We are being blessed with glorious weather here in Montreal. Temperatures have been in the low 20’s (50’s in F), with some days as high as 25 degrees C. Unbelievable! Our windows are open all day long, I go out wearing just a T-shirt and jeans or shorts, and we’ve been sleeping with our window open at night. Oh, and we’ve been barbecuing quite a bit. We love to use the barbie and being able to stretch out the season is wonderful. This is a long weekend for us as we celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. And as they’re calling for brilliant weather all weekend long, we’ll be sure to grill our way through to Thanksgiving Monday.
Olive oil, lemon, garlic and rosemary are the quintessential flavours of Tuscany. I use this mix of seasonings on my beef roasts, as in this Sunday Roast, when grilling lamb, and even on my pork kebabs. But my ultimate favourite is when grilling chicken. A whole chicken, butterflied, adapted from an Ina Garten recipe. Or spatchcock chicken, as our friends over in the U.K. call it. Don’t you just love that word? Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 3 lemons
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 or 3 sprigs of rosemary, leaves minced
Salt
Black Pepper
1 lemon, cut in half
You can ask the butcher to butterfly the chicken, or you can do so yourself. I’ve gotten pretty good at it. With good kitchen shears and a good sharp boning knife, it is pretty easy. Cut the backbone out with shears, then lay the chicken open, skin side down, and remove the breast bone with a sharp boning knife.
In a dish big enough to lay down the open chicken, combine the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, garlic, rosemary and pepper. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and add the chicken to the marinade, turning to coat. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 to 8 hours, or overnight, turning the chicken over a few times and spooning some marinade over it.
Prepare your charcoal fire by piling the coals over on one side of the grill. When they’re ready, spread some of the coals, about 1/4 of them, over to the other side of the grill. If using a gas barbie, grill over low heat. Place the chicken down on the grill over the smaller amount of coals, skin side up. Weigh down the chicken with a heavy pot, bricks or a stone, covered in foil paper. This method allows for the chicken to cook evenly.
Grill for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is golden brown. Turn the chicken over, weigh it down again, and grill for another 15 minutes, until it is cooked through and the skin is golden brown. Grill the lemon halves, cut side down, during the last 10 minutes of grilling. If your coals are too hot, the skin might be a little darker than it should, as happened with my chicken. Nonetheless, it was quite delicious. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Squeeze the grilled lemons over the chicken and then cut into single serving pieces. Buon appetito!
Impressive.. I’ve actually never roasted an entire chicken… Probably should. Yours looks so perfectly crisp and browned yet juicy!
It really was quite juicy, and with the addition of the grilled lemon over the chicken just before serving, it was perfect!
This recipe looks divine! Pinning! ~Thea
Thanks so much Thea!
I am drooling, ho famine..he he. Those chicken look tasty
Oh Mama Miyuki… Thank you! 🙂
I usually roast the bird whole in my kettle BBQ, it’s always delicious, but I’ll try this on the BBQ grill for a change. I love the lemon, rosemary garlic and oil combo! Happy Thanksgiving
Thank you Sandra!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family Lidia! Enjoy a weekend full of deliciousness. 🙂
Thanks Margot! We did indeed enjoy a happy weekend of feasting. Perhaps a little too much! 🙂
Very intriguing. I have been curious about this spatchcock cooking method. Your marinade is simply wonderful. Seems as though once you get the chicken cut it is a pretty easy process. Nice post Lidia! 🙂
It is pretty much easy-peasy. And anything with that marinade combo is sure to end up yummy.
Happy Thanksgiving Lidia & Family!
I bake spatchcoked chicken quite often. I really like your Tuscany marinade/flavoring and grilling it. Looks fabulous!
Grazie mille Fae!
I know that combination, it is absolutely wonderful. I use it rather often. Had to laugh about the word ‘barbie’….:D
I’m sure you know this combo quite well Rosa, with you being a citizen of the Mediterranean region! I have family in Australia and they refer to a BBQ as a ‘barbie’. I thought it was quite amusing and I guess it stuck with me. 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving, that chicken looks wonderful. I have eaten spatchcocked chicken but never actually made it before. Your marinade is wonderful and that chicken looks so tender and juicy. So nicely done!
Thanks Suzanne! I like to use that marinade on many different meats when I’m grilling or roasting.
Oh my Lidia! How delicious is this!? Can you please save me the legs. It’s my favorite! 😉
The legs are yours! 🙂
A great recipe, Lidia. Cooking chicken under a brick is such a great way to crisp up the skin. Your bird looks beautiful. I love the mix of garlic, lemon, and rosemary with chicken, especially when grilled or broiled. The flavors really accent the caramelized bird very well. I hope you and your family have a most wonderful Thanksgiving, Lidia.
Thank you John! Unfortunately, my bird was a tad too much on the caramelized side. Delicious, regardless.
Yummy. We are always looking for new recipes to cook on the BBQ and this looks great. I’m taking a chicken out of the freezer right now
to try this recipe this week. Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for sharing!
Oh, thanks so much Kathleen! Give me a shout if you do give it a try.
Oh yum! Happy Thanksgiving and that chicken looks wonderful!
Thanks so much!
Your chicken turned out sooooo beautiful ! I’m jealous! I also love the lemon /rosemary combo. I use it to make souvlaki type pork but I’ve never tried it on chicken. I think I’ll need to try though before it gets too cold for outdoor cookery. Of course only once the turkey leftovers are consumed.
Thanks Beatrice! I too use this combo on many of my meats. So fresh and yummy! Yes, get grilling before it’s too late! I have no turkey left-overs… amusing story to share with you!
The whole chicken looks so yummy on bbq, need to try this one darling ..Hope, you had a great Thanksgiving with your family.
Hope you, Sean, Devlin and Stoney had a great Thanksgiving!
Gorgeous! Butterflying and BBQ-ing is my absolute favourite way to eat chicken. Here in South Africa we do it a lot. (And instead of butterflied or spatchcocked, it’s simply known as a ‘chicken flattie’!)
Oh, how wonderful! I’ve learned a new term. Chicken flattie. Love it!
Oh yum! That crispy skin, the freshness of the lemon and herbs – that would be such a delish dish! :3
Mmmm…yes, quite delish! Thanks!
Il lavoro paga!brava Lidia it must be very nice !!!!
Si, infatti, paga bene! Grazie Massi, sei molto bravo!
Happy Thanksgiving to you Lidia! The chicken looks amazing.
Thanks Sheryl!
The brown-skinned chicken is just beautiful and what a lovely choice of aromatics. Happy Thanksgiving, Lidia! Enjoy the warm weather! Thank you for sharing.
Oh, thank you so much Shanna! I’m glad you stopped by for a visit.
My pleasure! 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
I have never grilled an entire chicken before…just roasted it in the oven! Yours looks like it turned out lovely! Your mix of herbs and flavors are work wonderful with chicken.
There are a couple of ways of grilling an entire bird… this is a pretty simple and tasty way.
I call it spatchcock chicken too. I love them spatchcocks, and this one looks very delicious. I must say you have very unique recipes. We had a great Thanksgiving. Lots of turkey and laughter! Best wishes!
Thanks Liz! We had a good Thanksgiving as well. Lots of laughter, but no turkey! More about that on my next post… 🙂
your chicken looks amazing Lidia, I’m keeping this in my favorites now 🙂 great tip to wrap a brick or stone with paper foil, very smart! 🙂
hope you are doing well 🙂
Thanks Ingrid, I’m glad you think I’m very smart! 🙂 Feeling much better!
How fun!I have never tried cooking a bird under a brick but this sounds like a great idea and looking forward to trying your version soon. Take care, BAM
It is fun, and very delicious! Thanks Bam!
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I wish this was on our dinner table tonight! It looks delicious!