Ask the Butcher: How to Spatchcock and Grill a Whole Chicken

How does one cook a whole chicken in the sweltering summer heat while avoiding cranking the oven? On the grill of course!

In this special video edition of Ask the Butcher, Josh demonstrates how to grill and spatchcock a chicken. Spatchcocking is just a fancy word for taking the backbone out so a bird can lay flat when cooking, reducing the cooking time for a whole bird. Once you have a spatchcocked bird, there are a number of ways to cook it on a grill. You can dry rub and make brick chicken directly on the grill. Or you can use a cast iron pan over indirect heat and baste the bird with an herb butter and wine sauce. “Have one side of your grill flaming hot, then shut off the area under the cast iron pan or turn it way down so the bird doesn’t burn,” explains Applestone.