By Father's Day. Three years now of cooking and being cooked for, of holding the two roles — father and son, the one who feeds and the one who was fed — in the same body on the same day. The kids made me cards. Luc's: a gift card to a sporting goods store, accompanied by a note that said, "Dad, thanks for being cool about the door thing." The door thing. His door. His closed door. He sees me seeing it, and he's thanking me for letting it close. Thirteen, cher. Thirteen is when they start thanking you for the things that hurt.
Colette's card was a watercolor — a painting of the pit, with smoke curling up and the backyard green behind it. She's graduated from colored pencils to watercolors, and the painting was genuinely beautiful, the kind of thing you'd frame even if your daughter hadn't painted it, and the kind of thing you frame twice as fast because she did. Rémy's card: "DAD YOU ARE MY BEST FREND" in orange marker, with a drawing of a fish. The fish is named Tommy. Rémy named a fish after me. I am honored and slightly concerned about what this says about how he sees me.
I called Mama. Talked to her about Joey. She said the fig tree is loaded again — third year of producing, biggest crop yet. She said Pierre came by to mow the lawn. She said she's been thinking about painting the cottage — "it's fading, the yellow" — and I said I'd come down to help. The cottage has been yellow since before I was born. The yellow is non-negotiable. The yellow is identity.
Grilled a whole spatchcocked chicken for dinner — butterflied, flattened, seasoned with Cajun spice, grilled over direct heat on the pit. Spatchcocking is the move that changed my chicken game: the bird cooks faster, more evenly, and the skin gets crispier because more of it touches the heat. Twenty-five minutes on the grill instead of four hours in the smoker. Same flavor. Different method. Evolution. The food evolves the way the family evolves: same ingredients, new configurations, always moving, always becoming.
So after the cards were read and the fish named Tommy was properly acknowledged, I fired up the pit and did what felt right — a whole bird, butterflied and pressed flat, rubbed down with Cajun spice the way my father would’ve done it if he’d ever had the patience to skip the smoker. Twenty-five minutes of direct heat, the skin crackling while the kids set the table without being asked. Here’s the recipe, if you’re ready to let your chicken game evolve too.
Cajun Spatchcocked Grilled Chicken
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (4 to 5 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 lemon, halved
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Spatchcock the chicken. Place the chicken breast-side down on a cutting board. Using sharp kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone and remove it. Flip the chicken breast-side up and press down firmly on the breastbone with the heel of your hand until it cracks flat.
- Season generously. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Drizzle both sides with olive oil. In a small bowl, combine the Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Rub the spice mixture evenly over both sides of the bird, working it under the skin where you can.
- Preheat the grill. Heat your grill to medium-high, around 400–425°F. Clean and oil the grates well to prevent sticking.
- Grill skin-side down first. Place the chicken skin-side down over direct heat. Close the lid and grill for 12 to 15 minutes until the skin is deeply golden and crisp, checking occasionally to manage flare-ups.
- Flip and finish. Flip the chicken and continue grilling with the lid closed for another 10 to 12 minutes, until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F.
- Rest and serve. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and brush with melted butter. Squeeze the lemon halves over the top. Let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before carving. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 380 | Protein: 42g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 2g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 680mg