Grilled Whole Chicken Stuffed with Sausage, Greens, and Peppers

Y'all.

I went to the farmers' market yesterday and watched a cooking demonstration in which the brilliant, confident chef stuffed up her chicken with a sausage mixture and then grilled the whole bird up. The presentation just made me so happy and inspired that I had to rush home and turn my market bounty into a damn good dinner.

I (or rather my cousin Wade) heated up one side of the grill to medium-high, leaving the other side unheated so we could perpetrate some indirect grilling. This method allows you to semi-slow-cook the fowl beast into tender perfection without burning the outside first.

Then I removed the innards of the bird and rinsed it out, then set it aside.

For the stuffing, I heated up two tablespoons of olive oil in my skillet till shimmering. I tossed on the peppers and sliced sausage and let them sizzle for 3 - 5 minutes.

Then I added the greens and let them wilt (as they are wont to do). I kept adding chopped greens until I'd gotten a fair amount in the mix. I also added a bit of Cajun seasoning (Tony Chachere's if you can get it.)

I took the mixture off heat once all the greens had wilted, the sausage had cooked, and the peppers had grown tender.

I rubbed the chicken with olive oil and oregano.

Then I opened him up and stuffed him!

I probably had too much fun with this part.

For the stuffing, I used the sausage mixture and intermittently added garlic chevre. I packed the stuffing in there tightly.

Then I put it on the grill!

We closed the grill and let it cook for 30-40 minutes on the unlit side of the grill. It was able to get lots of good heat and browning this way.

Then we flipped the bird (unintentional!) and let it cook covered for another 30 minutes.

We took the chicken off the grill and let it rest for ten minutes before carving it.

Amaaazing!

Grilled Whole Chicken Stuffed with Sausage, Greens, and Peppers
1 whole chicken (mine was a bitty one, just 2 lbs., but I'd recommend 4 or 5 lbs.)
2 - 3 cups sliced Cajun sausage
3 small red and/or yellow sweet peppers, diced
3 handfuls mixed greens, chopped
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons oregano