 tbsp piment d’Espelette (Espelette pepper) 1 tbsp dried oregano 1½ tbsp brown sugar 2 cloves garlic, sliced ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 lemon, cut in half
Rinse chicken in cold water, dry with a paper towel, then butterfly: Turn breast side down and remove backbone, using a sharp knife or poultry shears, so that it will lie flat. Season on both sides, using slightly less salt than you would if you were cooking the