Great taste and crispy skin in a classic grilling. You too can grill a whole chicken and get it done just right.

There are a lot of articles about grilling a butterflied chicken but most grill amateurs won’t try it. I’m here to tell you it is easy and it works.

Start with a medium size whole chicken 4-5 pounds. Cut out the backbone with kitchen scissors. Split the breast bone a little so it will lay flat. A little salt and pepper. Grill skin side down over medium heat until browned. Flip once and finish grilling to the correct temp. I brushed with some BBQ sauce just before reaching the final temp

Rating

A nice solid 4.

Notes: I had a wife longing for BBQ so hence the sauce but really this can be seasoned anyway you want. I will usually do my 7:2:2 seasoning.

Preheat grill to medium. Get surface temperature to about 400 degrees. Clean and oil well. Rinse the chicken and pat dry.

Cut the backbone out of the chicken with sharp kitchen scissors. You could use a knife but the scissors are much safer and works great.

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

Rinse the inside of the bird out, trim any loose fat and extra skin. Pat dry again. Give the bird a good sprinkle of course salt and pepper. You could use any seasoning you want here. Also you could brine.

 Place skin down on the grill.

Flip after you get a nice browning on the skin. 12-15 minutes. Your grill temp is probably different than mine so go for color.

Continue to grill until temperature of the breast in the thickest part is 160. Give the chicken a good brushing of BBQ sauce of your choice (obviously skip if not doing BBQ). Grill another 3-4 minutes until the sauce is browning well and the temperature is 165. The thigh temp was 185 at this point.

Let set for 5 minutes then cut and serve.

Updated

June 23 2013

Dan Mikesell