Spatchcock Chicken with Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette

I know it sounds funny and if you have never heard of spatchcock chicken you are probably wondering what in the world I am talking about. However, it is actually not nearly as exoctic as the name indicates.  Spatchcock chicken is simply a whole chicken, butterflied, with the back bone and breast bone removed.  It is a good way to cook chicken, particularly on the grill, because it is much more uniform in thickness which allows for an even cooking time.  You can also enjoy a whole chicken in a fraction of the amount of time it takes to cook a bird which was not butterflied. 

I made a marinade of the zest of one lemon, the juice of one lemon, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, about 1 teaspoon of honey, several sprigs of fresh thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil.  I poured about 1/2 of the marinade over the chicken in a shallow backing dish, covered it with plastic wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.  I reserved the other half of the marinade to drizzle over the chicken and to dress the salad (sparingly!).

I wanted to grill the chicken, but I was afraid that I did not have enough propane left in the tank and there is nothing worse than running out of gas when you are halfway into cooking dinner. I really wanted that nice seared skin, so I devised a plan.  I placed my long cast iron griddle in the oven and preheated it for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees.  I placed the chicken, skin side down, on the griddle and left it to cook in the oven for 20 minutes.  Then, I carefully flipped the chicken over using several sets of tongs and spatulas in an effort to keep the chicken from coming apart.  After I finally got it placed on the griddle with the skin side up, I let it cook for another 30-40 minutes.  After removing it from the oven, I placed it on a plate and drizzled a bit of the reserved vinaigrette. 

A perfect Spring dinner is created when a delightfully tender and flavorful leg quarter is served over a tossed salad with an extra drizzle of vinaigrette.