I love this recipe because it’s a different way to cook a whole chicken and it’s easy and quick. Nigella calls it spatchcocked chicken and Ina calls it flattened chicken and I’m just going to name it grilled chicken! You should marinate it for a few hours or overnight and always buy a good chicken, preferably organic. For the marinade you can use whatever you want. For Italian chicken use an olive oil with garlic and rosemary and for a Greek version marinate the chicken in yogurt and spices. For a Southern version how about buttermilk? You could also use some Indian curry and spices or a chili paste. The chicken can be seasoned almost any way you want and come out to be a delicious meal so here are the basics and use your imagination.

• 1 butterflied chicken about 3 or 3 1/2 pounds
• salt
• pepper
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 lemons
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 1 clove of garlic minced

To butterfly you have to cut the backbone out or ask the butcher to do it. Really simple to do–just lie the chicken on it breast side and cut the backbone out with scissors. Don’t cut all the way through but flatten it.

Mix the olive oil and squeezed lemons together and pour on the chicken. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Pull the rosemary off of the stem and put that on the chicken. Put the chicken in a zip lock bag and put in the fridge for at least an hour. Let the chicken come to room temperture and either grill it or put it into the oven.

To grill: Heat the gas grill  to medium and cook  about 30 minutes on each side, with a brick covered with foil on top of the chicken. Or heat an oven to 425 degrees and cook the chicken about 45 minutes. Either way after the chicken is done let it rest and then cut into halfs or quarters.