It was Labor Day weekend and you better believe we did some grilling. The most interesting item was a whole chicken done on the Weber charcoal grill. In the past we've done 'Beer Can' but this time I decided to butterfly it, like I did with a turkey last Thanksgiving. A chicken doesn't take nearly as long though and there were no foil pans or gravy either.
To prepare chicken for a butterfly or 'spatchcock' cook is the most difficult part. There are a few videos here that show how it's done (amazingribs.com of course), though I'll just directly embed one too.
Orient the chicken so the wing tips point down. Using kitchen scissors cut along both sides of the backbone and remove it entirely. This is a challenge if your scissors aren't super sharp, something I should rectify in our kitchen. I kinda lost my place and started cutting into one of the thighs before finding my way. It just wasn't pretty and so I didn't take pictures of the ongoing process. Once the backbone is removed, flip it over and push down to flatten it. You'll probably hear a crack. Starting this in the early afternoon, like 2pm, I then applied salt all over (a 'dry brine'), including under the skin, and placed the chicken in the fridge for a couple hours.
The recipe estimates that the cook will take about 45 minutes once the chicken goes on, so I started the grill a little after 430pm. While waiting for the coals to heat up, I made the rub. I wanted to only make enough for the one chicken, so I did 1/6 of the linked recipe for an easy conversion. I then replaced the dried sage with marjoram, because we don't have sage, and eliminated the bay leaves, because I didn't want to grind any up.
Amended 'Simon and Garfunkel' rub:
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp white sugar
After applying the rub all over the chicken, making sure to get some under the skin on the breasts and thighs, it was good to go. The coals were ready about 5pm and I dumped them on one side to create two zones. As it was a longer cook, I immediately added more coals on top of the already hot ones, which I may have overdone and lowered the grill temp somewhat at the start. Still, I wanted to have enough to complete the job.
I placed the chicken on the indirect side of the grill, breasts up and facing the coals. It stayed there for the entirety of the cook. (Flipping it onto the direct side wasn't necessary to attain premium crisp.) It was here I wish I owned a thermometer to leave on the grill and I'm not quite sure how hot it was at any point. Of course by checking on the progress of the exterior browning and internal temperature I wasn't worried about the end result. The only problem was it ended up staying on the grill for nearly 90 minutes instead of 45.
Using I meat thermometer I checked the temperature inside the breasts, beginning about 30 minutes in. I kept doing this every 10 minutes or so until the lowest temp I could find was 165. The juices poured out whenever I did this, which was a good sign. Once it finally reached 165 I pulled it off and took it inside. About as soon as possible I started carving, taking off the drumsticks and thighs, the wings and the breasts. I went immediately for the dark meat, which was perfectly crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. My wife had the white meat which also stayed tremendously juicy as well. All in all it was a great success!
Quick version:
1. Butterfly chicken, ~4 hours before dinner time
2. Apply salt all over and put in fridge
3. Start grill, ~1.5-2 hours before dinner time
4. Make and apply rub
5. Put chicken on grill, ~1 hour before dinner time
6. Check periodically on browning and internal temperature after 30 minutes
7. Once thickest part of chicken (should be breasts) reaches 165, take it off
8. Slice and devour
It also was way too much food for two adults and a toddler, so I've been creative the last few days trying to use it up. One day shredded chicken was combined with spaghetti noodles and jarred Alfredo sauce. The next some was put into some grilled cheese sandwiches. And there's still more in the fridge for lunches.
That's all for now. I hope everyone had a nice long weekend!
This works in the oven too.
450 for about an hour.
Start checking at 45 minutes.