"The Guy Cooks!"

Chicken: Let’s start this party off with a whole chicken, somewhere in the 5lb. class. It’s simple, easy and once it’s on the grill or in the oven, it doesn’t require much labor. Great for when you’ve got friends over! You’ll need a bulb of fresh garlic, mayonnaise and some seasoned salt and pepper. Take a couple of peeled cloves of garlic and cut them up into slivers about ¼ the size of your pinkie nail (How’s that for precision?). Remove the neck, liver and gizzards from the chicken, rinse and pat it dry. Then, take a small kitchen knife and jab a small slot through the skin, about ½ inch deep and carefully slide a garlic sliver down the blade, into the slot. Make sure it stays below the skin. Repeat this all over the bird, legs and all. Throw the leftover garlic slivers into the cavity. Next, slather a very thin coat of mayonnaise all over the surface. The mayo will protect the skin during initial cooking, sealing in the juices. Trust me - it works!

An average chicken takes roughly 1 to 1½ hours to finish. You can baste it occasionally with a melted butter/paprika mix, or olive oil if you like. If it looks like it’s browning too much, wrap a tent of aluminum foil around it to protect the outer surface. Once tented, it’s pretty much on “autopilot”. You can tell it’s done when a thermometer inserted into the breast area shows the proper temperature. The legs will tend to relax and sag away from the breast when it’s done. You can poke a knife into a leg or side, too. If you see pink meat, keep cooking until it’s all white.