Yesterday's spatchcock chicken

I know spatchcocked chicken isn't a new thing here, but I've noticed that people sometimes get called out on the trash-talking OT threads if they don't have any cooks to speak of, so I'm working on my cook count.

Actually it was leg quarters I was after.  Two of my uncles were avid cooks on their Brinkmanns and were responsible not only for some of my favorite meals when I was younger, but also for my enthusiasm.  (I owned two Brinkmanns also before graduating to my Egg.)  Leg quarters were among their most frequent cooks.

But the grocery store on Saturday had no leg quarters to offer, but they did have whole birds.  Fine.  Plan B it would be.

You know how the deal goes.  I got the Egg going at around 275.  I spatchcocked the bird.  (Some of you flatten yours out more than I do.)  I used the same rub my uncles would use, Chef Paul's Poultry Magic, because of the connection to those good memories it gives me.  Actually I ran short and filled in some spots with a little Dizzy Dust.

On the drip pan underneath the bird, I placed a smaller pan with sliced apples, sliced onions, apple cider vinegar, and water.  Hickory was my smoke wood.

The 7-pound bird took about 2-1/2 hours to turn into golden brown glory.

I noticed that the bird did what I do sometimes overnight, which is to kick the covers off one leg to cool off a little.

I paired this up with collard chowder from the Southern Smoke book that earned a thread here not long ago.  My daughter and I liked it a lot.  My wife is not a fan of collards, so it didn't do much for her.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving this week, folks.