Galeto series
- What it is
- How to grill it
- What to serve
- Sage paste
- White wine and sage
- Beer
- Garlic and lime
- Butter on the spit
- Brine, then sage
Young chicken (galeto) in salt brine, then sage and wine. Two steps: 12 to 24 hours in salt water, then a second fridge stay in sage and white wine. No extra salt in the second step.
Safety instructions
Cook chicken to 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the thigh, checked with an instant-read thermometer. Buy air-chilled birds when you can. Higher-risk people wait for 165°F (74°C).
Buy air-chilled chicken and keep the bird small: Cornish hen, poussin, or a broiler under about 3 pounds.
Brine (2 small birds)
- 3 liters (12 cups) cold water
- 150 g fine salt (50 g per liter, about 2 tablespoons per liter)
Submerge. Refrigerate 12 to 24 hours. Drain. Dry on a rack in the fridge 1 to 3 hours.
Second seasoning
- 1 packed cup chopped fresh sage, plus marjoram or thyme
- 2 cups (480 ml) dry white wine
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- White pepper
Coat. Refrigerate a few hours or overnight. The leftover wine and herbs are the brush. The brine already salted the bird, so skip extra coarse salt (sal grosso) at the fire. The brine already salted the bird.
Brushing while it cooks
Brush the skin with the leftover marinade every 8 to 10 minutes, then stop in the last few minutes so the skin can crisp. On a long skewer, stack the bird with slices of pork fatback (toucinho) or thick bacon and whole sage leaves; that fat bastes as it cooks. Raise the bird if fat drips and flames. No barbecue sauce as a mop.
The cook itself is on how to grill young chicken (galeto): ashed lump charcoal, about 25 cm (10 in) from the embers, thigh at 165°F (74°C). Polenta and a plain salad go with it.
Method
- Submerge the birds in the salt water. Refrigerate 12 to 24 hours.
- Drain. Dry on a rack in the fridge 1 to 3 hours.
- Coat with the sage, wine, garlic, and white pepper. Refrigerate a few hours or overnight.
- The leftover wine and herbs are the brush. The brine already salted the bird, so skip extra coarse salt (sal grosso) at the fire.
- Cook using How to grill young chicken (galeto).
How you know it is done
The juices run clear and a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, not touching bone, reads 165°F (74°C).
Make-ahead
Two fridge stays: 12 to 24 hours in salt water, then a few hours or overnight in sage and white wine.
Next cooks
- How to grill young chicken (galeto)
- Galeto with the original sage paste
- Galeto overnight in white wine and sage
- What to serve with galeto
Region: Sul.
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