Spatchcocked chicken

Babyray

What is the best size chicken to use? What are the advantages of spatchcocked chicken? Any help or recipes appreciated by posting on this board or e-mail to me.[p]Ray[p]
Thanks in advance.

Gloria

Babyray,
I am of the opinion that the very best chickens are the smallest one can find rather than those steroidal things that look almost like a turkey. Spatchcocked chicken was one of the first things I tried on our Egg and we have cooked it several times since and it is always the most delicious chicken ever. Cooked two last weekend and we, daughter, son-in-law, and 6 yr-old twin granddaughters devoured them. One was about 2 3/4 lb and the other was a little over three pounds...not as small as I would prefer but the little chicks are hard to find. I use a rub on mine and have used several different recipes and they ALL turn out great. (I wonder, what do you all do with the backbones that you cut from the birds? I pop mine in a freezer bag and when I get a big ol' bag of them, I am going to make chicken stock. Just can't bear to not use them.) Chickens cooked this way take less time than the whole bird and a really simple recipe is garlic powder, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil rubbed in and let sit for about 30 minutes before cooking. We cook our at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, turn them over and cook another 20-25 minuts, depending on the size...I like my chickens "done" so we will shut down the Egg and let them stay in an extra 15 minutes.

The Naked Whiz

<p />Babyray,
Few people know this, but I invented the spatchcocked chicken. I was born in 17th century Ireland and coined the word "spatchcock" as a shortened version of the phrase "dispatch the ****". I have posted instructions on my website below. Since then, I have also invented the telephone, hearing aids, chocolate ice cream, roller blades and the Internet. Thank you. The man in the white coat is here now. Visit my website. They say if I get enough hits, they'll let me go home.....
[ul][li]The Naked Whiz's Website[/ul]

The Naked Whiz

<p />The Naked Whiz,
To answer your other question, I use 3.5 to 4 lb birds and do them 1 hour at 350 degrees. I don't bother turning them as there is no need to do so, I have found. As you can see in the photo, I raise the grid up to the top of the egg. I don't know if this is necessary but some fellow eggers have commented that they had birds burn at the lower level and thought raising it up would help. [p]By the way, my web page says to turn. I am in the process of redoing the instructions to reflect my current method.[p]TNW
[ul][li]Naked Whiz's website[/ul]

WooDoggies

Babyray,[p]I like using a fryer... around 2-3 lbs.
The advantage to spatchcock is the chicken is kept whole and retains it's juices better than cut up parts... the flattened chicken cooks more evenly throughout and it's just plain easy... throw it on a 350 grill, bone side down for 20-30 min, flip and go another 20-30 and it's done.
Viola.
Like many people here, I use a raised grill to help keep flareups from scorching the bird.[p]Here is a way awesome and simple recipe that everyone loves. From the Totally Garlic Cookbook...[p]~Grilled Tuscan Chicken[p]in a blender/food processor combine:[p]2 peeled shallots
2 teaspoons molasses
2 tablespoons tomato paste
12 peeled garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
Juice and finely grated skin of 1 lemon
1/2 cup dry red wine[p]Place 1 or 2 butterflied chickens in a shallow dish and pour marinade over, working some under the skin if you like, cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight, turning several times.
When ready to grill, shake off excess marinade, pat skin dry for scrispier result, sprinkle with some freshly ground pepper, kosher salt and grill.
Very juicey, lots of flavor and very very good.[p]Let us know how yours turns out... can't go wrong with this cook.

WD[p][p]

Peggy

The Naked Whiz,
Where did you get the second grill grate the chickens are placed on? It's a nice size. Is it the same size as the original grill grate that comes with the BGE? Mighty fine cooking you are doing on the picture. Peggy

The Naked Whiz

Peggy,
I was once engaged to a girl named Peggy.... Oops, sorry, drifting off again. Actually, the grid on top is the original. The one below was a relative cheap grid I bought at either Home Depot or BBQ's Galore. It is just an 18 inch grid.[p]TNW

Unknown

The Naked Whiz,
I was going to buy another grid from the egg folks so I could have a good grid to cook on--sooner or later, probabaly much later it would have dawned on me to swap the two.
THANKS--I'm on my way outside to do the swap.[p]Lewis

davidm

The Naked Whiz,[p]I have a theory about why you don't have to turn the bird when you raise the grid: the reflected heat off the dome, now closer to the bird, heats the top part at a rate even with the bottom.[p]Just a theory, but it seems to work for me.[p]Cheers,[p]David

Unknown

The Naked Whiz,
Ah ha! I *knew* it was you![p]In fact this also 'splains it all, including how it is that you have the skills to cleave thine bird in twain.[p](Ok, get ready for the silly, obscure yet obligatory movie reference to explain the above nonsense)[p]"There can be only one."[p]Alas, I'm but a mere mortal,
bc

LasVegasMac

The Naked Whiz,
I just lost all respect I had for you![p]Al Gore invented the Internet!!!!![p]LVM