Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken with a Smokey BBQ Rub

A friend of mine brought back some smoked paprika from a spice shop she visited in Nashville TN. I wanted to try something that featured that smokiness, and I came up with a winner.  I made a rub that included the paprika, and grilled a spatchcocked chicken.


Since Steve doesn't like hot and spicy, in the end I ended up leaving out the cayenne altogether, and only put in a small amount of pepper.  The rub ended up including cumin, kosher salt, chili powder, smoked sweet paprika, white and brown sugar, and black pepper.


Next I spatchcocked the chicken.  I googled and found a YouTube because it had been awhile and I just wanted to confirm how to do it.  Kitchen shears are awesome, and I used them to cut out the backbone, then cracked the breast bone and flattened out the chicken.


The rub mix made a LOT.  I rubbed the chicken all over with the rub. I probably have enough to do a few more chickens or a rack of ribs with what is left over!  


This was a pretty big chicken (4.5 lbs).  I preheated a gas grill to medium (about 350 Fahrenheit) then turned off the burner on one side.  I placed the chicken breast side down on the unlit side, with the legs facing towards the lit side.  Lower the cover.


After 30 minutes, I turned it over, again keeping the legs towards the lit side of the grill, and lowered the cover again.  After 30 minutes I checked it, looking for 160 Fahrenheit.  As it was done, I took it off the grill and covered with foil for 10 minutes while I baked some biscuits.

It's not pretty.



Steve got the drumsticks and thighs, and used a little local Wabash BBQ sauce.


And I had breast and a wing.


Wow was this chicken good.  It was incredibly juicy too, and we kept going back for more until we ate the entire chicken!

Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken

Smoky BBQ Rub

4 Tbsp ground smoked sweet paprika
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp white sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground black pepper

Grilling the chicken

1 4 1/2 pound chicken, spatchcocked
Salt and Pepper

Preheat a gas grill to medium (350 Fahrenheit).

Spatchcock the chicken and salt and pepper both sides.  Rub the spice rub all over the chicken.

Turn off the burners on one side of the grill.  Place the chicken breast down on the unlit portion of the grill.  Make sure the legs are on the side of the lit portion of the grill.  Bring down the grill lid.  Grill for 30 minutes.

Turn over the chicken, again keeping the legs on the side of the lit portion of the grill.  Bring down the grill lid.  Grill 30 minutes more then check for doneness.  Either 160 Fahrenheit, the legs wiggle freely, or juices run clear now when the leg or thigh is pierced.

Take off the grill and let rest, covered with foil, for 10 minutes before slicing.









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