Grilled Spatchcock Chicken
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Have you ever made spatchcock chicken on the grill? It comes out moist, juicy, and evenly cooked every single time — and in record time, too! I make mine with a salty, spicy dry rub made with common spices you already have at home.
This is my step-by-step guide for how to spatchcock chicken for roasting, grilling, or smoking, complete with a how-to video. With only 40 minutes of active cooking time, it’s the fastest way to cook a whole chicken.
Spatchcock chicken is totally flattened by removing the backbone and slicing through the sternum and cartilage for even, thorough cooking with any method. I use this same trick when I prepare tangy Hawaiian chicken. It’s so easy, you’ll have a perfectly spatchcocked bird on the first try!
Table of Contents
The result is plump, juicy, and mouthwateringly tender meat with minimal effort. The savory, peppery spice rub is made with common spices like paprika, cumin, and celery salt — and if you don’t have those, I’m sure you have a perfectly fine substitute!
I’ll usually shred the meat for tostadas, throw it onto fries with some gravy for poutine, make some chicken and dumpling soup, or just slice and serve with a few of my favorite sides.
(Be sure to check the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities)
- Whole Chicken – I generally spatchcock a whole 4 lb chicken, but note that this method and recipe can be used on any poultry.
- Black Pepper & Salt – I use regular black pepper and kosher salt.
- Sweet Paprika – Compared to smoked, sweet paprika has a milder, fruitier flavor without any heat.
- Garlic Powder – Substitute with granulated garlic or garlic flakes. If using garlic salt, omit the extra salt in this recipe.
- Celery Salt – A savory, grassy salt made with crushed celery seed. You can make your own by combining equal parts ground celery seeds and salt!
- Cumin & Coriander – Two fresh, citrusy seasonings that balance each other out very well. Cumin is more warm and earthy, whereas coriander is very lemony and almost floral. They make good substitutes for each other, and either can be substituted with ground caraway seeds or curry powder (in a pinch).
- Preferred Basting Sauce – Keep the spatchcock chicken moist by basting it with your favorite sauce for grilling. I use my own Alabama white sauce in this recipe!
How to Grill Spatchcock Chicken with Indirect Heat Method
2 Zone Set Up: One zone is hot over direct heat, the other zone will be warm over indirect heat. What you’re looking for is to have half of the burners turned on to provide flame/hot heat and the other half of the grill generating little to no heat either on low or not at all.
With a Gas Grill: Create a “2 Zone” set up in one of two ways. You can light half the grill so that it reaches the desired temperature, laying the meat on the unlit side. Alternatively, you can light both sides of a grill while leaving the center unlit, placing the meat in the center where the temperature is lowest (what I do on my Weber Genesis).
With a Charcoal BBQ or Smoker: Light the charcoal. Similar to the directions above, move the charcoal either to one side of the grill or to both sides while making a space in the center that is unlit. Place the meat where it is not above any lit charcoal. Use a drip pan below the meat.
- Remove Backbone. Place the chicken breast-side down. Use kitchen scissors to cut along each side of the backbone, starting at the neck and working down. Cut through the rib bones as you go. Discard the backbone (or freeze to make stock).
- Cut Cartilage. Locate the triangle piece of cartilage at the base of the breastbone. Use a knife to make a ¼-inch cut downward through the cartilage. Grab either side of the cut to spread the bird open. Flip it over and press down to flatten.
Alternatively, you could butterfly the chicken by flipping it over after the first step and flattening the breastbone with the heel of your hand.
- Make Dry Rub. Whisk together the seasonings for the dry rub and set aside while you spatchcock the bird as described above.
- Preheat & Season. Preheat the oven, grill, or smoker to 400 degrees F. Season the spatchcocked chicken by rubbing the seasonings into the meat with your hands.
- Bake or Grill. Place the bird rib-side down — on a roasting sheet if baking in the oven, or on indirect heat if grilling/smoking — and cook for 45 minutes. Baste every 20 minutes with your preferred sauce. If grilling, transfer the bird to direct heat to grill for 5 more minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. If baking, simply continue baking until that temperature is reached.
- Let Rest & Serve. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving, slicing, or shredding to serve.
Recommended Tools
- Kitchen Scissors – Poultry shears are even better if you have them.
- Sharp Knife – To cleanly carve the bird without applying too much pressure. Remember: a dull knife is a dangerous knife!
- Grill or Smoker – I like to make grilled spatchcock chicken on my Traeger pellet grill with hickory wood pellets or on my Weber Genesis gas grill. If using a charcoal grill, use a drip pan to catch any mess below the meat.
Storing and Reheating
Any cooked poultry can be refrigerated and eaten for up to 4 days. If you’re going to shred, slice, or pull the meat, I recommend doing so before it cools — it’s much easier to do so while it’s warm!
If you stored the spatchcock chicken whole, then I recommend tenting it with foil and reheating in the oven at 350 degrees F. Remove the foil for the last few minutes to get that skin crispy again.
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Remember that you’ll want to create what is known as a “2 Zone” setup by heating one half of the grill or smoker, leaving the other half unlit. You’ll grill on the unlit side.
Alternatively, you can light both sides of a grill or smoker but leave a space in the center unlit and cook over the unlit space.
No — that’s one of the many pros of learning how to spatchcock chicken! It’s a more hands-off method, aside from the infrequent basting, that thoroughly cooks the entire bird without having to flip or rotate it.
Butterflying is a method of opening and flattening cuts of protein so that all of the meat is of even thickness. This can be done with poultry breast or other cuts of meat like steak, pork tenderloins, or even fish.
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Grilled Spatchcock Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- 4 lb whole chicken
Dry Rub
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp sweet paprika (not smoked)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp celery salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together the dry rub ingredients and set aside.
- Be sure to have the chicken on a clean cutting surface breast side down. Starting at the neck area using kitchen scissors or poultry shears, cut along each side of the backbone towards the legs to remove it, cutting through the rib bones as you go. Discard the backbone or freeze for soup stock.
- In the center area there will be a triangle of cartilage right where the breastbone starts. Using a sharp knife, cut down a quarter inch and spread the cut area open to reveal the breast bone. Flip the chicken over and press down. OR after removing the back bone, spread the chicken out and turn over. Flatten the breastbone using the heel of your hand so that the meat is butterflied and all one thickness.
- Sprinkle the dry rub all over the chicken and using your hand rub into the skin to adhere. Set aside while you start up your oven, grill or smoker to heat 400°F (I used hickory wood chips/pellets).
- Place the spatchcocked chicken rib bones down on and roasting sheet (oven) or place chicken on indirect heat on the grill for 40-45 minutes. Baste with your favorite sauce every 20 minutes (I love my Alabama White Sauce).
- Next, transfer chicken to direct heat side of grill for 5 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 160°F.
- Remove chicken from grill/smoker and allow to rest 15 minutes, it will continue to cook and reach 165°F before cutting up into pieces or shredding.
Notes
- To grill using Indirect Heat: for gas grill do what’s known as the 2 Zone set up, which is either half the grill is lit to achieve desired temperature and the meat is placed on opposite side, or have sides lit leaving the center NOT on or lowest temperature. To grill using indirect heat on a charcoal BBQ or smoker, ignite charcoal and place it to one side of the grill, creating a space for the food or the center with meat you’re cooking not directly over those lit coals. Typically use a drip pan under the meat to avoid any flareups.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I want to make this spatchcock chicken this Sunday, August 18, 2024 on my gas grill. Do I trun the chicken over or just rotate it? Also the Alabama white sauce looks interesting but will I get a tender brown crispy chicken? Please advise, Thanks so much
Sorry I couldn’t respond sooner, but I had an operation and haven’t checked here in a week. Just follow the recipe instructions as written and you should have a wonderfully cooked spatchcock chicken. As for the crispy skin, just drizzle the cooked chicken with it after if desired.
I’ve been doing this for yrs. I won’t roast a chicken any other way. I live a over 6 ,000 ft and still beat old oven times…. Have you tried Velveting your meat, that is also AWSOME
j
Yes and thanks for letting me know Joan. Happy cooking!
We grilled our chicken. The directions don’t say to flip the bird so we didn’t. I was worried the bottom would burn but it did not. the finished product was DELICIOUS!!!! my partner said we’ll be making this once a week and possibly trying it with turkey! Thank you for all the detail in the recipe. Definitely a keeper!!
Excellent! Thanks for making my day and enjoying the recipe!