Barbecue chicken Maryland
Serves: 4
Prep time: 55 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Kris Kirkham
Barbecue chicken Maryland
Recipe by Sarah Cook
A dry rub gets flavour in fast if you don’t have time for marinating, and butterflying the chicken means it cooks fast and evenly. Maryland chicken usually involves deep-frying, or at the very least fritters, so this is a great way to enjoy a classic American dish but made healthier on the barbecue
Serves: 4
Prep time: 55 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
854Kcal
Fat
39gr
Saturates
14gr
Carbs
74gr
Sugars
26gr
Fibre
10gr
Protein
55gr
Salt
2.6gr
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes, about 350g each
- 12 rashers smoked streaky bacon
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil, for brushing
- 4 skinless chicken breasts
- 6 tsp chicken seasoning* (we used Dunn River)
- 8 sweetcorn cobettes (or 4 cobs)
- 50g soft salted butter
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1⁄4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tsp cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
Step by step
Get ahead
The dry-rubbed chicken escalopes and potato wedges can be prepared and chilled for 8 hours ahead; make sure the potatoes cool before wrapping in bacon. The maple-butter and corn parcels can be made ahead and chilled.
- Light your barbecue first if using charcoal, and heat until the coals turn ashen. Wrap each potato in a sheet of kitchen paper and microwave one at a time on High for 5 minutes. When they’re done, quarter each down their length so that you have 4 fat wedges from each potato. One-by-one, hold each strip of bacon, stretch it a little, then wrap around the middle of the wedge. If you like, use a cocktail stick to secure, but good bacon will hold pretty well. Repeat until every wedge has a bacon wrap, then brush all over with a little oil. Season with pepper and a little salt.
- Butterfly each chicken breast; lay it on a chopping board with your hand on top, and cut into one side with a sharp knife (blade parallel with the board). Don’t cut all the way through, open it out so the breast now looks like a butterfly, then repeat with the rest. Rub the chicken all over with the chicken seasoning, then again brush with a little oil.
- Cut 8 small (or 4 big) squares of foil and sit a corn cob on each. Mash the butter with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and the pepper. Save half of the butter for serving and smear the rest over the tops of the cobs. Wrap well in the foil, so there’s a double layer around each and the ends are firmly twisted to seal.
- Add the corn to the barbecue first, they’ll need about 35 minutes to become tender, with occasional rotating so that all sides are cooked evenly.
- When the corn has about 15 minutes to go, add the potato wedges to the barbecue. With 10 minutes to go, add the butterflied chicken. Barbecue both, rotating, until the chicken is charred and cooked through, and the bacon has crisped up on all sides of the wedges. For the last minute, brush a little of the extra tablespoon of maple syrup over the wedges to glaze.
- Use tongs to lift everything from the barbecue and pile on a platter. Mix the olive oil and cider vinegar with the parsley and drizzle over the wedges.
- Serve straightaway, with the last of the butter spread over the corn to eat – give it a mash again to combine any butter and syrup that has separated. Good served with trimmed fine beans or soft, round lettuce leaves if you’re looking for greens on the side, and don't forget plenty of napkins!
