MGoBBQ: Spatchcock Chicken Comment Count

GoBlueBBQ

stubbs2

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[ED (Seth): We picked up Joe Pichey from MMMGoBluBBQ to share his tailgating recipes, and Stubb's offered to sponsor it. This is one of those things where the BBQ sauce people really liked our blog and the bloggers really liked the BBQ sauce, and this all ends badly for domesticated livestock.]

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I was looking over the first seven recipes and noticed something very disturbing. One of my favorites is nowhere to be found. Where is the CLUCKIN’ Chicken recipe? We’ve got plenty of beef recipes and even a pork tenderloin slider post, but the juicy “yard bird” is missing.

I think the best way to fix this is by posting the juiciest chicken recipe ever with the name that will make us all laugh like we were back in middle school. SPATCHCOCK CHICKEN. This is my go-to chicken recipe when I need to feed a group of hungry Wolverines and feed 'em rather quickly. While I love a great Beer Can Chicken, I think this recipe could be the juiciest one yet. The compound butter packs some huge flavor and produces a super crispy skin. What else can you ask for?

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 LB Whole Chicken Fryer
  • BBQ rub of your choice

Compound Butter: Mix Together and set aside

  • 1 stick of butter (Room Temperature)
  • 1/4 cup of your favorite BBQ rub or any other spices you like. Garlic is great in the butter

[After the jump, there are worse things you can do to chicken than beating it under the lights.]

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat grill or smoker to 275-300 degrees and add some pecan wood chunks. If you are using a gas or charcoal grill, set it up for indirect heat. While the smoker is heating up, it’s time to butterfly the yard bird. Start by removing the backbone with a sharp knife or set of kitchen shears. Once the backbone is removed, turn it over (Bone side down) and press down with 2 hands. Press down with your palms, HARD! We want it to flatten out a little.

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Once the bird is flat (breast side up), loosen the skin by sticking your fingers or a small spatula in between the skin and meat. Make sure you do not rip the skin. Once the skin is loosened, we can mix up our compound butter. I know a full stick of butter seems like a lot, but we will lose a lot of it during the cooking process. Spoon in the butter and spread evenly with your fingers. Get it in everywhere you can.

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Once this is done, sprinkle to entire outside of the bird with your favorite BBQ rub. Both sides of the bird. Don't be shy, sprinkle liberally. Place on a hot smoker and kick back for an hour.

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I let the bird smoke for about an hour before checking the internal temp with my thermapen. If you haven't got one, what are you waiting for? Get one here. We are looking for an internal temperature of 165 degrees and some crispy skin on the exterior. The higher grill temp of 275 - 300 degrees will help crisp things up. After about an hour, your bird will start to darken. This is a beautiful thing.

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Once we have reached 165 internally, it's time to pull the bird from the smoker and let it rest. If you would like to add some of your favorite BBQ sauce before removing from the grill, go ahead. You will lose some crispiness in the skin, but add some great gooey goodness with the sauce. Once the bird has rested for about 15 minutes, DIG IN!

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The legs can be removed with a butter knife at this point. They are super moist and will be dripping tasty bird juice. Use a sharp knife to cut right down the middle of the bird and separate the breast meat from the bone. Or leave it on the bone. Either way is ridiculously tasty. You will be shocked at how juicy and flavorful this bird is due to the compound butter mixture. The skin is also super crispy and will crunch when you take a bite.

Let me know how it turns out. Send me pics and questions at [email protected]. GO BLUE!!!

Comments

Trebor

October 30th, 2014 at 10:19 AM ^

Since it's only a few weeks away, let's hear some recipes for smoking a turkey for Thanksgiving! I'm planning to do that this year now that I finally own a proper smoker, and I'm just wondering what some techniques are so I can prepare a great turkey for our guests (and the leftovers). I've checked out some various recipes online, but you can't go wrong with more information.

ESNY

October 30th, 2014 at 10:30 AM ^

Did a whole turkey breast a few weeks ago as a test run (I'm new to smoking have just moved the 'burbs this summer).  I brined it for a day and then rinsed it off and let it sit on the shelf in the fridge for a few hours to dry off the skin.  Smoked over applewood in my Weber Smokey Mountain at about 275-300 degrees, probalby closer to 275 most of the time.  Took maybe 2 hours to hit 154 degrees which is as high as I would take a turkey breast.   The meat was awesome but the skin was pretty rubbery  I think to get halfway decent skin you need to get the smoker a bit higher, closer to 325 or finish over direct heat on a grill or under a broiler.  For thanksgiving, I'm going to try a higher temp and also use more wood, turkey can take a lot of smoke.

Also may opt to go for the smoked turkey leg thing, like at Disney world.  No clue how to do that yet but if I see some turkey legs in the supermarket in the next 3 weeks, I'm going to try it out.  I know you need to cure those using pink salt (which I have) to get the hammy taste.

I also saved the carcass of the turkey breast and made a smoked turkey stock out of it.  Just cover the bones with water, bring to a boil and then turn it down and simmer for 1-2 hrs.   Can't decide if i'll use that to make turkey gravy or to make something like a smoked gumbo.

Ray

October 30th, 2014 at 10:40 AM ^

I've smoked turkeys on my WSM but have to say I like rotisserie over charcoal in a Weber kettle the best.  The rotisserie means the bird self-bastes and it comes out great every time.  Paint the skin with peanut oil so it gets nice and crunchy and a little butter/garlic mixture under the skin makes for great flavor.  I've done it for years and years and have never been disappointed. 

A long cook over charcoal means you need to "keep an eye on it" so your favorite beverage and maybe a good book are called for (assuming the Lions game is over).

Fire Brandon.     

Njia

October 30th, 2014 at 10:49 AM ^

I finally bought one this year and I could kick myself for not doing so sooner. I agree that the more direct heat of a kettle seems to do the trick for poultry.

One note about peanut oil: due to allergies in the family (peanuts and tree nuts are big no-no's) I have looked for suitable alternatives. Cotton seed oil works if you're deep frying due to the high smoke point and neutral flavor. For the purposes of this recipe, any kind of oil would work well, or just spread a little butter or margarine on top of the skin.

Ray

October 30th, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^

I bought my first WSM about 15 years ago and had the same "why did I wait so long" reaction.  It does a fantastic job pretty much across the board--salmon, ribs, picnic, poultry.  You've probably seen this site, but in case you haven't, it's outstanding.  I've done the midnight brisket for game days and I have never had leftovers.  http://virtualweberbullet.com/brisket2.html .

AeonBlue

October 30th, 2014 at 10:50 AM ^

So I like to brine my turkey before smoking it. I find that it keeps is really juicy. I do 1:1 ratio of vegetable stock and cold water (usually about a gallon of each). In the brine goes a liberal amount of salt (a cup or so is usually good) and then some aromatic herbs like Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, and a couple cloves of garlic if you feel so inclined. Bring that mixture to a boil and then let cool. You're going to want to have your bird chill in that mixture (refridgerated is preferred but if you don't have room, I never do, your garage in November will probably suffice) overnight so plan accordingly.

After that all I do is I rub it with some oil & spices (to follow) and smoke with Hickory chips until the internal temp in the breast is 160 (some recipes say higher but we're smoking this bird and 160 won't kill you).

My spice rub is:

  • Paprika
  • Seasoned Salt
  • Granulated Garlic
  • Cumin
  • Celery Salt
  • Pepper

I use a gas smoker so it's pretty easy to regulate the temperature in mine but you want to keep the temp between 225 and 250. Good luck!

Trebor

October 30th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^

Now this is a recipe I can get behind.

Probably a stupid question (I'm a real newbie at proper cooking, but damnit I'm trying to learn to make delicious and relatively healthy food for the wife and I), but as far as the brining process goes, at what point do you put the turkey in the brine? I'm assuming you don't want to boil the bird, so these are things I need to learn still.

Also, since you seem to have a bit more experience than I do (this was my first year owning a smoker, so I've been sticking mainly to the brisket/pulled pork/ribs stuff since it's a bit easier), is there anything to be gained by injecting the turkey? I do this with my brisket and pulled pork, and they've turned out fantastic and juicy, but I'm not sure that you'd gain a lot here since the bird is hollow and you're already brining it overnight.

AeonBlue

October 30th, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^

Once the brine has cooled down to room temperature after the boil you are good to go. It won't hurt to add a few ice cubes in there to cool it down faster but remember that every bit of water you add to that, you're diluting the flavor of the brine. But yeah, after it's down to room temp you're good to throw the turkey in (actually drop it nicely, don't throw it) and then put it somewhere cool.

As far as injecting, your guess is as good as mine. I've never done it before so, if you go that route, I'd be interested to know how it turns out. I know a few restaurants inject their meat (I have a dirty mind).

Njia

October 30th, 2014 at 12:17 PM ^

As soon as the brine is *completely* cooled, you can put the bird in it.

A few other tips for brining:

  • If you're brining a whole turkey, you are not likely to find a Ziplock bag big enough. Alton Brown once suggested that you get a clean bucket big enough for at least 1-2 gallons of water and line it with a food-safe plastic bag. Pour the brine in the bag, followed by the bird. A 5-gallon bucket should be big enough
  • A whole turkey needs to be in the brine overnight. Twelve hours or so.
  • Make sure the bird is *completely* thawed before brining.
  • Rinse the bird (cold water) before and after brining.
  • After rinsing the second time, dry it with paper towels inside and out.
  • Make sure the bird sits for 30-45 min coming up to room temp before putting it in the oven. If you take the time to spatchcock or dry rub it, you'll be almost there anyway.

quigley.blue

October 30th, 2014 at 1:27 PM ^

Target sells Ziploc Big Bags in a couple different sizes (L = 3 gallon, XL = 10 gallon, XXL = 20 gallon).  They tend to be on the bottom shelf near the other ziplocs, and the labeling has sporting equipment on it.  They are perfect for a whole turkey

Yinka Double Dare

October 30th, 2014 at 11:10 AM ^

You can actually do something very similar with a turkey as was done with the chicken here. Definitely spatchcock the turkey. You can do the compound butter thing (parsley, oregano, maybe sage, just pick some spices to put in the butter rather than using the bbq rub in it) as well, or just dry-brine the thing.  

Read Kenji's stuff on Thanksgiving turkey at the Food Lab on Serious Eats. He experiments with multiple ways of doing things. Example:  http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/11/the-food-lab-the-truth-about-brining…

 

Njia

October 30th, 2014 at 10:44 AM ^

This recipe has been up on MMMGoBluBBQ's site for a couple of weeks and I had to try it. I can independently verify that this is probably the best smoked chicken recipe ever.

A few tips:

  • A tub spread like Olivio can also be used in place of the butter. It can be easier to work with. I added a little bit of the compound spread to the top of the skin as well as it makes the dry rub adhere a bit better.
  • Any kind of rub works just fine as he states in the recipe. I used Rudy's BBQ Turkey Rub and it was awesome.
  • This is one of the few cases where mesquite would probably work well; it can be too strong a flavor for most smoke bbq, but this might be an exception (for the record, I used pecan wood and it was terrific).
  • About 90 min of cooking time should be all that is required because you've removed the backbone and flattened the bird.
  • Make smoked chicken enchiladas with sour cream green chile salsa, New Mexico style (use Hatch chiles) and a bit of jack cheese with any leftovers. You're welcome. 

aaamichfan

October 30th, 2014 at 11:05 AM ^

I've been itching to put a couple of whole chickens on the smoker, and I think this might be a great technique. Very simple and straightforward recipe as well. 

GoBlueBBQ

October 30th, 2014 at 11:43 AM ^

You can cook it without the butter. I recommend brining the bird first so you add some moisture. Mix 1 gallon of very warm water with 1 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup molasses or honey until disolved.  Brine bird for at least 4 hours or overnight and pat dry once removed. Add spices to outside of the bird and follow cooking directions.