Outdoor Grilling

Smoked Cumin & Coriander Spatchcocked Chicken

Smoked Cumin & Coriander Spatchcocked Chicken

4-6

Chef Matt Jennings smokes the ultimate whole chicken for a fun family feast. Make this dish the centerpiece at your next cookout. He uses the Woodcreek Pellet Grill & Smoker to create the perfect chicken, featuring crispy skin and a subtle smoky flavor, accented by cumin and coriander.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch Rosemary
  • 3 Garlic cloves, smashed
  • ¼ cup Olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons Cumin, freshly ground
  • 2 teaspoons Coriander, freshly ground
  • 1 Whole chicken (3 ½-pound)
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon Black pepper, freshly ground

Preparation

  1. Prepare your Cuisinart Woodcreek 4-in-1 Pellet Grill by first dropping in the charcoal insert and filing with your choice of briquettes or hardwood charcoal. Next, turn the grill to sear and close the lid.
  2. Separate leaves from 5 rosemary sprigs and coarsely chop. Tie remaining sprigs together with kitchen twine to form a brush.
  3. Combine garlic, oil, cumin, and coriander in a measuring cup. Set aside.
  4. Place chicken, breast-side down, on a cutting board. Spatchcock chicken by cutting along both sides of backbone with kitchen shears; reserve backbone for stock- it freezes well! Turn chicken over, breast side up, and splay open. Press down on the breastbone with palms until you hear it crack and chicken is as flat as possible. Tuck the wings behind the breasts, then tuck in the legs so the bottoms of the drumsticks are pointed away from the body and chicken is as flat as possible.
  5. Brush both sides of the chicken with the garlic-oil mixture using the rosemary ‘brush’. Season the entire bird liberally with the chopped rosemary and season with salt and pepper.
  6. Once the coals are very hot, turn the dial down to 350 degrees, to benefit from indirect heat and smoke.
  7. Open the lid and directly grill the chicken, skin side up, over the charcoal, gently rotating a couple times with tongs. Between turns, close the lid and allow the unit to smoke-roast. When the underside of the chicken is nicely marked and the skin begins to turn golden brown- after about 8 to 10 minutes, move the chicken off the direct heat and a to a cooler part of the grill.
  8. Baste with rosemary brush dipped in garlic-oil.
  9. Continue to grill chicken, basting occasionally, until skin is perfectly golden brown, juices run clear, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 165°F, (about 45-50 minutes).
  10. Let the chicken rest at least 10 minutes before carving. Arrange chicken on a serving platter and serve with chimichurri, mojo or another herb-based Latin-inspired sauce.