The New Hotness in Spatchcocked Grilled Chicken: Frog Chicken
Inspired by two of our favorite YouTube content creators, Al Frugoni and Guga, we present to you two fantastic grilled whole chicken recipes!
Things to know:
What is frog chicken?
Frog chicken (or the “frog cut”) is a whole-bird butchering and grilling technique where you butterfly a chicken to lay completely flat—resembling a resting frog. Unlike traditional spatchcocking, you do not cut out or remove the backbone.
What is Peri Peri?
Peri Peri (or piri-piri) is the African bird’s eye chili pepper and a spicy, tangy condiment made from it. The name comes from the Swahili word pili pili, meaning “pepper”. It originated through Portuguese and African colonial trade in Mozambique and Angola.
What is peri peri made of?
Peri-peri (or piri-piri) is made primarily from African bird’s eye chili peppers, blended with garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, and various spices like smoked paprika and oregano. It can be prepared as a liquid hot sauce or a dry spice seasoning.
What does peri peri taste like?
Peri-peri tastes fiery, tangy, and garlicky. It combines the sharp kick of African bird’s eye chili peppers with bright citrus from lemon or lime, savory depth from garlic and onion, and an earthy finish from oil and herbs.
Is peri peri very spicy?
Peri peri can range from mildly warm to very spicy. Because the sauce uses African bird’s eye chilies (50,000–125,000 Scoville units), traditional or extra-hot versions pack a serious punch, but commercial brands offer mild and medium options blended with citrus and garlic.
What is America’s version of Nandos?
America does not have an exact 1:1 national equivalent to Nando’s, because Nando’s actually operates dozens of its own locations in select U.S. regions (mostly in Illinois, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Texas, and Georgia). However, depending on whether you mean the cultural status, the fast-casual vibe, or the style of chicken, a few chains come close.
Ingredients:
2 whole chickens
For the Wild Cherry Chicken:
1 stick of butter at room temperature
2 T Cherry Seasoning (we used Butcher BBQ Wild Cherry Rub)
For the Peri Peri Chicken:
1 stick of butter at room temperature
1/4 cup Peri Peri sauce (we used Nandos Peri Peri Sauce Extra Mild)
1. Place the bird on a cutting board, breast side up. With a sharp knife, cut between the leg and thigh just deep enough to expose the rib cage, then while pulling up on the breast section, cut through the ribs of the chicken.
2. Flip the bird over and push down on top of the breast section, flattening the chicken into the shape of a frog.
3. Remove the wing tips, for they will not survive the grilling process.
4. Using your fingers, create pockets between the skin and the meat, being careful not to rip the skin, starting at the top of the drumsticks, then from the top of the breast, being sure to leave the skin attached to the meat at the bottom (now top due to “frogging” the chicken) of the breast section.
5. Mix your compound butters: in a bowl add a stick of butter and the seasoning/sauce of your choice.
6. Stuff 1/4 of the compound butter into the pocket between the skin and meat in each leg/thigh and the remainder in the breast pocket.
7. Place your bird breast side up on your cutting board and liberally apply course sea to the skin. This will dry the skin out as the bird cooks promoting crispy skin.
8. Place the birds, breast side up on the grill in a place where you can hold your hand over the grates for only 6-8 seconds.
9. After about 90 minutes, flip the bird to skin side down and continue to cook for 30ish minutes, until the internal temp of the breast is 165F and the quarters are 175-180.
10. Remove the birds from the grill, allow to rest for about 10 minutes, then carve and serve, ENJOY!
Equipment used:
Sunterra Argentine Brasero Grill
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