Last night was a perfect night to grill outside so I decided to do chicken. For those of you that always wondered how to butterfly a whole chicken I have pictures on this process.

Let’s cook!

Butterfly A Whole Chicken

Have the legs up and facing you. Using kitchen scissors cut long the back bone on one side.

Now do the same for the other side.

Using a pairing knife remove the cartlidge around the breast.

Using your hands push the meat away from the ribs and push up on the bones to remove from the chicken.

Once the ribs are remove fold the chicken in half and you now have a butterflied chicken.

Grilled Butterflied Chicken with Lemon and Garlic

1 whole chicken, butterflied

1/2 cup canola oil

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1 lemon, zested

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

salt and pepper

In a bowl whisk together the oil, 2 tablespoons of the chopped garlic, 2 tablespoons of the thyme, chopped onion and half of the lemon zest.

Add the chicken to a shallow dish and pour the bowl contents over the chicken. Coat the entire chicken.

Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let marinate for 1 hour or up to 6.

Preheat the grill on medium. Season the chicken with red pepper flakes and place on the grill, skin side down.

Cook for about 15 minutes and then turn. Close the grill and continue grilling for anotehr 20 minutes.

Remove from the grill and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting. Mix together the remaining garlic, thyme and lemon zest.

Sprinkle over the chicken and serve.

Happy Cooking!