Pollo alla Diavola Toscana sulla Brace

Florence, Tuscany

The 'devil's chicken' of Tuscany: a whole chicken spatchcocked (backbone removed, flattened), pressed under a heavy weight (a brick wrapped in foil — the 'mattone'), grilled over charcoal at very high heat until the skin is charred and crackling-crisp and the interior is just cooked through. Seasoned with salt, black pepper, and chilli (the 'devil' character), and dressed with lemon and fresh rosemary. The weight ensures full contact between skin and grill, achieving an even char. A Florence trattoria standard.

• Flattened whole chicken cooked over indirect heat with maximum skin contact — the same spatchcock technique → Spatchcock chicken on a smoker American · South
• Whole chicken halved and grilled over charcoal with lemon and oregano — the Greek parallel → Kotopoulo scharas (grilled chicken on charcoal) Greek
• Spatchcocked chicken grilled over charcoal with chilli marinade — the most direct Iberian parallel to pollo alla diavola → Frango piri-piri grelhado Portuguese

Shatteringly crisp, charred chicken skin encasing just-cooked meat — the spatchcock mattone technique producing the most satisfying texture contrast in the Florentine trattoria repertoire