Smoky Grilled Butterflied Chicken

Wow! It didn't expect cutting up a chicken to be pleasant, but I think it was a little more gross than I thought it would be. I liked the flavor of the chicken so I will probably make this again, but next time I will just used split chicken breast that require no cutting. ;) I served this chicken with sautteed mushroom orzo (this is the second time I have made this) This time I used swiss cheese instead of the 4 italian cheese blend. Next time I will stick with the italian cheese. I love swiss cheese but you couldn't really taste the swiss. The italian cheese had much better flavor. On to the recipe!

Smoky Grilled Butterflied Chicken
(Source: Martha Stewart)

1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds), rinsed


1. Combine vinegar, oil, garlic, paprika, and salt in a nonreactive baking dish or large resealable plastic bag.

2. Remove backbone from chicken using kitchen shears. Place chicken, breast side up, on cutting board, with legs extended on both sides. Press firmly on breastbone to break it and flatten chicken. Add to marinade. Cover dish or seal bag, and refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight), turning occasionally.

3. Preheat grill to medium. (If you are using a charcoal grill, coals are ready when you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill for just 5 or 6 seconds.) Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Place chicken, skin side down, on grill. Close cover, and grill 15 minutes. Flip chicken, and close cover. Grill until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees, about 20 minutes more.

Happy Cooking