Spatchcocked chicken was something new to us just a week or so ago.
Todd ran across the term while looking through one of the hatchery websites. Strange, the things you learn when you’re looking to buy chicks.
I’ve seen it many times in pictures and it looked good, but I had no idea what it was called and never tried it myself.
The word Spatchcock
Todd and I were talking about this last night. Where on earth did that word come from.
My curiosity got the best of me and I had to look it up.
Apparently, it’s thought to have been an Irish abbreviated term for dispatching the cock. I’m not real sure how that equates, but okay, if you say so.
What is Spatchcocked Chicken
Now that I’ve discovered it, I’m excited to use it more often.
Spatchcock is not only a noun but it’s also a verb. It’s the technique of removing the spine from a full bird in order to lay it flat for cooking.
This not only allows you to season both sides of the bird, but it makes cooking so much easier.
The chicken will lay flat on your grill or pan making it pretty much an even thickness.
This makes cooking SO MUCH faster and the bird is much more evenly cooked.
Why hadn’t I thought of this before???
Grilling a Spatchcocked chicken
This technique makes cooking chicken on the grill a breeze.
We did this last weekend.
Cutting the back out can be a bit of a pain, but it’s not too awful bad. I used a pair of Pampered Chef utility scissors.
Everything I’ve read said to use kitchen shears. But, I don’t have kitchen shears, so I’m not sure if they’d be easier to use or not.
Once you have the back cut out of it, open it up so you’re looking at the inside. In the middle of the breast bone make a small cut lengthwise along the center.
This just allows the breast area to open up fully so that the bird will lay flat.
With just that small cut you can flatten the bird with your hand.
Now you can season the entire bird, inside and out. It’s amazing.
We used Enchanted Herbals Meatloaf Seasoning and then I sprayed it (both sides) with an organic Ghee spray so it wouldn’t stick to the grill.
(Yes, that’s the fine china.)
I know it’s meatloaf seasoning, but it’s so good on so many more things. I’m trying it on everything these days.
Roasted potatoes are the next thing I want to try it on. That sounds so good.
We cooked that entire bird in about 30 to 40 minutes. Todd actually did the cooking so I can’t say exactly, but it was done in no time.
It’s so good.
Did you already know about this amazing technique?
Are we the only ones who didn’t know about this?
If you’ve tried it before, let me know how it worked for you.
What do you season it with? Are there any secrets I haven’t figured out yet?
Do you have another cool way of cooking chicken? If you’d like to share, I love to listen.
If you decide to give this a try, I’d really like to know how it turns out. Let me know in the comments!!