My favorite way to grill chicken is to butterfly (a.k.a. spatchcock) a whole bird, flatten it, and place it directly on the grill with a large brick on top to weigh it down. Pollo al Mattone, or Chicken Under a Brick is a Tuscan style of grilling chicken and the results are fantastic! The chicken cooks quickly since it is flattened under the weight of the brick and you end up with skin so crispy and delicious, a fight might break out before it hits the table.
I have a butterflied chicken marinating in the fridge right now that I plan on grilling later this afternoon. I’m documenting all the steps with my camera, and I’ll show you the results tomorrow. But in the meantime, I want you to watch this great video on how to butterfly a chicken, courtesy of the folks over at The Virtual Weber Bullet. Since this is a skill I’ve only picked up recently, I figure there are a few others out there who might benefit from the lesson as well!
wow- this is so crazy, i was just thinking about how I had to cook chicken tomorrow, and I had to learn how to butterfly it when I noticed that you updated your blog! Brilliant!
Thanks for posting the instructional video, will def put this to good use!
Leah
2:28 pm Jul 16th, 2009I can’t believe I have never done this before… the video is great and maeks it seem easy. I will have to give this a try.
3:37 pm Jul 16th, 2009Too easy, that was great. Thanks for sharing this.
8:00 pm Jul 16th, 2009Hmmm. I’ve butterflied for years but I’ve always just cut the little piece in front of the keel allowing it to flatten. I’ve never removed the keel. I think I’ll try it next time. Seems like quartering the chicken after I’m done cooking would be a smidge easier.
8:59 pm Jul 16th, 2009Looks like fun! It probably tastes a lot better than dried out breasts on the grill. Can’t wait to try this.
11:21 am Jul 17th, 2009That’s a great idea! You use more of the chicken this way and it probably tastes better too. Thanks for the tip and the video!
2:34 pm Jul 17th, 2009I just did this last weekend and it was the best grilled chicken that I’ve ever done!
7:18 pm Jul 17th, 2009[...] I told you I had butterflied a chicken and was planning on grilling it under a brick? Well now I’ll show [...]
4:28 pm Jul 18th, 2009This sounds like a great way to cook chicken! Thanks for the advice.
8:45 am Jul 20th, 2009Nicole… what a great idea for cooking chicken. I can’t wait to try this. I’m so happy that I stumbled upon your website… very impressive
1:56 pm Jul 22nd, 2009This is something I love doing with smaller sided chickens. Really helps get much more out of the little guys and the recipe options are amazing.Thanks for your video, now my wife can learn how to do this too! She has wanted to learn, but I always seem to forget.
9:44 am Jul 28th, 2009Amazing idea. I usually just do a roasted chicken but I think this would be an even better idea. Thanks for sharing this and the video! Quite helpful.
10:18 am Aug 3rd, 2009[...] I told you I had butterflied a chicken and was planning on grilling it under a brick? Well now I’ll show you [...]
1:19 pm Sep 21st, 2009[...] dude from Marlow and Sons/Diner makes brick chicken and I instantly want to make it. It requires deboning a chicken breast and thigh. That seems challenging. But watching the piece, I can feel the crunch of [...]
4:27 pm Nov 13th, 2009I am looking for instruction on how to debone a turkey. I want to roll it in the skin, light and dark meat along with stuffing and roast. It should look kind of like a football when done…can anyone help me out
10:17 am Dec 2nd, 2009