Serves: 6
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
1.8kg whole chicken
2 tsp sumac
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground allspice
1 Tbsp honey, warmed
1 tsp water
Sea-salt flakes, to season
1 lemon, halved
Extra 1 tsp sumac, to serve
Method
Preheat lidded barbecue to medium (180°C).
Rinse chicken, including cavity, under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towel.
Put sumac, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, honey and water in a small bowl. Stir to combine until a paste forms. Use your fingertips to separate skin from flesh on chicken breasts. Spoon paste under skin and spread to coat breasts, then put skin neatly back in place. Season with salt. Insert lemon halves into chicken cavity. Tie legs together with kitchen twine.
Put chicken, breast-side up, in a foil oven tray on barbecue grill and cook, with lid closed, for 1 hour 10 minutes or until chicken is golden and juices run clear when pierced at the hip with a skewer. Remove from barbecue. Brush chicken with juices in oven tray. Sprinkle over extra sumac. Stand for 10 minutes before serving.