Grilled Spatchcock chicken Greek Style is just right for halfway between summer and fall, desiring comfort food, but not ready to give up the grill. It’s hot out, but I’m wanting food that hardy and gut sticking.
The first time I had whole roasted Greek style chicken was at an East Nashville restaurant, Greko Street Food. Although I used the main recipe from Food Network, I added a little honey inspired by the Greko Street Food version.
The recipe called for fresh dill to my surprise. I had fresh dill, fresh oregano and fresh thyme on my deck and decided to use all three. The dill was quite a surprise as I have never used dill in a chicken recipe before. The dill is added to the marinade that is reserved to be poured over the chicken at the end. The honey is added to the marinade in the end and is, of course, optional if you want to leave out sweetener.
Spatchcocked chicken is the perfect chicken to put on the grill, and I’ll tell you why.
First of all, I like chicken on the bone, as it’s much more tasty, but I am not that good at grilling it. A spatchcocked chicken makes it so much easier, especially after a Greek style marinade.
This chicken was so tender, so flavorful and one of my favorite chicken recipes of the year. I’ll be making this again and again, and I think you will too.
What is Spatchcock Chicken?
Spatchcock is the method to butterfly whole chicken, removing the back bone, and it lays flat, as you press down on the breast. This reduces the cooking time and makes it perfect for grilling. To do this, turn chicken over. You will leaving the thighs and leg in place and cutting out the backbone.
Spatchcock chicken is the perfect chicken to put on the grill, especially when marinated and done with a reverse roast. This means the chicken is cooked on the grill opposite the heat source. Once it reaches about 150 degrees F. I turned it over breast side down on the side of the grill with the high heat to crisp the skin. Let it rest for about ten minutes before carving.
Ingredients for Greek Marinade
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Fresh Oregano
- Fresh Thyme
- Fresh Garlic
- Fresh Dill
- Honey (optional, put on in marinade that is used for serving).
Chicken can be marinated overnight or just one hour. I did the one-hour marinade and it was very tender. Use half marinade, reserving half for serving.
How to Make Grilled Spatchcock Chicken Greek Style
Make sure to wipe off all marinade and dry chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Get your grill hot. Turn off half of burners and place skin side up on indirect heat for about 50 minutes or until the deepest part of thigh reaches 155 degrees F. Then put skin side down on direct heat until skin crisps and inside temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Use tongs to remove chicken. Serve with Greek marinade.
Once the chicken is done, allow to rest for ten minutes before serving. This pairs well with a kale salad , and these purple lemon dijon roasted potatoes.
Grilled Spatchcock Chicken Greek Style in the Oven
If you don’t have access to a grill, roast it breast side up at 450 degrees F. Marinate the same way as above, wipe marinade off. Use reserved marinade to pour over once out of the oven. If you do roast in the oven, add some potatoes to the pan.
More Chicken Recipes from Spinach Tiger
- One Hour Roast Chicken
- How to Bake Chicken Legs
- Parmesan Mayonnaise Chicken
- Za’atar Baked Chicken
- Chicken
Grilled Spatchcock Chicken, Greek Style
Ingredients
- 1 Spatchcocked Chicken
Marinade
- 1 cups olive oil
- 2 lemons zest and juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano chopped
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Prepare Chicken
- To spatchcock chicken, cut out the backbone (discard, use for soups) and press down on breast/thigh to flatten. Turn chicken over, cut out the back, leaving breasts, thighs, legs.
Marinade
- Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and all herbs except the fresh dill.
- Use 1/2 marinade to marinate chicken for up to one day or at least one hour. Reserve the other half for once chicken is cooked.
Grill Chicken
- Take chicken out of refrigerator an hour before grilling.
- Light the grill hot.
- When ready to grill, wipe off marinade of chicken, turn off half of the grill and place chicken breast side up on the side with no heat.
- Close lid, roast for about 50 minutes until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F., 68 C.
- Place chicken breast side down on hot side of grill for about ten minutes until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. or 75 C.
- Once chicken is placed on serving dish, add dill, honey, to remaining marinade and pour over chicken.
- Allow chicken to rest 10 minutes prior to carving.
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