Originally posted October 26, 2011

basic roast chicken (spatchcocked)

basic roast chicken (spatchcocked) by joanie

Spatchcocking is all the rage. Even my mom wants to do it. When Diana married Prince Charles, my mom used to mail me newspaper clippings of her. She thought her hairstyle would be nice on me. Now she emails me articles about spatchcocking.

So I did it. I spatchcocked a chicken. And it was good. It wasn't life-changing, but there are solid reasons why you want to do it anyway. First, let's be clear: spatchcocking a chicken just means you're butterflying it by removing the backbone and flattening it by removing the breastbone. Supposedly the chicken cooks more evenly. I would wholeheartedly agree. I was pretty confident that the whole thing was done by the time the breast turned golden brown. Supposedly it cooks faster, too. This is also true. I shaved about 15 minutes off my total time.

So here's how to do it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGKLtbiUflk

I recommend super sharp shears for removing the backbone. I have these, and they were superb:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EN276W

Don't forget to save that backbone for stock!

Ingredients

  • 4 lb chicken
  • 1 tbsp kosher or sea salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
6 servings

Directions

Preheat oven to 450ยบ.

Wash and dry the chicken inside and out. Turn it breast-side down. Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone to remove it. Spread the chicken open. Find the cartilage above the breast bone. Slice it lengthwise and along both sides of the breast bone. Flatten the chicken to pop out the bone, and then work your finger underneath both sides of the cartilage to loosen it from the flesh. Pull up to remove it and the breast bone. Turn the bird breast-side up and flatten. Transfer it breast-side up to a cast-iron skillet.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place on the middle rack in the oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove and let sit for 10 minutes before carving and serving.

1 hour

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