Serves4
- Active time:15 min
- Start to finish:35 min
July 2008
An herb paste smeared onto these birds adds a concentrated taste of summer; this works nicely with the poussins, since they’re small enough to cook through before the herbs can threaten to burn.
-
1/4
cup
chopped basil
-
1 1/2
tablespoons
finely chopped rosemary
-
1
tablespoon
thyme leaves
-
2
fresh bay leaves, finely chopped
-
3
tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil
-
2
small garlic cloves, chopped
-
4
poussins (1 to 1 1/4 lb each) or small Cornish hens, backbones cut out and birds split in half
-
Blend together herbs, oil, garlic, 1 Tbsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a blender until finely chopped, then rub all over poussins.
-
Prepare grill for indirect-heat cooking over medium-hot charcoal (medium-high heat for gas); see “
Grilling Procedure.”
-
Oil grill rack, then grill poussins, skin sides down first, directly over coals, turning once, until well browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Move poussins to area with no coals underneath and grill, covered, until just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more. Transfer poussins to a platter and let stand 10 minutes.
Cooks’ notes: - Poussins can be rubbed with herb paste 1 day ahead and chilled.
- To cook poussins indoors, brown them as above in a hot large ridged grill pan over medium-high heat, then cover with an inverted roasting pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook about 18 minutes.
