Life has definitely been complicated lately. I'm not sure how else to express it except for to say that it's been messy, and we've been desperate for some time to unwind. That was our goal for this past weekend. We spent a lot of time together enjoying the nice weather and unwinding from the crazy past month we've had, and doing a lot of outdoor cooking. It was so much fun, and incredibly tasty of course. One of the many highlights of the weekend would certainly have to be the chicken. A whole chicken on the grill, spatchcock style. We both agree that it was the very best chicken we've ever had. So perfectly simple. Grilled Spatchcock Chicken is a great way to have super juicy chicken on the grill, and it doesn't even need any barbecue sauce. It's way better than rotisserie chicken, believe me.
What's a spatchcock, you might ask? To spatchcock a chicken simply means to remove the backbone so that you can lay the chicken flat for cooking purposes. This method is much easier than you might think, and it allows for a magnificently grilled chicken that cooks very nicely and much more evenly than if you were to leave the bird whole. It's basically a butterflied whole chicken. All you need is a whole chicken and a pair of heavy duty kitchen shears.
How to Spatchcock a Chicken:
1. Lay a whole chicken breast-side down on a work surface. (I recommend a rimmed baking sheet to catch the juices.)
2. Feel for the backbone and using kitchen shears, make two cuts the entire length of the chicken on either side of the backbone. You'll be removing about a 1-inch strip down the center of the back of the bird.
3. Turn the chicken over and press down on the breastbone to flatten out the chicken. That's it! You officially know how to spatchcock a chicken.
Grilled Spatchcock Chicken
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 whole chicken 1x
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- Lawry's seasoning salt
- instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- Pre-heat a charcoal grill.
- Spatchcock the chicken by removing the backbone with kitchen shears as described in the post above.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towel.
- Rub surface of chicken with olive oil.
- Season with salt, pepper, and a generous amount of Lawry's seasoning salt.
- Lay chicken on the grill, breast-side up.
- Cover and cook until internal temperature reaches 150-160° F. Turn the chicken over and continue cooking until temperature of the dark meat reaches at least 165° F. (We use medium direct heat and replenish the charcoal about halfway through cooking time. Total cooking time is about 45 minutes.)
- Remove to a tray and carve the chicken as desired. Using clean kitchen shears, you can divide the chicken in two by simply cutting along the breastbone.
Notes
This recipe first appeared on Kitchen Joy.
We did all sorts of outdoor cooking this weekend, not just the chicken. There may or may not have been a masterpiece that involved bacon, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, a roasting stick and a campfire. Just saying...
We also brought out our Campfire Dutch Oven for the first time since our snowy New Years Chicken and Dumplings. It's great for baking too! We love to make no-knead bread in it, or strawberry rhubarb crisp! There are few things I find more fun and relaxing in the summertime. Plus you don't have to heat up the house with the oven, which is always a bonus. Not to mention the handsome fella who stokes the campfire for me while I relax in a lawn-chair and monitor the food. We've got a great system going.
Jean
Looks like fun to try and good to eat ! Thanks Mandy:)
abbiosbiston
Spatchcock chicken is very common at South African BBQs (braais). We call it a "flattie".
Mandy
"Flattie". I love it!
karathecook
Nice to meet you Mandy -- The corn looks delicious as well! I love grilled corn on the cob. Will have to try cooking a chicken like this!