GRILLED SPATCHCOCKED CHICKEN

Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken image

A flattened, or spatchcocked, chicken will cook more quickly and evenly than when left intact. The parts that take the longest to cook (legs and wings) are conveniently on the edges (meaning they are exposed to more heat), while the quicker-cooking breast is in the center (where it is insulated a bit from the heat). The origin of the term spatchcock is debatable, but one theory has it that it derives from "dispatch the cock," apparently shorthand for "prepare the chicken for roasting over a spit." No matter its past, cooks today understand that to spatchcock a chicken is to remove the backbone and open it like a book. While most commonly used for chicken that will be grilled or broiled, the method also works well for roasting. To further promote even cooking, the flattened chicken is weighted with a foil-wrapped brick while it grills, a technique borrowed from an Italian dish known as pollo al mattone ("chicken under a brick"). Brining helps keep the meat tender and juicy, and glazing adds another layer of flavor and promotes browning. In this recipe, citrus marries the brine and glaze, but you can forgo the glaze and make a brine solution of only salt, sugar, and water. A good ratio is 1 cup of coarse salt (never table salt, which will cause the meat to taste too salty) and 1/2 cup sugar to 1 gallon of water. For best results, brine the chicken for at least 1 hour and no more than 3 hours (any longer and the meat can develop an unpleasant texture).

Yield Serves 5

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup coarse salt
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
4 cups water
4 cups ice cubes
1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds), spatchcocked as directed on page 113
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Sunflower or other neutral-tasting oil

Steps:

Make brine In a large pot, cook zests, sugar, salt, peppercorns, garlic, and the water over high heat, stirring occasionally, until salt and sugar have completely dissolved. Remove from heat, add ice cubes, and stir until completely cooled.
Brine chicken Submerge the chicken in the cooled brine, skin side down, and allow it to soak, covered, for 1 hour at room temperature or up to 3 hours in the refrigerator.
Meanwhile, make glaze Whisk together the honey and citrus juices in a small bowl.
Grill chicken Heat grill to medium-low (see Grill Temperature Guidelines on page 162). When it is hot, scrub with a grill brush and sweep lightly with oil. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry. Set on grill, skin side down. To flatten chicken during cooking, rest a small baking sheet on top of chicken and place two foil-wrapped bricks (or other heatproof weights) on the baking sheet fig.3.14. Grill until skin side is golden brown and releases easily from grate, 8 to 10 minutes. Flip chicken with tongs and brush with some glaze, then cover grill and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165°F, about 10 to 15 minutes more, brushing with glaze two more times. Transfer to a carving board, skin side up, and let rest for 5 minutes.
Serve Carve chicken as shown on page 130, and serve.
When cooking a whole (not spatchcocked) chicken on the grill, the challenge is to allow it enough time to cook through before the skin becomes too crisp and charred. The solution is to wait to crisp the skin at the end. Heat grill to high, and start with the chicken over indirect heat, breast side up; cover grill, and cook for 50 minutes to 1 hour. The internal temperature of the legs should register 165°F. If not, cover the grill and continue cooking until it does (check every 5 minutes or so). Then flip chicken, breast side down, and grill over direct heat to crisp the skin, about 2 minutes, rotating the chicken 90 degrees after a minute so the skin will cook evenly. Remove from grill and let rest on a carving board for 5 to 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Like a whole chicken, individual chicken parts are prone to drying out on the grill if overcooked (160°F for breasts, 165°F for legs). Just be mindful of the times below, and take off each part as it is done. To keep meat moist, leave the skin on or, before cooking, brine chicken pieces for 1 to 3 hours in the refrigerator in a mixture of 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup coarse salt, 8 cups water, and the herbs of your choice. You could also rub them with Spice Paste (page 173) before grilling, or brush them with All-Purpose Grilling Sauce (page 177) about 5 minutes before you take them off the grill. And, of course, you can leave out those treatments altogether and simply season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat grill to medium-high; pat dry chicken. First sear over direct heat, then finish over indirect (medium) heat. Split breasts require 30 to 35 minutes total, legs 18 to 22, thighs 15 to 20, and wings 11 to 13.