A lot of people are intimidated by the idea of buying a whole roaster chicken at the grocery store and removing the backbone to spatchcock it for even, simple cooking.
Let me assure you it’s really easy and whole chickens are a tremendous value for a versatile protein.
Here’s my chicken on the Weber 26 which I let cook offset the coals while the wife and I did spring cleanup yard work-
Here’s a simple video explaining the technique-
When we had those single digit days just before the storm I had some chicken thighs but I wasn’t about to try to be outdoors manning the grill so I tried chicken thighs in the crock pot (well the crock pot and other things).
First I cooked a pound of bacon for breakfast for the family and left the bacon fat in the pan on the stove.
Then I pat dry all the chicken thighs with paper towels and lightly seasoned them with salt and pepper.
Next tossed them a couple of minutes on each side in the pan of bacon fat to crisp up the skin.
After that I chopped up a couple of cloves of garlic and put the chicken thighs in the bottom of the crock pot and again seasoned with salt pepper and tossed in teh garlic and then covered with store bought Thai Peanut sauce.
No braising liquid is needed as the chicken thighs throw plenty of fat as it renders down.
I also had a couple of strips of bacon left over from earlier so I placed them on top of two of the thighs.
On high for 3 hours.
Next remove and place on a foiled cookie sheet and under the broiler for three minutes to crisp up the skin.
Absolutely delicious and incredibly juicy!
I see these roasting chickens on sale all the time at the Supermarket.
You take out the backbone, pat it dry, apply rub and cook it offset a lit chimney full of lit coals, place a piece of foil under the bird to catch chicken fat renderings, put the chicken down with the legs facing the coals and let it rip around 350 until the internal temp hits 145 in the breast, lightly mop it with BBQ sauce and then cover it back up til the breast hits 165, legs are around 180.
Here’s mine followed by some other BBQ guys I follow on YouTube
I put medium sized baked potatoes along side them as they take about the same exact time to finish if you poke em and partially soften them up in the microwave for 5 minutes before you toss them on the grill.
Perfect Baked potatoes on a Weber Kettle:
Prick them 3 or four times with a fork.
Place them in the microwave for 5 minutes.
Lightly coat with peanut oil and kosher salt on top.
Toss on the grill offset the coals for 45 minutes to an hour- 210F internal makes perfect mashed potatoes.
I guarantee success with this method.
Here’s Cooking With Ry-
Take chicken out of package rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
Many different options for seasoning. Salt and pepper work fine. and a light pat down of EVOO or peanut oil (I prefer peanut oil). you can also put on a chicken rub like Doug Keiles Ribs Within Chicken Rub. He’s an award winning BBQ Champ and has an awesome line of BBQ rubs and lives right here in Gloucester MA.
Half a chimney of unlit coals off to the side of the kettle, dump a half a chimney of lit coals on top of them.
Wait til kettle reaches 375 degrees F
Place a sheet of tin foil under the chicken on the charcoal grate to collect the chicken fat from gunking up your kettle bowl.
Place chicken on cooking grate over the foil and offset the coals so it will cook from the indirect heat.
Place a chunk of cherry or apple wood for smoke on the coals.
When the bird reaches 145 F mop with your favorite BBQ sauce (optional) it’s great without sauce too).
Pull the bird off at 165F measured at the thickest part of the breast.
One of the easier things to cook.
Buy a Roasting or frying chicken.
Split it in half.
Wash it.
Pat it dry with paper towels.
Apply BBQ rub.
Set up grill for indirect grilling.
Fill chimney up with unlit coals and dump two thirds of the unlit coals banked on one side of the charcoal grate.
Get the remaining third of the coals going in the chimney
Once chimney coals are ready, dump them on top the unlit coals
Place a sheet of tin foil on opposite side of charcoal grate to collect the dripping chicken fat (and make cleanup of the grill a breeze)
Put the cooking grind in place.
Wait for grill to reach 350.
Lay your chicken halves with larger sides closest to the coals. Make sure the chicken is over the tin foil.
Place a couple of chunks of wood on your charcoal for smoke. I used B&B Pecan.
Insert temp probe in thickest parts of the breast and replace the lid. grill should be running between 350-385
When chicken reaches 145 internal rotate the chicken 180 degrees so other side is facing the coals and mop with your favorite BBQ sauce
Chicken is done at 165 degrees internal temp.
You gotta be a crazy person to pass up thighs for breast meat. Thighs are so much juicier and flavorful and they cost about half as much as breasts.
Buy it on Amazon cheap McCormick Grill Mates Grill Mates Mesquite Seasoning, 24 oz
Got home on the later side last night and was famished.
Sliced up some skinless/boneless chicken thighs into strips, dredged them in my favorite peanut sauce and skewered them for a quick cook. I prefer boneless/skinless thighs over the tenders or breast because it’s juicier and cheaper 9 times out of 10.
Note the dual prong skewers. I’m not a fan of single prong skewers because your meat or vegetables spin around when you try to flip the skewer. These raft skewers are way easier to handle and keep your food from flopping around and are only $7.32 on Amazon for a set of 4. Link to purchase here
I love this peanut sauce. You can order it online-
House Of Tsang Bangkok Peanut Sauce
Took the chicken out of the package, quick rinse and pat dry with paper towels followed by a spritz of olive oil and dusting of McCormick Montreal Chicken Seasoning.
The reservoir at the bottom of the stand holds about a half a can of beer.
Some foil underneath to catch drippings. A full chimney of lit charcoal in Weber charcoal baskets split on opposite sides of the charcoal grate with the foil liner in between. Chicken standing up in the middle between the baskets.
Vents wide open. Totate chicken 90 degrees after 30 minutes. It’s done when the chicken reaches an internal temp of 145 degrees in the thick part of the breast.
Mix sour cream, parmesan cheese, basil paste, feta and sun dried tomatos for the stuffing.
Roll 1/4 inch thick EVOO coated chicken breast (pound flat between two pieces of wax paper) around the stuffing, secure with toothpicks then coat with Italian bread crumbs.
I used a deflector plate. Under which I put a half a Weber chimney of lit coals on the opposite side of the grill where the chicken would go. Vents all wide open.
Cook for 25 minutes until chicken is golden brown.
Northeast BBQ 