How to Spatchcock a Chicken
Y’all might have to go full on viking on this one.
I found out a few years ago that Bud’s side of the family is descended from the Nordic region. It made sense to me as soon as I heard it. Bud was tall and had these stunning, beautiful sky blue eyes and platinum blonde hair as a boy. It also made a lot of sense to me because even though I may seem like a sweet and sassy Southern girl, in the deepest part of my soul, I have a warrior’s spirit. I’m a little rough on things and I used to be embarrassed about that but now I just embrace it as part of my DNA (inner viking warrior princess) and move on. I enjoy making this recipe, not only because it’s delicious, but because it requires me to be rough. I feel like I need to let out a rebel yell when I start cutting and breaking bones.
I still run into people that do not know what a spatchcocked chicken is. They almost always say “what’s that?” Most people know what a butterflied chicken is and that seems to be a little gentler phrasing for the faint of heart. In fact, when I told my sweet sister I was going to spatchcock a turkey and grill it for Thanksgiving, she said “oh, I don’t like the sound of that word” which sent me into a fit of giggles. For those of you that know both of us, she’s the sweet one, so of course she didn’t like the sound of that word and her naughty sister just had to say it. Ha!
I’ve been interested in trying this technique for quite some time since seeing Nom Nom Paleo’s post about it. Michelle Tam is an inspiration! I was a little intimidated by the technique at first, but now that I’ve done it quite a few times and even spatchcocked a few turkeys, I encourage you to give it a try. The bird cooks faster and more evenly and it turns out just perfect every time. You can also cook the chicken in the oven. I like using the grill because it frees up my oven, keeps the house cool and my husband will keep an eagle eye on it. Now, when you are trying this for the first time, please don’t spatchcock a turkey. It’s much harder to cut through the bones and sharp kitchen shears are an absolute must. Practice on smaller birds first, okay? If you start with a turkey, you could get really frustrated and completely lose it right there on Thanksgiving Day. Please don’t do that. Trust me, practice on a chicken first. My first attempt was with just my immediate family here so if it didn’t work out, there was no pressure and we would still have a good meal, pretty or not. I’ll tell you though, I’ve never had this not turn out. It’s always sheer perfection and everyone loves it! So don’t be intimidated and give it a try! For the absolute tastiest bird, brine it first. I rarely do that with a chicken, but it’s a must with a turkey. So, get ready to tap into your inner viking spirit! We are going to be breaking some bones folks!
Here’s what you’ll need:
INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken – I used a 7 lb organic chicken
1 Tablespoon of olive oil or avocado oil
3 Tablespoons of butter
Dry seasoning:
1.5 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Lawry’s lemon pepper seasoning
1 teaspoon of Tony Chachere's seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
TOOLS
Cutting board (these are the ones I like to use!)
Pastry Brush
Kitchen Scissors (these are my favorites)
Flip the bird breast side down. Grab the tail feather nub and cut down each side of the spine. Sometimes I turn it and start again from the neck cavity and meet in the middle. It just depends on how my scissors are handling the cut. I find that short cuts work better.
Kalima....Kalima....Yes, remove that spine and save it for some homemade bone broth. I usually have a container handy and put the excess parts in the freezer for when I want to make bone broth.
Flip the bird back over and with a sharp knife, score the breastbone about 3-4 times. There is a tough membrane there and the scoring will help with the next step.
Flip the bird so the breast side is up. Put your hand over the breastbone like you are administering CPR and crack that sucker! You’ll hear the satisfying snap and your bird should be lying pretty flat at this point and guess what? You just spatchcocked a chicken!
Now, lift the skin a little and place little pats of butter under the skin. You can work the pats of butter around without having to keep your hand in there the whole time. I also sprinkle some of my dry seasoning blend under the skin.
Make sure you really get them up in there, don’t be afraid to detach the skin so you can have full coverage across the entire chicken!
Brush the skin with the oil and sprinkle the remaining seasonings all over the bird.
Don’t be shy about this step! Spice it up!
Have your grill preheated to 350 degrees. Coat your grill with avocado oil or another oil with a high smoke point. (I like this one!)
Liberally soak a paper towel with the oil and use tongs to quickly rub it around the grill. I know, that sounds a little scary, huh? It always makes me a little nervous too, but trust me, work quickly and your paper towel may turn a little black, but shouldn’t flame up.
Flip your bird breast side down onto the grill and cook for 10 minutes. Leave it alone and let it do its thing – trust me. This will sear the skin and keep the breast meat juicy. When flipping the chicken, I use a large spatula to get under it and use the tongs to help me flip the entire chicken in one fell swoop.
Once you flip the chicken on its back, lower your temperature to 325 degrees and cook it undisturbed until the inner temperature reaches 165 degrees. This usually takes about 60-75 minutes for me. If your grill runs hot, it could cook a lot quicker. Just check it every 30 minutes or so to make sure it’s not getting overdone. If you’re cooking a turkey, it will probably take about 2 hours. I always start checking it after an hour.
While the chicken is cooking on the grill, you’ll have plenty of time to make any side dishes you want. Our family favorites are roasted sweet potatoes with onions and garlic and roasted asparagus or brussel sprouts. I’ll be posting my recipes for those side dishes soon. Enjoy!
Spatchcock Chicken
1 whole chicken – I used a 7 lb organic chicken
1 Tablespoon of olive oil or avocado oil
3 Tablespoons of butter
Dry seasoning:
1.5 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Lawry’s lemon pepper seasoning
1 teaspoon of Tony Chachere's seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
Tools:
Cutting board (these are the ones I like to use!)
Pastry Brush
Kitchen Scissors (these are my favorites)
Directions:
Flip the bird breast side down and grab the tail feather nub and cut down each side of the spine. Sometimes I turn it and start again from the neck cavity and meet in the middle. It just depends on how my scissors are handling the cut. I find that short cuts work better.
Remove the spine and save for bone broth.
Flip the bird back over and with a sharp knife, score the breastbone about three times through the tough membrane.
Flip the bird so the breast side is up. Put your hand over the breastbone like you are administering CPR and push down on it until you hear that satisfying snap. Your bird should be lying pretty flat at this point.
Now, lift the skin a little and place little pats of butter under the skin. You can work the pats of butter around without having to keep your hand in there the whole time. Just shimmy them around so you have several on each breast and one or two in the thigh and leg area. I also sprinkle some of my dry seasoning blend under the skin. Brush the skin with the avocado oil and sprinkle the remaining seasonings all over the bird.
Have your grill preheated to 350 degrees. Coat your grill with avocado oil or another oil with a high smoke point. I like this one. Just soak a paper towel and use tongs to quickly rub it around the grill.
Flip your bird breast side down onto the grill and cook undisturbed for 10 minutes. This will sear the skin and keep the breast meat juicy. Once you flip the chicken on its back, lower your temperature to 325 degrees and cook it undisturbed until the inner temperature reaches 165 degrees. This usually takes about 60-75 minutes for me. If your grill runs hot, it could cook a lot quicker. Just check it every 30 minutes or so to make sure it’s not getting overdone and when it’s getting close, check it more often.
Get ready to dig in and enjoy! It’s going to be juicy and delicious!