I think I finally dialed this in, but I’m always tweaking — so I’d love some feedback.
Dry-brined it, kept the rub simple (salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic, tiny bit of baking powder). Smoked at 250°F over apple wood, then bumped it to 425°F to finish. Pulled around 160°F in the breast.
Skin was nicely crisp, meat stayed juicy, and everything cooked pretty evenly. The hot finish seemed to make a big difference.
For those of you who do spatchcock regularly —
• Do you go hotter the whole cook or just at the end?
• Anyone cooking at 275–300°F instead?
• Any tricks for even better skin?
by Intelligent-Let-2527
3 Comments
Leave the chicken uncovered in your fridge for 24 hours.
A flavor injector can come in handy. It’s basically a syringe designed to inject liquid into whatever meat you’re preparing. Just a couple squirts in each breast makes one hell of a difference! I bought some Wild Garden Shawarma Marinade. I don’t have to be content with just letting the chicken lay in the marinade. I could be proactive and inject some into each part of the chicken. That will take you directly to flavor town.
Before I put the chicken in the fridge to let the skin dry out I made a compound butter that was just garlic salt and pepper and then I lifted up the skin on each side of the breast and coated them with the butter. Don’t remove the skin from the sternum but instead you’re just reaching underneath the skin carefully directly above each breast.
Having dry tasteless chicken breast is not even a remote possibility.
There is no better way to cook a bird than using the spatchcock method. It will be the most tender and juicy bird. Chicken or turkey. It is wonderful to make perfect bird in 1/3 the time.
Dry brining and spatchcock are a master move
Everything looks damn good. Possibly you could remove your chicken around your desired internal temp while your grill is still at 250 then let it rest outside of the grill as the grill preheats to 425-ish or more. Once the juices have settled a bit your grill should be ready to fully sear the skin and is time to toss the chicken back on the grill, flipping 1, 2, 3 or 4 times until the skin is crispy