Cutting out the backbone
Spatchcock Chicken is an easy way to impress your guests. You're basically going to butterfly a whole fresh young chicken (buy them as fresh as possible). I buy whole chickens that already have the cavity cleaned out - if you can't find one of these, then first clean out all the giblets.
Next, as shown above, cut on either side of the backbone from front to rear in order to remove the entire backbone. Apprarently, this is the "spatchcocking" step.
Prepped
Next, lay the chicken out flat, breast side up, with the thighs fanned out to the sides. First, make sure the skin is dry (this will help you get crispier skin in the end). Then, I coat liberally with olive oil, then sprinkle with Dizzy Dust. (or, even better, Dizzy Shakin' the Tree!!) Now you're ready to take her to the grill.
1 hour later
Cook the chicken direct on a raised grid, breast-side up, at 375 - 400 F dome for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until you're at 165 in the breast. Don't flip. The results will astonish you - tender, JUICY, and delicious whole chicken.
Hints: Don't use smoke - chicken absorbs it REALLY well and, after 1 hour, you might not like the results. Also, cooking at lower than 375 dome tends to give a more rubbery skin. I keep the dome temp above 375 and sometimes even ramp up over 400 or so for the last 5-10 minutes to ensure a crispy skin. If you're still not happy with the crispiness of the skin, you can flip the bird over the last 5 minutes or so to get the skin exposed directly to the radiant heat of the coals.
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