Lemon and Rosemary Scented Grilled Butterflied Chicken (Spatchcock Chicken)

Butterflied (or Spatchcock) Chicken is when the chicken’s backbone is removed so that it lays flat. (Your butcher will do it for you, if you don’t know how.) To boost the flavor, lemon, rosemary and garlic that is mixed into a paste is slid underneath the skin. Once laid on the grill, the chicken is weighted down with bricks (covered in foil, of course) or a heavy cast-iron skillet. Grilled for about 30 minutes, the chicken is very moist and so delicious! Serve with grilled tomatoes for a beautiful and healthy summer meal.

 

I’ve been seeing several spatchcock chicken recipes on some of my favorite food blogs. Never heard of this? It’s basically when a a whole chicken is split down the back and spreading the two halves out flat. (I don’t have great knife skills with poultry, so I asked my friendly butcher to do it for me.)

Our container lemon tree– after three years of failing to yield fruit– has finally given us some lovely lemons. We have lots of fresh rosemary, so this is the perfect summer grilling recipe for us to make.

I “halved” the recipe, by using just one chicken– this would make 4 servings, and cold chicken is fine by us as leftovers. Using simple ingredients– olive oil, kosher salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, fresh garlic and pepper, I mixed a paste. This was slipped underneath the skin.

Next, I added a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary and some thinly sliced lemon. The chicken was folded in half and wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for at least an hour.

I also grilled fresh cherry tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with kosher salt & fresh ground pepper. Instead of using skewers, I used a grilling basket. I think this is so much easier and I don’t have to worry about tomatoes slipping off or in between the grill.

We used the Weber for the chicken– which was painless to make. 15 minutes one one side and then 15 minutes on the other. Perfection!

We bought freshly picked corn for fifty-cents each for our local, organic farm stand– right down the road. We both love the nutty flavor of grilled corn.

The chicken was moist and flavorful– and the rosemary and garlic was a perfect marriage with fresh lemon juice and zest. This is why Ina Garten is top on my list of favorite chefs– simple, fresh, easy and very delicious. Next time, I’m going to add a pesto to this and I have no doubt this will take the chicken to the next level!

Ahhhhhh. Dinner for two!

For dessert– I’m enjoying another Ina Garten recipe— Peaches & Blueberry Crumbles.

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Butterflied Chicken (Spatchcock Chicken)

The lemon, rosemary and garlic that is mixed into a paste is slid underneath the skin. Grilled for about 30 minutes, the chicken is very moist and so delicious! Serve with grilled tomatoes for a beautiful and healthy summer meal.

Course: main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Butterflied Chicken, Spatchcock Chicken

Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

• 2 bricks, wrapped in foil OR one heavy cast iron skillet

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fresh rosemary sprigs chopped, plus 2 sprigs
• 3 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 roasting chickens 2 1/2 to 3 pounds each, deboned and butterflied
• 1/2 lemon thinly sliced

Instructions

• Mix the chopped rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl to make a paste.
• Place the chickens on a sheet pan, skin side up, and loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers. Place 1/2 of the paste under the skin of each chicken. Rub any remaining paste on the outside and underside of the chickens.
• Turn the chicken skin side down and scatter the lemon slices and sprigs of rosemary over each chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Roll each chicken up, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Heat a grill with coals. Spread the coals out in 1 dense layer and brush the grill with oil.

  Unroll the chickens, place them on the grill and cook for 12 minutes on each side.

  NOTE: Place either a foiled covered brick OR a heavy cast iron skillet on top of each chicken to weight it down, while grilling

Notes

Recipe source: Ina Garten, Food Network

Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!

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