Cooking Explained: Spatchcock(ing) Chicken

Spatchcock [?spæt??k?k]

No, you do not have to run and get the soap to wash out your kid’s mouth when they say it. You can even say it in public – alternating various levels of voice to get a real rise out of people. (Perhaps they may even give you a wider berth, thinking you have gone nutty!)

I have no idea where the word originated, but rumor has it that it is a bastardization of “spitchcocking” – grilling an eel that has been split down the middle for easier cooking. I am not sure of the origin, but I am sure that after our little demonstration today, you will be a pro at this technique.

First, let us talk about what we are trying to accomplish, and why it is better to cook the bird this way.

Spatchcocking is a fantastic way to prepare a bird for grilling. The idea is to even out the cooking surface of the bird so that the meat cooks evenly. The advantage is that the thickness of the bird will remain uniform throughout, and you will have plump, succulent, juicy breasts at the same time as you will have tender, silky, buttery legs and thighs.

The method is usually used with game birds, after you have brought it down with your gun. Instead of trying to pick feathers and shot out of the bird, we will translate it to the next best thing, a free-range organic chicken. There are a lot of people out there opposed to killing, but somehow messing up a bird that is already dead is okay. Besides, why would you want to crack your teeth open with shot?

You can use this on any fowl, and in any cooking method. The uniform size and shape lends itself well to the cooking process. I might suggest it for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but you would probably get a few road kill comments. Not worth it at that point!

Here is how:

Don’t balk at the cost though, it is better than picking the feathers off yourself!

Grab a pair of poultry shears. They will work the best here. You could use a pair of regular scissors though. Don’t tell my wife I told you that. I am in enough trouble using these scissors as it is!

The goal is to cut out the back bone, so follow the spine up with your scissors.

Pry open the carcass, and slip your scissors through the wishbone and cut it. Don’t worry about taking it out, the goal is to allow the meat to lie flat.

A lot of people don’t do this. It is one of those things that drives me bonkers. Why would you not put salt here? It doesn’t come seasoned, does it? Why should only one side of the chicken taste good?

Sorry, I have been watching too much Dexter as of late… It does make for a nice presentation though?

Some may question why I did not put the olive oil on the other side. Well, if I did that, it would just drip down. No sense in that. Season liberally.

Doesn’t that look nice? I was going to grill the chicken to show what it would be like, but then Mother Nature decided to punish me and open the skies up. Buckets of rain crashed down and the ground soaked it up like a parched sponge in a desert. Great for the garden, not so much for this demonstration. No problem, this method lends well to other forms of cooking too.

Into the oven it went. I won’t get into specifics about what temperature, etc. That would be a recipe, and this is a method post. I will show you the end result though:

I didn’t even want to wait to pull it out of the oven first. I had to snap the picture. A juicy, awesome roasted bird, in a fraction of the time. Start to finish, it was 30 minutes.

I would show you what it looked like after, but alas, nothing left. Make it for your family, and you will be blessed with my problem as well.

Tagged as: bird, chicken, cooking, explained, game, method, quick, roasted, spatchcocking