Spatchcocked Smoked Chicken with Late-Glaze BBQ Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A whole chicken split flat down the backbone so it cooks in one even layer, dry-brined overnight for skin that shatters, then smoked low over wood until the thighs give up. The sauce goes on only in the last few minutes so it glazes instead of burning. Works on a kettle grill, a pellet smoker, or in a home oven with a smoked-paprika assist.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, 3 1/2 to 4 lb, giblets removed
• 1 tbsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; use 2 tsp if using Morton)
• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp water, plus more as needed

• 2 fist-sized chunks apple, cherry, or hickory wood (or 2 cups wood chips, soaked 30 min)
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• flaky sea salt, for serving

Instructions

1. Spatchcock the bird: pat the chicken dry and set it breast-side down on a cutting board. Using sturdy kitchen shears, cut up along each side of the backbone from tail to neck and remove the backbone (save it for stock). Flip the bird breast-side up, open it out, and press firmly on the breastbone with the heel of your hand until you hear a crack and the chicken lies flat. Trim any loose flaps of fat.
2. Dry-brine: mix the 1 tablespoon kosher salt with the baking powder and sprinkle it evenly over both sides of the chicken, concentrating on the skin. Set the bird skin-side up on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered 12 to 24 hours (8 hours minimum). The skin should look dry and slightly translucent.
3. Make the sauce: whisk the ketchup, cider vinegar, molasses, yellow mustard, Worcestershire, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-low, stirring, for 8 to 10 minutes until glossy and just thick enough to coat a spoon. Thin with water a teaspoon at a time if it gets too thick. Cool and reserve; it keeps 2 weeks refrigerated.
4. Rub: stir together the brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, dry mustard, and cayenne. Do not add more salt. Pull the chicken from the fridge and dust the rub over the skin side and the underside, patting it on gently. Let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes while you set up the fire.
5. Charcoal grill setup: light about 60 briquettes or 1 chimney of lump charcoal, and when ashed over bank it all to one side. Set the grate on, cover, and bring the cooking temperature to 275 to 300°F (135 to 150°C), adjusting the bottom vent. Add one wood chunk directly on the coals. For a pellet or electric smoker, set it to 275°F and load fruitwood pellets. For a gas grill, light the burners on one side only, set a foil packet of soaked chips over the lit burner, and hold 275 to 300°F.
6. Place the chicken skin-side up on the cool side of the grill, legs angled toward the fire, with a small foil pan of water underneath if your grill runs hot. Cover, positioning the lid vent over the chicken to pull smoke across it. Smoke undisturbed for 45 minutes, then add the second wood chunk and top up with 10 to 12 fresh briquettes if the temperature has dropped.
7. Continue cooking, lid closed, until an instant-read thermometer reads 155 to 158°F (68 to 70°C) in the thickest part of the breast and 170°F (77°C) in the thigh, 70 to 85 minutes total. Brush the skin with the melted butter at the 60-minute mark.
8. Crisp and glaze: slide the chicken skin-side down over the hot coals for 60 to 90 seconds, watching constantly, until the skin is deep mahogany and taut. Flip skin-side up, brush a thin coat of BBQ sauce over the skin, close the lid for 3 to 4 minutes to set the glaze, then repeat with a second thin coat. Pull the bird when the breast hits 160°F (71°C) and the thigh 175°F (79°C).
9. Oven method: heat the oven to 300°F (150°C) with a rack in the upper third. Add 1 extra teaspoon smoked paprika and 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin to the rub. Roast the dry-brined, rubbed chicken skin-side up on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet for 55 minutes, then raise the heat to 450°F (230°C) and roast 15 to 20 minutes more until the breast reads 155°F. Brush with sauce and return for 4 minutes, then brush again and finish 4 minutes, to a final 160°F breast.
10. Rest the chicken on a cutting board, loosely tented, for 10 minutes. Carve: remove the legs at the hip joint and separate drum from thigh, cut the breast away from each side of the keel bone and slice each half crosswise, then take the wings. Shower with flaky salt and serve with the remaining sauce warmed on the side.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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