Splayed Chicken

Here at Schwietert Chiropractic Clinic, we love food… and we love talking about it and sharing recipes with our patient-family and friends! Here is another healthy Schwietert Family Recipe we’d love to share with you!

This Memorial Day Weekend, give this delicious Splayed Chicken recipe a try and enjoy some quality time with your family around the grill! Then, let us know what you think!

Grilling Splayed Chicken

Whole chicken
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Lawry’s Garlic Salt
paprika
3 limes
chopped cilantro

Clean a whole chicken. Cut the backbone out. I use a kitchen shears and cut along one side, then cut right next to it on the other side. Place chicken on a cookie sheet and dry slightly with paper towels, leave some moisture for the seasoning to stick. Lay breast side up. Press chicken flat on the cookie sheet. Pretend you are a chiropractor and adjust the center to flatten as much as possible! You may thread two skewers in an X pattern through chicken to hold in that position. We go without. Skewers, that is – not adjustments!

Sprinkle both sides generously with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, Lawry’s Garlic Salt and paprika.

Gas Grill: Preheat one side of your grill (you will place the chicken on the other side) to 350º for 15 minutes, cleaning off the grates with a wire brush so they are hot and clean but food won’t stick to them. If you don’t have a thermometer on your grill, just get it medium hot. Don’t stress about the temperature or the length of these directions. It is really not that hard. I just err on the side of too many directions rather than too little. Once you make this chicken, you really don’t read these again for the second time!

Charcoal Grill: If using a charcoal fire, you will have to build your briquette’s up and start. Let them get a bit grey around the edges and not so hot – this took about 30-40 minutes on our Weber. Yours could take longer or shorter. The important thing is that you have enough briquettes to keep burning for 1 ½ – 2 hours. Before you put the grate back on top of the briquettes, use your tongs and move all the briquettes to one side of the grill in a slope toward the left side. Put the grate back on the grill. Make sure it is scraped with your wire brush, but not clean, clean – you want that seasoning on the metal so your food won’t stick. You will put the chicken on the right side so it is not in direct heat. Cover and close vent for first ½ hour – don’t open or flip.

Place chicken on the grill. If you didn’t read the grill section for your type of grill above, put the chicken on one side and heat the other side of the grill. You want indirect slow heat.

Cook for about 1 ½ hours. Flip every ½ hour and baste with lime/cilantro mixture.

Lime~cilantro Mixture: juice 3 limes and mix with some chopped cilantro.

Take off the grill and put on platter. Let rest for 10 minutes to allow juices to settle. Serve with your favorite side dish or shred for tacos… enjoy!

Notes:

• You may want to do 2 chickens and put one in the freezer! The flavor of this meat really can’t be beat and can be used for salads, soups, pasta, pretty much anything.
• Feel free to use any combination of seasonings and spices. These are the ones we use because they work really well for us. If you have other seasonings you want to try, go for it!
• If you come up with something sensational, make sure and share it with Doctor Jim, he is always up for trying something new!

| Recipe Courtesy of Dr. Deb Schwietert |