Chicken trouble solved

CT Grillguy · August 2006

I made some posts a week or two ago about not having success doing whole chickens. After a few great suggestions from some of you guys, I have settled on the following technique which my wife and I both love. Mind you, we have tried all the popular whole chicken methods out there and this one is what we prefer. This is just a FYI post for others out there searching for a whole chicken method.[p]I've settled on Spatchcocking the bird (cutting out the backbone and laying the bird flat) and seasoning with:[p]1. Layer of Olive Oil
2. Thin layer of mustard (we use Gouldens spicy brown)
3. A generous coating of Tsunami Spin (Dizzy Pig)[p]I let the bird sit in a large bowl covered in plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator over night (I've been doing about 24 hours in the fridge). This step is crucial because it makes all the meat of the bird flavored with the rub, not just the skin.[p]The Cook:
I have settled on a rather hot direct cook at 400 with a raised grid.
-We start with the bird skin side up and flip it once after about 30 mins skinside down. After an hour, the bird should be done or close to it. [p]At this point (thanks to another poster who's name I forget) I heat up a cast iron skillet on the stove until it is smoking. I take the skillet out to the bird and place it skinside up on the grill and place the cast iron skillet over the bird so that the hot surface contacts the skin in as many places as possible. 10 Mins later the skin has been even further crisped.[p]The result is a deeply crusted bird with a very crisp skin. The meat is very juicy still even with the hot direct grill and the pressure of the cast iron for the last few mins.[p]We are very happy with this method and thanks to all those out there who's ideas I have blatantly stolen![p]Cheers.

Essex County · August 2006

CT Grillguy,
Glad it worked. I wish I had the foresight to rub and/or marinate my dinner 24 hours in advance. I am almost always in Rachel Ray mode. I'm also glad to see that the skillet thing worked for you. I used to be concerned that it would press out too much liquid but the result seems fine.
Paul

CT Grillguy · August 2006

Essex County,[p]Thanks for that idea, it works great! [p]I just buy a whole bird whenever I see one on sale. Hopefully the exp. date is a few days in the future, so that gives me flexibility to prep it any of the next few days. I'm the same as you, rarely plan, but this works well for me.[p]Cheers!

Clay Q · August 2006

CT Grillguy,
Nice work! That kind of grillin would attract a crowd around the egg. I like your method of using cast iron to crisp the skin and I'll have to give it a try.
Clay

The Naked Whiz · August 2006

CT Grillguy,
There are two things you might want to try sometime in the future. First is putting the rub and mustard mix under the skin instead of on it. (Or both.) This will obviously put the rub/mustard in direct contact with the meat. You might not need the 24 hour routine. Also, you might try putting the bird in the fridge for 4 hours or so uncovered to allow the skin to dry. This might produce a crispier skin if you didn't want to do the skillet thing. That said, I'm gonna try the skillet thing!!! Thanks for the report![p]TNW

Chicken trouble solved

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