Smoked Spatchcocked Chicken Alabama White-Style
By Andrew Zimmern
Crispy skin. Juicy meat. Tangy sauce. Sharp tools. Big payoff. Thats why I don’t grill whole chickens any other way. Spatchcocking helps the bird cook faster, more evenly, and gives you more of what everyone actually wants: crispy skin and big flavor. Shun kitchen shears get the chicken ready for the grill. I slather it with Alabama white barbecue sauce, then carve it with Shun’s boning knife, a true workhorse in my kitchen.
BBQ Chicken with Alabama White Sauce
Ingredients
Alabama White Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
For the Chicken
- 1 whole chicken, about 3 1/2 to 4 pounds
- 3 tablespoons your favorite all-purpose seasoning blend
- 1 cup Alabama white barbecue sauce, plus more for serving
- 2 cups fruit wood chips, such as apple, cherry or peach, soaked in water for 30 minutes and drained
Instructions
Make the Alabama white sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, horseradish, Dijon, lemon juice, Worcestershire, sugar, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Taste and adjust with more vinegar, lemon or black pepper as needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Place the chicken breast-side down on a cutting board. Using sturdy kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone and remove it. Flip the chicken over and press firmly on the breastbone to flatten. Pat the chicken very dry with paper towels.
Rub the chicken all over with the all purpose seasoning, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies. Let sit at room temperature while you prepare the grill.
Set up your grill for two-zone cooking, with the coals on one side and no direct heat on the other. Aim for a grill temperature of about 350°F. Add the soaked and drained fruit wood chips to the hot coals, or place them in a smoker box if using a gas grill.
Place the chicken skin-side up on the indirect side of the grill. Cover and cook for about 1 hour, maintaining steady heat and adding more wood chips as needed, until the breast reaches 150°F.
Remove the chicken from the grill and brush it generously all over with Alabama white sauce (or put the sauce in a large mixing bowl and place the chicken in the bowl, tossing to coat evenly). Move the chicken to the hot side of the grill, skin-side up or briefly skin-side down if you want extra char, and cook for about 5 minutes, just until the sauce tightens, the skin gets lightly charred.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with extra Alabama white sauce on the side.
