Spatchcocking shortens the cooking time so you can spend more time at the table and less time at the grill. Grilled Spatchcock Chicken is moist and juicy, seasoned with a salty and spicy dry rub that crisps up the skin for an abundance of flavor and texture.
A whole chicken or turkey can be quickly and easily spatchcocked to flatten it before cooking. With a spatchcocked chicken, you get an even thickness that enables faster grilling and uniform heating throughout.
This method makes it simple to remove excess fat and meat as you go, and the backbone is also easily removed, which makes it perfect for freezing and using later to make soup stock.
My spatchcock chicken recipe outlines how to flatten and grill a juicy, moist whole chicken with a crisp and flavorful skin step-by-step, including a how-to video (see below in recipe card).
I suggest serving this dish with my Alabama White Sauce, a tangy mayo BBQ sauce with a hint of heat, which is a basic dry rub made with salt, pepper, paprika, and a few other spices and seasonings that’s perfect for grilling.
How to prepare Classic Spatchcock Chicken | Recipe
Grilled Spatchcocked Greek Chicken 🔗
We’re big fans of spatchcocking – that’s when the backbone of a chicken is removed and flattened out. The beauty of this extra step is that all parts of the chicken finish cooking at around the same time, so no more dry breast meat!
Total: 0 3h20min0
Serving Size: 1 of 4 servings
Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 of 4 servings, calories 1121, Fat 98g, Saturated Fat 20g, Carbohydrate 6g, Fiber 2g, Sugar 1g, Protein 55g, Cholesterol 217mg, Sodium 1213mg
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds) spatchcocked
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of 2 lemons and zest of 1
- 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 scallions, sliced
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh dill
Instruction:
- To spatchcock the chicken, use strong kitchen scissors or poultry shears and cut down either side of the spine. Pull out the spine, turn the chicken over and press down on the breast of the chicken to flatten it out to one thickness.
- Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, oregano, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Put the chicken in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag in a rimmed dish. Pour in half of the marinade, reserving the rest for serving later. Seal the bag and rotate it around to evenly distribute the marinade. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season generously all over with salt and pepper; let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Prepare a grill for medium indirect heat: For gas grills (with 3 or more burners), turn all the burners to medium-high heat; after about 15 minutes turn off one of the middle burners and turn the remaining burners down to medium. For charcoal grills, bank one chimney starter-full of lit and ashed-over charcoal briquettes to one side of the grill. Set up a drip pan on the other side to avoid flare-ups. (Be sure to consult the grill manufacturer’s guide for best results.)
- Place the chicken skin-side up on the indirect side of the grill with the legs facing the hotter side. Cover and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding the bone) reads 150 to 160 degrees F (almost cooked through), about 50 minutes.
- Move the chicken over to the direct-heat side of the grill. After 2 minutes, flip the chicken to char and crisp up the skin side, another 3 or 4 minutes. Check that the temperature in the thigh is now at least 165 degrees F. If it is not, then move the chicken back to the indirect side, cover and cook until the final temperature is reached. Remove from the grill; let rest 20 minutes before carving.
- Stir the scallions and dill into the reserved marinade. Drizzle over the chicken or serve on the side.
FAQ
Do you flip a spatchcock chicken?
Use a good set of tongs or even this big spatula that’s so worth it to flip your spatchcock chicken on the grill so it cooks evenly and chars on both sides!
How long does it take to cook spatchcock chicken on a Weber grill?
Brush some sauce over the chicken and place it bone side down on a roast holder. Place a drip pan on the charcoal grate. Place the roast holder on the cooking grate – in the middle. Cover the barbecue. Cook the chicken for 45–50 minutes, basting with sauce during the last 15-20 minutes.
What is the best way to spatchcock a chicken?
Brining is simply immersing the chicken in a salt-water solution prior to grilling, which helps the chicken get great grill marks and prevents it from overcooking on the grill due to the increased surface moisture and sugars that brown quickly.