What is spatchcocking and why we do it?
Spatchcocking is a method of preparing a whole chicken prior to cooking it. It begins by first removing the chicken’s backbone. Then the chicken is opened up and pressure is applied to the backside of the chicken breasts until the center breast bone is snapped and the entire chicken lays flat. It’s really as simple as that. And it’s not a technique that only works with chicken as you can easily apply it with any other type of poultry whether it be turkeys, ducks, or even geese.
But why should anyone go through all of the trouble of removing a chickens backbone anyways?
First, a spatchcocked chicken gives us a lot more control over cooking the different parts of the chicken. For example, if you are grilling a spatchcocked chicken then I will often suggest that you place the thigh/leg side closer to the source of heat. By doing so you are allowing the breast to cook at a lower temperature compared to the thighs. This means you will no longer have to worry about having either undercooked thighs or overcooked/dry breasts.
The second reason, and arguably the main reason why someone would want to spatchcock a chicken is that it shortens the cooking time. I mean It’s really a simple concept, by flattening out the chicken you are creating more surface area. And that extra surface area means more of the chicken is being exposed to direct heat and thus less cooking time. So while a whole chicken normally might take 2 hours to cook, a chicken that’s been spatchcocked can be cooked in as little as an hour or less. I mean who doesn’t love the sound of that!
So if you are ready then let’s spatchcock our chicken.
How to spatchcock a chicken
For starters, we are going to need a pair of good kitchen shears
1. Remove the neck and giblets from the chicken, and wash out the interior.
2. Place the chicken on a cutting board with it’s breast-side down.
3. Starting at the tail of the chicken cut along the entire length of the backbone all the way to the neck.
If you are concerned that you aren’t making the right cut then go slowly, the kitchen sheers should naturally cut right along the backbone. Once you’ve completed this cut all the way then you simply need to repeat the step on the other side of the backbone.
Then with the backbone removed either toss it out or save it to make chicken stock.
4. Open up the chicken and press down on the two sides of the breast until the breast bone snaps.
5. That’s it, you now have a spatchcocked chicken.
