I’ve been wanting to try to barbecue a whole chicken spatchcocked (butterflied) as it cooks quicker than keeping the bird whole. This way the bird is still in once piece but flattened out, so it still holds the moisture but almost cuts the cooking time in half.

To insure a juicy bird I marinated it in rapeseed oil, honey, fresh rosemary, thyme and lemon zest and I grilled it with the lid on for most of the time, keeping an eye on the temperature. Afterwards I let it rest before serving and the meat was indeed moist and full of lovely flavours both from the marinade and the charcoal.

Served with barbecued corn on the cob and a potato salad with tomatoes, green beans and Dijon vinaigrette this was a lovely summer meal!

Barbecued spatchcock chicken with lemon, honey and fresh herbs, serves 4

1 large free range chicken

50 ml rapeseed oil

2 tsp honey

zest from 1 lemon, I used a potato peeler – no need to finely grated zest

10 stalks of rosemary and thyme

salt, black pepper

Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl. Cut away the back bone on the chicken and butterfly it. Season with salt and pepper, put the bird in a large ziplok bag and pour the marinade into it. Massage the marinade onto the chicken and let it marinate for an hour in room temperature or up to 24 hours in the fridge, just make sure to take it out of the fridge an hour before cooking it. 

Barbecue both sides of the chicken on high heat without the lid until brown all around, about 5 mins per side. Put the lid on and barbecue in 150C for about 30 minutes (or until clear liquid from the thigh joint). Leave to rest 5-10 minutes before serving, adding a little butter while resting.