Flattened chicken, aka spatchcocked chicken is a great way to cook a chicken in a hurry. Using a cleaver, or kitchen shears, cut the backbone apart, and spread the chicken on a cutting board.Press down on the breast to flatten it, or cut the breastbone, whichever is easiest. The chicken in the picture is not huge (about 2.5 pounds) and took about 45 minutes to cook on the barbecue.