Butterflied chicken comes off the grill moist

We are big weekend grillers at the Calloway house, and we've grilled chicken almost every way possible. One of our favorite ways is to grill a whole butterflied, or spatchcock, chicken. It's easy to prepare and gives a moist, juicy bird.

The advantage of grilling or roasting chicken this way is that it takes less time than cooking a whole chicken because the entire chicken is exposed to the heat.

I kept the seasonings simple: Just a little lemon juice, olive oil, garlic salt and black pepper. It tastes a bit like Greek chicken, and you can add a sprinkling of oregano to make it more authentic.

Use your favorite chicken seasonings or sauces after you have the technique down. A sprinkling of Montreal seasoning, Greek seasoning or Cajun seasoning would be delicious.

Another idea is to sprinkle the chicken with your favorite barbecue rub and then baste with barbecue sauce about five minutes before the chicken comes off the grill.

A butterflied chicken is also good for oven roasting. Set oven to 400 degrees; place the butterflied chicken in a roasting pan and roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and roast for 50 minutes to one hour more, until the chicken is done. Let the chicken rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

BUTTERFLIED GRILLED CHICKEN

1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds

1 large lemon, cut in half

2 tablespoons olive oil

Garlic salt

Black pepper

Heat a charcoal or gas grill according to manufacturer's directions (you will want medium heat). Remove packet of giblets from the cavity of the chicken and take out and discard any large pieces of fat around the opening of the cavity. Rinse the chicken inside and out and blot dry with paper towels.

Place the chicken onto a cutting board, breast-side down, and cut the backbone of the chicken out using kitchen shears. Use for stock or discard. Turn chicken over and press down on the breast bone to flatten the chicken.

Tuck the wings under so they don't burn. Place the chicken onto a baking sheet, breast side down. Squeeze half of the lemon over the chicken and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.

Rub the lemon and oil in with your fingertips and sprinkle with the garlic salt and black pepper. Turn the chicken over and repeat with the remaining lemon half, olive oil and seasonings.

Brush and oil the grill grate and place the chicken on the grill, breast-side down. Grill, covered, for 10-12 minutes. Turn chicken and grill breast-side up for 25-35 minutes.

The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (not touching the bone) registers 175-180 degrees. Transfer the chicken to a platter and let it rest for five minutes before cutting into serving pieces.

Makes 4 servings.

GROCERIES

1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds

1 lemon

Pantry: olive oil, garlic salt and black pepper

What are your tips on grilling a chicken? Post your suggestions and recipes at augustachronicle.com/karin.

Ms. Calloway would like to include reader input, so send requests to karin.calloway@comcast.net.

E-MAIL KARIN.CALLOWAY@COMCAST.NET. SEE HER PREPARE THE RECIPE AT NOON TUESDAY ON TELEVISION STATION WJBF (CHANNEL 6). FOLLOW KARIN ON TWITTER AT TWITTER.COM/KARINCALLOWAY.