Wow! More than four years since my last post, shame on me. I’ve had ‘Get a new post up on the website’ on my to-do list for close to 3 years now. When the quarantine started and my day job went away, I figured this was the perfect time to get back into my site, clean it up and start getting more content up here. Unfortunately in the time I’ve been ignoring my site, hackers had not been ignoring it. Google had blacklisted me and my own virus protection software wouldn’t let me anywhere near my site.

That started the long process of cleaning my website up with help from some of the guys over at developersquad.com. They helped me get my site back and get it off Google’s ‘naughty’ list so a big thank you to them.

So here I am with a refreshed and bug free website, armed with a bunch of recipes and ideas plus a desire to keep my website fresh and up to date with great recipes and photography.

This recipe is a family favorite, we make it every summer at least 2-3 times a month. If you’ve never ‘spatchcocked’ a chicken, you are missing out. You can cook a whole chicken on your grill using this method in about 20 minutes, give or take. The key is removing the back from your chicken and splitting it open to lay flat. Marinate or season as you prefer and enclose in the spatchcock rack or set with large skewers, grill and you’re good to go.

The Panzanella salad is a perfect accompaniment to the spatchcock chicken. Panzanella is an Italian bread salad comprised of soaked stale bread, tomatoes and onions, but you can add other ingredients as you see fit.

Follow along with the recipe below or tweak it to make it your own!

Spatchcock Chicken with Panzanella Recipe

Prep: 35 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients      

1 Whole Chicken, 4-5 lb

1 ¼ cup olive oil

1 lemon, juiced and zested

2 Tbs garlic, minced

1 loaf tuscan bread

1 lb. mixed baby lettuces

1 Belgian endive, sliced

1 cup radishes, sliced

1 cup dried cherries

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

  1. Remove the backbone from the chicken, and open like a book.
  2. Combine the lemon juice, zest, garlic and ¼ cup olive oil in a medium size bowl.
  3. Place the chicken in the bowl, cover with the lemon oil and refrigerate for one hour.
  4. Combine the cherries and red wine vinegar and soak for one hour.
  5. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
  6. Tear the bread into large chunks and place on a sheet pan.
  7. Put the pan in the oven for 30 minutes.
  8. Preheat the grill to medium high.
  9. Place the chicken in the spatchcock and place on the grill, turning every 5-6 minutes.
  10. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until a thermometer reads an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
  11. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
  12. Cut the chicken into 6 pieces, 2 legs, two thighs and two breasts
  13. Drain the cherries and reserve the vinegar.
  14. Whisk the mustard into the vinegar.
  15. Whisk in the remaining olive oil to the vinegar, season with salt and pepper.
  16. In a large mixing bowl, toss the breadcrumbs, endive, cherries and vinaigrette.
  17. Add the baby lettuces and toss well.
  18. Place salad on a plate and 1-2 pieces of chicken.