First spatchcock attempt on the egg

jerryb78 · May 2014

I decided to brave the chance of rain and fired up the egg for my first spatchcock chicken tonight. I've cooked a lot of butterflied chickens in the oven before so prepping it wasn't really a big deal. I did some Penzey's barbecue rub under the skin and let it dry uncovered in the fridge for a few hours. Got the egg up to around 375, brushed the bird with butter, and put some seasoning on the skin before tossing it on the grill.

I didn't time it exactly, but it probably took about an hour to cook. I had the egg set up for raised direct using a couple bricks on top of the standard grid with a weber replacement grid set on top. I was slightly surprised that the thigh came up to temp before the breast meat. I could've sworn that it usually happened the other way around. It wasn't a problem since I wasn't worried about the dark meat overcooking, but I almost pulled it off without checking the breast first. Do you think that raising the grid up higher for my next chicken might be a good idea or is this a pretty standard experience with this method?

The skin came out fairly crisp and it was delicious, especially for something that only took about 90 minutes to prepare. This could definitely be a regular weeknight meal for us. The only downside is that in the oven I usually cook the bird over a bed of stuffing and that stuffing is freaking awesome with all of the juice that drips down on it.

tksmoke · May 2014

@jerryb78 - Nice looking chicken!! When I do spatchcock, my standard plan has become: check at 45minutes, normally the thighs are done prior to 50, and the breasts 5-7 minutes later. I've tried different orientations and rotating the bird during the cook - the thighs are always done first. I just cut them off, cover with foil, and let the breast cook until temp is 165. Most of the chickens I'm finding are in the 5+ pound range, Maybe the thicker breast just takes longer to cook.

buzd504 · May 2014

Why wouldn't you be able to put the stuffing under the bird in the egg? There are many easy homegrown solutions to raising another grate over your pan. Bricks are probably easiest - just get another grid.

jerryb78 · May 2014

You raise an excellent point, sir. I imagine that I'd probably want to switch to indirect cooking in that scenario.

keepervodeflame · May 2014

JerryB,

You can complete the same type of cook in your Egg. Here is a pic of a spatchcocked chicken cooked above a pan of Gemstone potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, sausage, and apples. I used an AR to hold both the chicken and the lodge enameled pan below it. Pretty easy, and very delicious. A very good technique is to lift the skin of the chicken from the meat. In this particular cook I made a paste of minced apples , olive oil, rosemary, thyme, and Montreal Chicken Blend and spread it under the skin on the breast and thighs.

Skiddymarker · May 2014

Great first spatched bird. Think raised direct the thighs will cook faster as they are exposed to IR from the lump, the breasts are usually shielded by the ribs so they cook a little slower, for indirect cooks the thighs will lag the breast so I usually put the legs towards the hinge it is a touch hotter there.

If you go indirect you could put the dressing under the bird, raised a bit off the setter. The skin might not crisp as well as a direct cook so it is a compromise.

As noted above you can part out the bird before the cook.

jerryb78 · May 2014

Very nice keepervodelfame. I love the idea of adding the root vegetables. I'm going to try that. I did some seasoning under the skin but kept it pretty basic due to a time crunch. I'll probably do something a little more involved next time.

JRWhitee · May 2014

My last raised direct @400 spatchcock the thighs were done first as well. I cook with the legs facing to the rear.

drewaars · May 2014

Did my first spatch last weekend. I was thinking beer can but time got away from me while working on the house and decided to give the spatchcock a try. I think i did indirect at about 400 with a rub i threw together on and under the skin.

I was very impressed with how quickly it cooked and the crispiness of the skin and how juicy the rest of the meat was. I almost let it go to long because i didn't expect it to cook so fast.

plumbfir01 · May 2014

really looks good. Consider 1tbsp rib rub, 1tbsp baking POWDER mixed and sifted over skin for major crunch. Its the way i and several others do the wings for ultimate crunch. good job and thanks for contributing to the site!

keepervodeflame · May 2014

Try this for a wonderful lemon spatchcocked chicken. Lift the skin, make a paste of EVOO, lemon juice, lemon zest, herbs, salt and pepper. Push the paste under the breast and thigh skin. It won't disappoint.

jllbms · May 2014

Just pulled my first ever spatchcock chicken off the grill, thanks to your many posts and the nekid whiz website. I'll let you know how it turned out!

First spatchcock attempt on the egg

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