SmokeFire Spatchcock Chicken with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

SmokeFire Spatchcock Chicken with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Recipe by Matt Basile aka Fidel Gastros

Ingredients

Chicken

1 Whole Chicken, bone-in, skin on (4-6 lbs)

1 tsp Mexican chili powder

1-2 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1-2 tbsps Canola oil

*or use enough oil to make a loose paste

Chimichurri

1 cup finely chopped Cilantro

1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf Italian Parsley

4 cloves garlic, minced

Juice from 2 limes

¼ cup Apple cider vinegar

¼ Olive oil or canola oil

Salt to taste

*this will make more than you need for the chicken, the extra sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Pineapple salsa

½ red onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

½ a pineapple, cut into 3 medallions, remove the skin but leave the core

½ of 1 Jalapeno pepper

1 Green onion

1 tbsp finely chopped Ginger

Juice from 1 lemon

½ tsp salt

 Method:

 Preheat your SmokeFire to 375F.

Start by butterflying or flattening your chicken. This reduces the time and allows for a more even cook. Lay the chicken down on a flat surface, breast side down, as you will be cutting near the spine. With a sharp, long knife, slit the back skin of the chicken and cut to the right or left of the backbone,  and cut all the way up from the tail to the neck, opening up the chicken, but make sure not to cut through to the other side, or else you end up with two half chickens.  Then you want to remove the fat from the tail end and remove the tail too. To open up the chicken more, find the breast plate of the chicken and cut a slit, do the same on the other side, and press down firmly but gently to flatten further. You are going to then cut out the backbone by cutting along the other side of the spine and pulling down to remove.

For the marinade, you are going to make a wet rub. In a large bowl, mix the chili powder, mustard powder, ginger powder and kosher salt. Add in canola oil and stir to create a loose paste, something to look for is it will easily come off a spoon. Add your chicken to the bowl and rub with mixture until fully covered. You can leave to marinade 30-60 minutes in the fridge, or cook immediately. Using tongs, open up the SmokeFire and place your chicken, skin side up on indirect heat. Do not keep opening it up, set a timer for about 30 minutes before opening again.

While the chicken is cooking, make your chimichurri sauce by either hand chopping, or using an immersion blender or food processor to combine the cilantro, parsley, garlic, lime juice and apple cider vinegar. Let the mixture stand a few minutes for all the flavours to incorporate. Then add in your olive oil and salt, stir or blend.

For the salsa, dice the red onion, red pepper, yellow pepper, jalapeno, green onion, and mince your ginger. Add your cherry tomatoes that have been cut in half. Toss everything into a large bowl and add lemon juice and mix. Then, slice your pineapple into 3 medallions, and cut off the skin. Place on the SmokeFire to grill on each side for a couple of minutes. When you are placing the pineapple on the grill, check on your chicken. Check the internal temperature of the chicken with an internal probe thermometer to see how long it needs to continue to cook, and the skin should be starting to pull and tighten around the drumstick and wings indicating it’s starting to roast. Switch your chicken to the upper deck, skin side down and continue to cook until a probe thermometer reads and internal temperature of 165F.

Once the pineapple is nicely charred and caramelized a bit, remove from grill and dice. Add into your salsa mix, add salt and mix to combine.

Once your chicken is cooked through, it’s time to plate. Place your salsa down on a plate or platter, place the chicken on top and drizzle with the chimichurri sauce. Enjoy!