I have been wanting to try this technique for the last couple of years. A couple weeks ago I purchased some 4 lbs. chickens from Costco. I don’t recall if they were grain feed, organic or whatever. What I do know is that so far they have been amazing little guys to cook on the “q”. as you had seen last month I had done a rotisserie chicken, and now this time is the Flat rock Chicken. I believe they call it this because you are supposed to use a flat rock on top of the bird while it cooks. This way it helps make for a more consistent thorough cook. I believe that they may be a few other names for this dish as well, but I really think that calling it tire tread chicken is quite fitting. The grill marks on the chick kind of give it that ran over road kill look. Regardless of that, they still look good and taste amazing and tender as hell.
This is how it all went down. I fully defrosted my full chicken and brought it up to room temp, this way it will cook more evenly. I pre heated the bbq to 325 degrees. I made a rub for the bird as well. The rub contained:

garlic powder,
onion powder,
sea salt, pepper,
paprika,
brown sugar,
cumin.

Now you want to prep your bird. Grab your chicken and have the back facing you, You want to cut down either side of the backbone and remove it. Now cut out the breast bone on the inside of the chicken, this is done by opening up the chicken after you have removed the backbone. Just spread the chicken open. You should cover this entire area with the rub you have on hand. Sorry but before adding your rub to the bird make sure you have patted the bird completely dry, this will ensure a crispy skin, otherwise it will just be mushy. Another tip is to make small slits in the skin. This way it lets the fat drain out while cooking and gives you a crispy skin. The down side to this is you have a higher chance of drying out the chicken. My chicken turned out really moist, so do it but be careful and keep an eye on it.
Try to get as much rub everywhere that you can, between folds, under skin, everywhere. Now that the bbq is heated up, you want to put some oil on the grill and on the chicken. You want to start with your chicken, breast side up for 15 minutes. Put the bird on the grill, and add a Pyrex backing dish that is at least the same size or bigger that the bird.


I wrap mine in foil just to make clean up easier. Put the bird on the grill, and then on top of that you place the Pyrex dish or flat rock wrapped in foil, which ever you choose will work just fine. After 15 minutes take your chicken and flip it over on the bbq for another 15 minutes. Repeating the same process. Watch for flare ups at all times. Once this bad boy is done, you should remove it and cover it with some foil for at least 10 mins. Viola, the best bbq chicken you could make.

This technique is amazing for beginner grillers. The reason I say this is because unless you forget about it on the bbq or screw up your timing then this will always turn out moist and tender. This recipe can be cooked in a frying pan on the stove top and baked in the oven as well. Just follow the cutting technique above and you regular cooking times. I hope everybody enjoys this recipe. It was really great.
Take care and keep the fire hot.
WildFire Cooking.com.