Brined and Smoked Spatchcooked Chicken

Spatchcooked?  Whats that?  Well, for those who don't know, it is where you cut the backbone out of a whole chicken, butterflied if you will.  You spread it out on your smoker or grill, inside down.  I like it because you can cook a whole bird uniformly and faster than if whole.  It works really well on a grill.

First, I made a batch of Poultry Brine.  Then, I rinsed the chicken inside and out, then patted dry:

Then, I flipped the bird over on its stomach, with the neck facing me:

Then, you just insert the scissors alongside the neck, under the skin, and start cutting.  If you have good kitchen shears, it will cut right the bone.  The spine comes right out:

Threw the kids in the pool for an overnight swim:

I took some Stumps Platinum rub and dusted the bird, inside and out:

The Stumps Platinum works really well with chicken.  It gives a nice flavor with some bite and melds really well with any BBQ sauce.

I fired up the Baby and brought the 350 and added hickory wood in the ash pan.  You can use any wood, peach would work well.  So would a mix of peach and hickory.

I tossed the birds on the second rack down and put to potatoes on the bottom rack:

After an hour and a half, the breast was at 165.  I then glazed with a mix of Butchers BBQ and local honey and let the glaze set for 20 minutes:

The bird was tender and juicy.  Served with some steamed brussel sprouts and the baked potato:

An outstanding meal with some lunches for the week.

Enjoy,

Bill