Last Friday, we once again played host as Mike’s youngest sister, Debbie, and her significant other, Rob joined us for an evening of good food and drink. Debbie and Rob hail from Charlotte, NC. Although they have been dating for over two and a half years, this was our first time to meet Rob and we certainly enjoyed getting to know him. We quickly learned that in their household, he’s the chef… so naturally our conversations focused on lots of food, wine, and then a little on everyone’s life.
For our welcoming dinner we served a grilled Spatchcock Chicken with roasted potatoes and vegetables. And this time around it was definitely the chicken that received rave reviews, or was it…
“What in the world is Spatchcock,” you may ask? Spatchcock is a technique in which you remove the chicken’s backbone (as to flatten it) onto your cooking surface. By doing this, it will ensure your chicken is juicy and the skin is golden crisp. I have to admit the chicken we had Friday night was beyond juicy and tender. It was perfectly prepared thanks to Mike’s grill…
The cooking surface Mike used to grill the chicken was a Primo Grill. Huh, you ask??? What kind of grill did you say? And this grill is precisely what wowed Rob. So much so he plans on purchasing one as soon as they get home. I guess it’s a man thing. So in essence it was the grill that was the star of the show not the chicken!
Here’s a little tidbit on the Primo…. It is a beautiful oval ceramic grill made in the USA. It uses lump charcoal, which burns cleaner, hotter and uses no chemicals. Plus the oval design allows for both direct and indirect cooking (two zones), which can’t be beat. We were first introduced to the Primo in Sonoma, CA. Mike and I had walked into a dealer’s showroom and were instantly impressed by what we saw. Of course, Mike couldn’t stop thinking about it.
So, being the wife I am… the girls and I surprised him with his very own Primo for his birthday a couple of years ago. Now that I look back was it truly a gift for him or was it a gift for all of us? I want to say the latter. So glad I made that purchase!
Anyway, back to the Spatchcock… here’s what you will need…
- 1 or 2 medium-sized chickens, depending on number devouring the bird
- Olive Oil
- Butter
- Granulated Garlic
- Paprika
- Salt
- Black Pepper
About 30 minutes prior to grilling your chicken, prepare your grill by bringing it to temperature (350 degrees).
After you clean the bird(s), you will need to remove the backbone. This is best accomplished with poultry shears. Cut as close as possible to the backbone. Once the backbone is removed it will be easy to spread the chicken flat.
After you have removed the backbone from your chicken(s), insert pats of butter under the breast skin, then rub the entire bird with olive oil and liberally coat the bird front and back with granulated garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper. Once your grill has reached temperature, cook breast side up for approximately one hour and 10 minutes at 350 degrees (time may vary based on the size of your bird(s)).
Hope you have the opportunity to enjoy this chicken cooked on a Primo Grill as much as we do, (and of course enjoy it no matter the grill you have).
