BBQ Grilled Butterflied Chicken

Step 1

As always, we are cooking to final results and NEVER BY TIME ALONE. I give times so you have some estimates of how long something will take but in this recipe, you should cook to the final temperatures and the skin results.

Step 2

Preheat grill to a grill surface temperature of 350°-400°.  Clean and oil well.

Step 3

Pat dry the chicken. We no longer wash chickens, please see  https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/chicken-rinse-not-rinse/). Cut the backbone out of the chicken with sharp kitchen scissors. You could use a knife, but the scissors are much safer and work great.

Step 4

With a large knife, give the breastbone a large nick in the front of the chicken to help the bird lay flat.

Step 5

Give all sides of the chicken a brush of oil and a good sprinkle of coarse salt and pepper. You could use any seasoning you want here.

Step 6

Start with the skin side up for 10 minutes. Then flip to skin side down for 8-10 minutes. Watch the color and don't over-brown the skin. Flip back to the skin side up and cook until 160° in the breast and about 175°-180° in the thighs.

Step 7

These times are ESTIMATES due to variability in grills and chicken size. So we are cooking some, flipping to get the skin mostly done, flip back to skin up to finish.

Step 8

If one of the internal temperatures is not high enough, turn off part of the grill and rotate to cook that area over the active heat until it catches up then continue with the sauce.

Step 9

Give the chicken a good brushing of BBQ sauce of your choice (skip if not doing BBQ). Grill, another 3-4 minutes until the sauce, is browning well, and the temperature is 165 and the thighs should be about 180°-185°.

Step 10

Let sit for 5 minutes then cut and serve.