Spatchcock Chicken

[BigLazy23]

Looking to Spatchcock a chicken tomorrow which I have done about a half dozen times on our Weber charcoal grill but a first on our new Komodo.  have used with good results/currently sitting in our fridge per the Naked Whiz website the chicken is currently sitting in fridge uncovered to help contribute to a more crispy skin.  Have lots of Dizzy Pig rubs on hand that we have used in the past along with various herbs.  I read through some of the posts on this website regarding cooked chicken - any updates/additional thoughts from folks on spices/fruit woods to cook with tomorrow?

 

 

Butcher Chicken.pdf

[Tucker]

When we do chicken we use Weber's Canadian Chicken rub, Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin, or Olive oil-salt-pepper.

They are turn out fantastic.

We don't use any smoke wood, just lump over the indirect heat w/ drip pan.

350 degree F, on main grill, 1.5 - 2 hrs using a temp probe.

[tony b]

Peach, cherry, or apple are all good with chicken. Mix with some pecan or white oak.

 

Love me some Dizzy Pig rubs, too. But of late, I've been using more of the Plowboys Yardbird rub for chicken, usually injected with Butcher BBQ Bird Booster Herb marinade.

 

If you've never tried the "Cornell chicken" marinade, give it a try sometime, very similar to Big Bob Gibson's white sauce (which is also very good).

 

Cornell Chicken

 

1 egg

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups cider vinegar

3 TB kosher salt (Yes, this is correct. There's a lot of salt in this; but trust me, it's OK, it's a quasi-brine.)

1 TB black pepper (fresh ground coarse)

1 TB Poultry Seasoning (I like Penzey's)

 

Place the egg in a blender/food processor (or you can hand whisk) with all the other ingredients, except the oil. Pulse to mix. Then with the blender running on medium speed, drizzle in the oil  to make an emulsion. Think very thin mayonnaise. Set aside about a 1/2 cup of the marinade to baste the chicken with during cooking. Place the chicken in a non-reactive container (glass, plastic) or ziptop bag and pour the rest of the marinade over and let marinade at least 4 hours, overnight is best. Baste about every 20 minutes during cooking with the reserved marinade. Since there's a raw egg in it, you don't want to baste the chicken during the last 20 minutes. (There's so much vinegar in it that it shouldn't be a problem basting up to the end, but just to be on the safe side!)

[BigLazy23]

Thanks tucker and Tony B.  Will likely try the Cornell chicken next go around when we can let the chicken marinate overnight (cooked the chicken tonight so didn't have enough time to marinade).
 
Cooked the chicken this evening using Coco lump and threw in three chunks of Fruita pecan wood and three peach.  Left exposed in the fridge overnight per Naked Whiz.  Right before cooking mixed together two tablespoons of Dizzy Pig Tsunami Spin and olive oil.  Rubbed this under the skin and then added another tablespoon of olive oil on top.
 
Target temp was 400 and ended up right around the 410 mark (as before wasn't going to start chasing the temperature).  Cooked on indirect heat with heat deflector and the drip pan for about an hour and 20 minutes. When I pulled it off the Thermapen measured 166 in the white meat and 188 in the dark meat (little higher than I would have liked).  Let sit for 10 minutes and then served with potato salad and garlic bread.

Overall turned out well.  Would have liked more seasoning and am excited to try the cornell chicken method to see what it does to the flavor profile.  Liked the peach/pecan mix so probably won't change this, but might also try a different charcoal just to see what it does (have a couple of bags of Rockwood, Kamado Joe, and Ozark Oak that I have yet to try).  I don't usually like leftovers because that means another meal that needs to be eaten before I get to cook again, but in this case it works as leftover chicken means chicken salad - can't beat it for work day lunches.

 

 

[Tucker]

Great looking results.

For more flavor to the meat, put the rub under the skin on the breasts and thighs.

Yes, making chicken salad out of the leftovers is fantastic.

[tony b]

Gorgeous bird! Beautiful color!

 

This thread got me inspired, so I whipped up a batch of Cornell chicken marinade yesterday. Will be cooking the bird tonight for dinner. If I can remember, I'll post pics.

 

Forgot to mention. You'll need to use a drip pan for the Cornell chicken, as the marinade/baste has enough oil in it that it will cause flare ups otherwise. I like to put the pan on the lower grate and cook the chicken up high on the upper rack in the dome. Get better heat distribution that way. A good compromise over direct heat. It will take a bit longer to get crispy skin, but with the overnight marinade and basting, you don't worry about the meat drying out.

[BigLazy23]

Gorgeous bird! Beautiful color!

 

This thread got me inspired, so I whipped up a batch of Cornell chicken marinade yesterday. Will be cooking the bird tonight for dinner. If I can remember, I'll post pics.

 

Forgot to mention. You'll need to use a drip pan for the Cornell chicken, as the marinade/baste has enough oil in it that it will cause flare ups otherwise. I like to put the pan on the lower grate and cook the chicken up high on the upper rack in the dome. Get better heat distribution that way. A good compromise over direct heat. It will take a bit longer to get crispy skin, but with the overnight marinade and basting, you don't worry about the meat drying out.

 

Thanks Tony, will add the drip pan and placement to the notes I took.  How many wood chunks do you generally add?  Oh, and don't forget to post pictures!

[tony b]

For wood chunks, it was 2 large pieces of peach and a handful of small pieces of pecan. I use a smoking pot (converted dutch oven).

 

Well, I did remember to break out the camera. Here's some pics of the Cornell chicken.

[EGGARY]

Just an idea.  Instead of using the drip pan, put an aluminum pan of par boiled potatoes and some garlic cloves underneath the chicken and let all the dripping go into the pan of potatoes.  That is definitely a big Yum.  That is our favorite.  Could also do Brussel Sprouts and/or Cauliflower.

I too cover the Drip Pan with aluminum foil.

[tony b]

While I've never tried it, I would think that the Cornell chicken marinade/baste wouldn't be all that  "yummy" on potatoes. I do believe that it would be an excellent idea with some different treatments. One that comes immediately to mind would be any lamb cut that has been marinated/basted with lots of garlic, oregano, mint, parsley, rosemary, etc.