Spatchcocking will help whole chickens cook faster and get crispier skin. Here's how to do it, plus a basic recipe for roasting a spatchcocked chicken. Comments We independently select these products—if you buy from one of
our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing. Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Cyd McDowell Of all the techniques for preparing chicken I learned in culinary school, spatchcocking is the one I return to the most. Sure, it’s great to know how to break down a whole chicken, but nothing compares to the satisfaction that spatchcocking provides. The process is simple — remove the chicken’s backbone and then flatten the bird — and immensely rewarding. Spatchcocked chickens roast faster, are easier to coat with flavorful dry rub, and yield lots of crispy skin (arguably the best part of a roast chicken). Luckily, you don’t need a culinary school degree to spatchcock. In fact, you hardly need a knife! Here’s a step-by-step guide to to spatchcocking a chicken, plus a super-simple recipe for roasting it, too. Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Cyd McDowell Spatchcocking is the process of removing the backbone of a chicken or turkey (or any other bird you’re cooking) so it lies flat. It’s also called butterflying, since the bird is split down the middle and opened up like the wings of a butterfly. This technique is used a lot in grilling and when roasting large poultry like turkeys, because spatchcocking helps large birds cook faster. Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Cyd McDowell Do I Need Special Tools for Spatchcocking?For spatchcocking, you need a large plastic cutting board, a chef’s knife, and a pair of sturdy kitchen shears that are easy to clean. Kitchn’s Tools Editor Riddley recommends J.A. Henckels shears. “I love the price point and the quality,” she says. “They’re very sharp and can also be taken apart, plus they’re dishwasher-safe.” How to Spatchcock a ChickenFor your everyday broiler-fryer chicken, spatchcocking requires little more than a raw chicken and a sturdy pair of scissors. After patting the chicken dry with a paper towel, position the chicken breast-side down and remove the backbone by cutting down either side of it. With a good pair of shears, you should have no problem cutting through, but you might need to use a little extra muscle when you get to the thigh-to-backbone connection. Once the backbone is removed, you can flip over the bird and flatten it: You can use two hands to press directly down on the breast of the chicken (skin-side up), but I also learned from my friend and chicken cookbook author Stacie Billis that if you cut two small slits on either side of the breast bones (see the photos below) the chicken will get even flatter. And a flatter chicken will cook faster! After butterflying, you can cook the chicken however you like, or follow the roasting directions below. As for that backbone, stash it in the freezer to use in a future batch of stock. Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Cyd McDowell How to Cook a Spatchcocked ChickenYou can use your favorite recipe for roasted, grilled, or baked whole chicken, but just remember that the chicken will cook faster. Here, we’ve provided instructions for an easy roast chicken, which cooks in about 40 to 45 minutes in a 425°F oven. Roasting the butterflied chicken on a metal rack helps the oven’s hot air cook the chicken from all sides and makes the skin extra crispy. Other Spatchcocked Chicken Recipes to TryCredit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Cyd McDowell Spatchcocking will help whole chickens cook faster and get crispier skin. Here's how to do it, plus a basic recipe for roasting a spatchcocked chicken. Ingredients
Equipment
Instructions
Recipe NotesMake ahead: You can spatchock the chicken up to 3 days in advance. Refrigerate tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. Do you flip spatchcock chicken when cooking?It's important to flip your spatchcock chicken on the grill so it cooks evenly and chars on both sides. Use a good pair of tongs or even this large spatula that's so worth it!
At what temperature is a spatchcock chicken done?We are looking for an internal temperature of 165° degrees and some crispy skin on the exterior. The higher grill temp of 325° degrees will help crisp things up. After about an hour, your bird will start to darken. Once we have reached 165 internally, it's time to pull the bird from the smoker and let it rest.
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