Grilled Spatchcocked Whole Chicken with BBQ Sauce

Spatchcocked Chicken is a simple technique that will guarantee a perfectly cooked chicken throughout. Grill it up on the BBQ for a delicious and easy meal.

“Fashion and the fashionable serves a duel and competing purpose,” I recall one of my professor’s commenting on society. “On the one hand, it serves to decide what is mainstream, it sets society’s tone and perception, coloring what is ‘acceptable’ or even ‘laudatory.’ Meanwhile, ‘fashion’ is what defines the contrarian lives of the dissenting bohemians among us, giving cause and target to society’s critics.”

I’ve spoken here before a couple of times about “everything old being made new again,” and that was brought once again to my attention the other day when my daughter pointed how many varying iterations of ‘spachcock chicken’ were appearing not only online but also in a range of assorted ‘big’ publications.

The idea of ‘spachcocking’ chicken, a type of ‘butterflying’ in which the bird’s backbone, and sometimes sternum, is removed, is hardly anything new. In fact, one might even consider the idea rather quaint, as it’s one of those ‘originals’ that appears in ‘old time’ cookbooks, with both Julia Child and James Beard giving their own takes on various butterflying techniques for not only birds but also other cuts of meat, with the earliest reference to the term that I could find dating back to the turn of the last century.

One of the big surprises with the current gout of spachcocking is that it more or less flies in the face of the perennial ‘simplicity craze.’ After all, playing kitchen-surgeon with your meat of choice is not something that we can pretend to make ‘easy.’ You need some cursory confidence with a knife and scissors, and both the time and patience to carry out the proceeding ‘procedure’ as prep work.

Ten Reasons You'll Love This Recipe:

1. Juicy Chicken: The magic of spatchcocking and grilling with indirect heat ensures that every part of the bird, including the breast meat, turns out juicy and tender, as it ensures even heat distribution.
2. Crispy Skin: This recipe features deliciously crispy chicken skin. The combination of the dry rub and grilling technique results in skin that's crispy and irresistibly flavorful, a perfect contrast to the juicy meat.
3. Savory Dry Rub: The dry rub is a simple yet delicious blend spices and herbs that adds a layer of taste, elevating your chicken to a whole new level of deliciousness.
4. Easy Recipe: This recipe is surprisingly easy to follow, making it suitable for both first-timers and experienced grillers. It's all about achieving impressive results without a lot of effort. Trust me when I say spatchcocking really is a breeze once you’ve got it down. As always, see the recipe card below for our step-by-step guide.
5. Versatility: Whether you have a gas grill or a charcoal grill, this recipe is adaptable to your grilling method of choice, ensuring you can enjoy it no matter what you have on hand.
6. Shorter Cooking Time: Thanks to spatchcocking, the cooking time is significantly reduced compared to traditional roasting, making this recipe a time-saver for busy cooks.
7. Delicious BBQ Sauce: The BBQ sauce glaze adds a delightful touch of smokiness and sweetness to your chicken, turning it into a mouthwatering masterpiece.
8. Even Cooking: The indirect heat method ensures even cooking, which is key to achieving a perfectly grilled chicken.
9. Impressive Presentation: The spatchcocked chicken never fails to impress visually, making it a great choice for special occasions or when you want to wow your guests.
10. Perfect for Grilling Season: Whether it's a summer barbecue or a winter cookout, this recipe can be enjoyed year-round, making it a versatile and enjoyable addition to your culinary repertoire.

Main Ingredients:

1. Whole Chicken (or Cornish Hens): You can’t spatchcock a chicken with the chicken itself. This recipe also works with Cornish hens, if you prefer for each person to have their own bird. See my guide for tips on selecting quality chicken.
2. Dry Rub: The dry rub is a blend of spices and herbs, including salt, pepper, coriander, oregano, fennel seeds, and paprika. This mixture adds flavor to the chicken, while also contributing to the crispy texture of the skin
3. Olive Oil: A little olive oil is used to brush the chicken before applying the dry rub. This helps the rub adhere to the skin, ensuring an even distribution of flavors. The oil is also key to the creation of crispy skin. Feel free to use butter if preferred.
4. Homemade BBQ Sauce: The BBQ sauce glaze adds a delightful smokiness, sweetness, and tang to the chicken. We brush it on during the last few minutes of grilling to create a mouthwatering glaze.
5. Breadcrumb Stuffing: The breadcrumb stuffing is what ‘makes’ this recipe in my opinion. It includes Italian-style breadcrumbs, fresh garlic, fresh basil leaves, Romano cheese, lemon juice, and olive oil.

How to Spatchcock a Chicken – A Brief Guide

Spatchcocking is a super-simple technique by which we remove the backbone of the chicken, and then flatten down the bird. Okay, but ‘why’ do we do this? The main reason is to facilitate even cooking, which in turn leads to a juicier chicken – especially the white meat. This method is not only the best way to ensure your bird cooks to perfection but also makes for a visually impressive presentation.

While the process of spatchcocking might sound intimidating, I promise it’s not.

First up, let’s talk about you’ll need to get this done, and then we’ll break it down into simple steps.

What You'll Need:

1. A Large Cutting Board: A spacious, sturdy work surface is essential.
2. Paper Towels: For patting the chicken dry.
3. Sharp Kitchen Shears or a Sharp Knife: To cut through the backbone, you’ll need a good pair of kitchen shears or a sharp knife. I really do recommend using shears if this is your first time doing this.
4. Patience and Brawn: You'll need to apply a little pressure to the chicken and cut through bone, so be prepared for a little bit of a workout. This can seem daunting at first, but trust me, this is indeed an easier process then it might seem at first.
5. Meat Thermometer (optional): An instant-read thermometer makes telling when your chicken is done easier.

Now, let’s get to spatchcocking.

Steps to Spatchcock a Chicken:

1. Prep Your Workspace: Start with a clean, spacious area. Lay out your cutting board, kitchen shears, and paper towels. Ensure the chicken is thoroughly thawed if frozen. You want to work with a room temperature chicken.
2. Position the Chicken Breast-Side Up: Place the whole chicken breast-side up on the cutting board (skin side up). This means the breast is facing you.
3. Remove the Backbone: To do this, turn the chicken so the neck is facing away from you. Using your kitchen shears or a knife, carefully cut along one side of the spine, starting from the tail end. Repeat on the other side of the spine.
4. Open the Bird: After removing the backbone, gently open the chicken like a book. You should now be able to see the entire inside of the bird.
5. Loosen the Breast Bone: Using the heel of your hand, apply some pressure to the breastbone, which is located in the center of the opened chicken. This helps flatten the bird even more.
6. Pat Dry: Use paper towels to pat the chicken dry. A dry chicken is key to achieving crispy skin when grilling.
7. Cooking Time: Now that your whole bird is spatchcocked and ready for cooking, you'll find that it cooks more evenly and in less time compared to traditional roasting. The exact cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken. The chicken is done when the thickest part of the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees f.

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And that's it! If you’ve followed the guide, then you've successfully spatchcocked a chicken. Congrats!

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