iLoveMyBBQ.com team

Having heard loads about how much better a whole chicken tastes if you flatten, or spatchcock it 0 as it is also known, I wanted to give it a try.

We covered ours in the BBQ Cajun Marinade Rub and it tasted incredibly moist and very nice indeed, well worth you giving it a try. The other benefit is that, similar to the BBQ Beer Can Up the Bum Chicken recipe, it is a great visual conversational point for your BBQ as well.

For this recipe you will need the following:

2 Wooden skewers

1 Medium to large chicken (depending on how many you are feeding)

1 Pair of sturdy kitchen scissors

Here is the Step-By-Step guide to flattening, (spatchcock) a whole chicken ready for your BBQ.

Step One - Wash Your hands

Step Two - Remove the chicken from the packaging, cut off the string binding it all together and lay on a chopping board (see pic below)

Step Two

Step Three - Turn the chicken over, so it is resting on the breasts and so the big hole is facing you and with some sturdy scissors, begin cutting alongside the backbone (in the imge below I have started by cutting on the right of the backbone). You will need to crunch through some of the bones, gruesome but worth it!

Step Three

Picture Three A, below, shows one side of the chicken backbone having been cut.

Step Three A

Step Four - Start cutting down the left hand side of the backbone, as you did on step three (but the other side!).

Step Four

Step Five - Remove the backbone, which you have now cut out.

Step Five

Step Six - Turn the chicken over, so the breast is now facing you (upwards). Then, using the heel of your palm, press down firnly on the chicken breast to flatten the chicken. You will hear the ribs of the chicken breaking, don’t worry, it is supposed to make this noise!

Step Seven - Now the chicken is flattened you need to secure it. Get some wooden skewers and push diagonally through the breast into the drumstick and out the other side. As shown in the picture below.

Step Seven

Step Eight - Once the skewers are in you are done. The chicken is now ready to be covered in your favourite marinade.

Step Eight

To cook the Spatchcock chicken place it on the grill of your BBQ on a moderate heat for roughly (based on the size of your bird) 15-20 mins per side.