Cooking Temperature for a Spatchcocked Chicken

[walleye56]

Hello,

What is the recommended temperature setting for cooking a spatchcocked chicken? My preference is to use my Green Mountain Pellet cooker, but my kitchen oven is also an alternative. A moist chicken without a rubbery skin is my goal. This will be a traditional Thanksgiving recipe using salt and pepper and olive oil and butter. I will not be using any BBQ rub or sauce. There are so many variations in the recipes that I have researched. Lots of variations between the temperature used. Also they are many contradictions. As an example, some say to wet brine and others say absolutely not. Thanks for your advice.

[realdocBBQ]

I did a pair on the stickburner last weekend, about 225 the first hour, then cranked it to 400+. Got 'em done quick, skin crisp.


Also, in my pellet pooper, same way - 225 one hour - then crank it till 155-158 in the breast.


<edit> I'll add - these last two, I just did S&P, nothing else. They were great. No brine, no injection, just seasoned RIGHT before placing on the smoker. This was on an offset traditional, so the heat does come down from the top, which may have helped the crisping, kind of a convection thing. It wasn't 'cracklins' crispy, but it wasn't unappetizing chewy mush, either.

[bbqLuv]

S&P 👍

[Steve B]

The couple I did yesterday in the PBC was pretty steady at 330-335*. Skin was ok but not really crispy. I actually like heading towards 375-400 to get that crisp skin.

[realdocBBQ]

Yeah, when I did 350 all the way, I didn't get the skin crispy like I'd like. Seems a little odd, but that's what happened.

[Attjack]

I did one last week on my Kamado and ran it at 325f.

[jfmorris]

walleye56 I believe the general consensus for chicken with good skin is to run the entire cook around 325 or 350. Even 375 won't hurt.

I see that realdocBBQ recommended running a pellet cooker at lower temp the first hour of the cook, but that would only be if you are looking for more smoke flavor in a smoked chicken. I don't think that is what you want if you are going Thanksgiving style. Meathead in the articles on the free side cautions against overuse of smoke with poultry. I use charcoal smokers but do not use smoking wood any more when cooking poultry. They just take up too much smoke flavor too easily. So unless you are wanting more smoke flavor, I would recommend cranking your pellet cooker to 350 and just roll with it at that temp the entire cook. Keep the oven inside for the sides.

As far as brining, I find that a spatchcocked chicken is thin enough to where dry brining with salt or a rub that is salty does a good job, and I tend to dry brine them overnight in the fridge on a pan on a wire rack, uncovered. That lets the air dry out the skin as the salt works through the chicken, and dry skin also helps with it being crisp after the cook. Wet brining will tend to make for soggier skin in my experience.

[bbqLuv]

For spatchcock chicken, 375*F is a good choice. Sometimes I smoke it first at a low temp first then kick up the temperature. But that is not needed.

see BBQ Spatchcocked Chicken Recipe - Traeger Grills

How to smoke a chicken, I love the simple method too.

https://youtu.be/-JJx4eZNmz4

Also, there are many YouTube videos on this.

This works well for me, I call it:

Stupid Simple Spatchcock
1-Trim and spatchcock chicken
2-Dry chicken with paper towels
3-Coat chicken with spray butter
4-Coat chicken with rub
5-Place chicken in center of middle rack pre-heated grill at 375*F
6-Cook to internal temp 150*F
7-Coat chicken with 50/50 mix honey and BBQ sauce
8-Done when sauce is set

[Johnny Booth]

I brine it so I can cook with high temps. Then load the PK for 2 zone cook, with some mesquite, keeping ‘cool side’ between 375-425f.

Side of chicken faces coals, spin once on grill about halfway through the cook. Check temp for doneness. Usually works out perfect for us. 165f breast and 190f legs and thighs. skin is fully rendered and very crispy.

[smokinsteve]

I love this recipe! So juicy and flavorful. https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...hicken-recipe/

[GolfGeezer]

If your oven is an option, this is a great recipe for great skin and tender meat:

Crisp-Skinned Spatchcocked (Butterflied) Roast Turkey With Gravy Recipe (seriouseats.com)

[CHNeal]

I don’t have all the fancy data some do but…5lb bird goes 90 minutes indirect in a Weber 22 with a full chimney of Kingsford banked to one side. Crispy skin and juice running down your chin.

[HawkerXP]

+1

[Huskee]

I use a hlf chimney lit, atop a half chimney unlit, and I too avg about 90 min. Every time.

[Irishpete33]

I’m all about dry brining for a few hours uncovered in the fridge as was mentioned already.

Additionally, in my experience, a smaller chicken can (and should) be cooked at a higher temperature than a larger bird because of the crispy skin factor. For example, a 6+ lb. bird cooked at 375 will likely crisp up at the same time as the breast meat is done. A 4-5 lb. bird at 375 will be done in less time, but as a result, the skin may still be underdone. This is why I roast my smaller spatchcocked chickens at 425 to 450 (crazy, I know, but with a dry brine it does fine).

Also, if you’re looking for a 1-pan meal, use the broiler pan from your oven - line the bottom with foil and arrange thinly sliced potatoes mixed with a little oil, S&G rub, salt, and pepper on the bottom. Put the top of the broiler pan over the potatoes (it shouldn’t touch if the potatoes are in a thin layer) and put the spatchcocked chicken on top. Whole thing goes in the oven at 425ish for about an hour (depending on bird size) and the drippings from the chicken flavor the potatoes…delicious! Just watch that the potatoes aren’t burning under there.

I know this is a bit of a departure from walleye56’s question, but doesn’t everyone need more potatoes in their diets? The next time I make that recipe, I’ll start a new post in the recipe section with pictures and more details.

[Polarbear777]

Spatchcocked I go at least 375 (bigger birds) and have gone as high as 450 (smaller birds). The flatter and more uniform you can get it the faster you can cook it so it doesn’t have time to dry out but has enough heat to crisp the skin. Pick a size bird and do a practice run. Best temp may depend on temp control but also humidity and airflow in your cooker. Adjust from there and if you have good temperature control it should be repeatable.

[das85]

In pellet cooker, I've had best results 375-400 depending on the cooker and size of chicken (higher temp for smaller chicken as Polarbear777 said).

In oven, I've ended up more like 325-350 to avoid burnt skin.

I've had good results with dry brine, for at least couple hours but up to a day or two if I get on top of it.

[FireMan]

Actually I think 366 is optimumum, yethirrr.

[Huskee]

I go 367.5

[FireMan]

Oh shoot, sure you would,

[Huskee]

325 is always what Meathead has recommended as a minimum for crisp skin. This was stressed a lot in the early days here since so many folks were used to 225 as a generally accepted cooking temp. I tend to go toward the hotter end like many above, I favor 375ish. I find the quickest cook possible leads to the juiciest end result, and of course crispier skin. I do the same with pork loins and chops. Obviously the higher you go the darker the skin can get, and this is esepcially true on a kettle, where up near the lid collects a lot more heat. Less problematic in a cooker with more headroom. The fun thing about chicken, and you've likely gathered from reading all the above, is that there are a few different ways to reach your end goal. A slower cook to start will get you a bit more smokier flavor, especially in something with delicate smoke like a pellet cooker.