How To Spatchcock A Chicken

Spatchcocking (I know...) a chicken is a super-easy way to speed up cooking a whole chicken on a weeknight! It doesn't just help with cooking time though, spatchcocking a chicken promotes even cooking so the dark meat and white meat are cooked at the same time. You don't want dry breasts on your chicken!

This is a pretty simple process and you can do this with any type of poultry.

While you can use a knife for this, I recommend using a good pair of kitchen shears instead. It will be easier and safer. (If you need a pair, Kitchen Shears: https://amzn.to/36ilb9x )

Safety is important, so make sure to put a damp towel under the cutting board. This will keep it from sliding around while you work. That's a good thing to remember for other kitchen tasks to prevent board slippage.

Always good when working with chicken or meant in general to use a pair of gloves.

Start by flipping the bird over. You'll want to identify the backbone of the chicken. It is the bone going right down the middle of the chicken. With your kitchen shears, cut down one side of the backbone. Start at the wings and end at the legs.

You want to keep the shears tight up against the backbone. As we get close to the legs you want to cut the joint of cartilage and not the bone of the leg. Do this down both sides of the backbone. Boom there you, go backbone removed. Don't throw it away though. Store it in a bag in the freezer and save it for stock. You may need to collect a few for a good stock.

Now that the backbone is removed, look for a bit of cartilage just before the breastbone starts. When you find it, snip off that bit. This will allow the chicken to lay flat.

Thats all there is too it!!