Cooking the poussin in the outdoor oven gives such a wonderfully crisp skin and that taste you can only get from outdoor cooking. This is great served with a green salad and potatoes boulangere.

Step 1

Spatchcock the poussin by laying it breast down on board and using a heavy knife or kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backdown. Lay breast side up in a cast iron dish. You can lay this on top of a lemon for added flavour and taste if preferred.

Step 2

Season the poussin with salt & pepper and a little lemon juice. Cover loosely with foil. Wash hands.

Step 3

Place the cast iron dish into the outdoor oven at around 180 – 200 degrees C for around 25 minutes.

Step 4

After around 25 minutes remove the foil cover and return back to the outdoor oven for a further 10 minutes. Place some on the vine cherry tomatoes on the cast iron dish if liked at this point.

Step 5

Once the poussin has been cooking for around 35 minutes in total, remove from the oven and insert a sharp knife to check that the juices are running clearly. If they are not clear, return to the oven for a further 5 minutes before checking again. When the juices run clear, the poussin is cooked.

1 Poussin

Salt and pepper to season

1 lemon (optional)

lemon juice

12 on the vine cherry tomatoes (optional)