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[ED (Seth): We picked up Joe Pichey from MMMGoBluBBQ to share his tailgating recipes, and Stubb's offered to sponsor it. This is one of those things where the BBQ sauce people really liked our blog and the bloggers really liked the BBQ sauce, and this all ends badly for domesticated livestock.]
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I was looking over the first seven recipes and noticed something very disturbing. One of my favorites is nowhere to be found. Where is the CLUCKIN’ Chicken recipe? We’ve gotplentyofbeefrecipes and even a pork tenderloin slider post, but the juicy “yard bird” is missing.
I think the best way to fix this is by posting the juiciest chicken recipe ever with the name that will make us all laugh like we were back in middle school. SPATCHCOCK CHICKEN. This is my go-to chicken recipe when I need to feed a group of hungry Wolverines and feed 'em rather quickly. While I love a great Beer Can Chicken, I think this recipe could be the juiciest one yet. The compound butter packs some huge flavor and produces a super crispy skin. What else can you ask for?
Ingredients:
- 3-4 LB Whole Chicken Fryer
- BBQ rub of your choice
Compound Butter: Mix Together and set aside
- 1 stick of butter (Room Temperature)
- 1/4 cup of your favorite BBQ rub or any other spices you like. Garlic is great in the butter
[After the jump, there are worse things you can do to chicken than beating it under the lights.]
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat grill or smoker to 275-300 degrees and add some pecan wood chunks. If you are using a gas or charcoal grill, set it up for indirect heat. While the smoker is heating up, it’s time to butterfly the yard bird. Start by removing the backbone with a sharp knife or set of kitchen shears. Once the backbone is removed, turn it over (Bone side down) and press down with 2 hands. Press down with your palms, HARD! We want it to flatten out a little.
Once the bird is flat (breast side up), loosen the skin by sticking your fingers or a small spatula in between the skin and meat. Make sure you do not rip the skin. Once the skin is loosened, we can mix up our compound butter. I know a full stick of butter seems like a lot, but we will lose a lot of it during the cooking process. Spoon in the butter and spread evenly with your fingers. Get it in everywhere you can.
Once this is done, sprinkle to entire outside of the bird with your favorite BBQ rub. Both sides of the bird. Don't be shy, sprinkle liberally. Place on a hot smoker and kick back for an hour.
I let the bird smoke for about an hour before checking the internal temp with my thermapen. If you haven't got one, what are you waiting for? Get one here. We are looking for an internal temperature of 165 degrees and some crispy skin on the exterior. The higher grill temp of 275 - 300 degrees will help crisp things up. After about an hour, your bird will start to darken. This is a beautiful thing.
Once we have reached 165 internally, it's time to pull the bird from the smoker and let it rest. If you would like to add some of your favorite BBQ sauce before removing from the grill, go ahead. You will lose some crispiness in the skin, but add some great gooey goodness with the sauce. Once the bird has rested for about 15 minutes, DIG IN!
The legs can be removed with a butter knife at this point. They are super moist and will be dripping tasty bird juice. Use a sharp knife to cut right down the middle of the bird and separate the breast meat from the bone. Or leave it on the bone. Either way is ridiculously tasty. You will be shocked at how juicy and flavorful this bird is due to the compound butter mixture. The skin is also super crispy and will crunch when you take a bite.
Let me know how it turns out. Send me pics and questions at Joe@mmmgoblubbq.com. GO BLUE!!!