BBQ Spatchcock Chicken

So the weather forecast has picked up and we are to have a beautiful week of weather here in Ireland (woo hoo!!), now is the time to dig out your barbecue from the back of the garage, chill some beers and get the coals smokin' hot.
Here is my favourite BBQ tear'n'share food, it's messy and delicious. Now I don't restrict this to just the BBQ it is also suitable for oven roasting and I make this all year round especially when I feel like a quick and tasty dinner that reminds me of warm summer days. I covered this bird in BBQ sauce, from a previous post Donal Skehan's BBQ Spare ribs without marinading the bird first, but you can marinade the bird for at least 3 hours or overnight with your own favourite marinade. I have three other BBQ sauces for you to choose from at the bottom of this post for all your other barbecue needs.

Tutorial complements of eat in Magazine Issue 5 September 2009

Serves 4

Ingredients
1.4kg Chicken
1 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp 5-spice powder (optional)

For the Barbecue Sauce:
60g Demerara sugar
4 tbsp Dark soy sauce
4 tbsp  Tomato ketchup
4 tbsp Honey
4 Garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp English mustard
Tobasco Sauce (Optional)

Method
If you are using bamboo skewers, then soak them in cold water. Preheat the oven to 180C or light the BBQ. Turn the chicken upside down. Cut along one side of the backbone, then cut along the other side and remove the backbone completely.

Turn the bird breast side up, open out the bird and using the heel of your hand, slightly crush the bird.

Cut a few slashes into the legs and thighs.

Push a skewer through the left leg to the right wing and another skewer through the right leg to the left wing.

I rubbed the whole chicken with some oil and sprinkled it with Chinese 5-spice powder, roasted it in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until browned and cooked through. To cook on the BBQ, cook over a medium heat for about 40 minutes.

To test if a chicken is cooked, pierce the thickest part of the thigh or breast with a skewer, if the juices run clear (no traces of pink) then the bird is cooked.

Whisk all the ingredients for the barbecue sauce together in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes until you have a thick sauce.

When the bird is cooked, brush the bird with the BBQ sauce, serve immediately.

Serve the remaining sauce in individual bowls for dipping. I usually plonk the bird in the middle of the table and everyone serves themselves, you will need plenty of wet wipes or individual bowls of warm water with a squeeze of lemon juice to cleanse sticky fingers.

Additional BBQ sauce ideas that will jazz up your chicken or pork, chops, sausages or salmon with these brilliant barbecue ideas.....

Recipes complements of eat in Magazine Issue 4 August 2009
Hot Spiced Chilli & Plum Sauce
Dice 500g stoned red plums, put into a pan with 150ml red wine vinegar, 40g caster sugar, 2 star anise, 1/4tsp 5-spice powder, 1 small dried chilli, 1/2tsp salt and 1/4tsp crushed black peppercorns. Slowly bring to the boil until sugar has dissolved, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve chunky or remove star anise and puree.
Chunky Barbecue Sauce
Heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a saucepan, add 1 chopped onion and fry for 5 minutes. Mix in 1 chopped dessert apple 2tbsp tomato puree, 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 2 tbsp light muscovado sugar, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce and 200ml vegetable stock. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with burgers or sausages.
Roasted Tomato and Basil Sauce
Have 500g plum tomatoes, put on a baking sheet, sprinkle with 2 cloves chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Drizzle with 2tsp honey and 2tbsp olive oil. Roast at 200C Gas 6 for 20 minutes. Puree. Stir in 1tsp of tomato puree and 2tbsp chopped basil leaves. Serve with pork chops, sausages or salmon steaks.