Spatchcock Chicken

Crispy Skin, Juicy Bird, Less Trouble

Spatchcocking a bird is when you split a bird (chicken, turkey, duck, etc) and butterfly it, roasting it as one large flat piece. You achieve the butterfly by cutting the backbone out and flattening the bird. This is a successful technique because it cooks the bird evenly due to the one layer of heat transfer, the breasts and the legs cook evenly and you can create a very crispy skin. Add to that the ease of this technique and it’s a no-brainer.

I suggest trying this with your Holiday turkey as well (more on that later) but first, master the simple chicken.

The steps are simple:

1. Cut the backbone

2. Flatten the bird on a roasted pan and rack

3. Salt the bird (dry brine)

4. Rub garlic herb oil all over the bird (under the skin especially)

5. Roast

Cutting the Bird

Cut the backbone out with scissors or a paring knife

After you cut the backbone out, save it for stock

Flip the bird, press down on the breast plate and salt it

A note on brining the bird:

I have spoken at length in the past about brining a bird. It is a mixture of salt, sugar, and water which pumps the bird with moisture and seasoning by way of the overnight salt brine. I have converted into a fan of using the dry brine method solely for the purpose of achieving a crispier exterior. You can salt the bird overnight absent the moisture, and like a steak, the salt achieves the same result from a wet brine through osmosis - it does this without soaking the skin and allows for a beautifully crisp exterior.

For the herb oil

I like the flavor of hard-toasted garlic on my chicken, so I include fresh garlic in this mixture. If you don’t like that flavor, you can replace it with granulated garlic as it’s a bit softer on the roast. You can also replace any of the herbs here. I don’t like to use whole butter in this mix under the skin as the moisture in the butter releases during the cooking process which inhibits the browning of the skin. Instead, I use a neutral-flavored oil that has a higher smoke point (and isn’t a seed oil) - Avocado oil.

2 Tablespoon avocado oil

1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme

1 teaspoon freshly chopped rosemary

1 teaspoon freshly chopped chives

1 teaspoon freshly chopped sage

1 teaspoon freshly chopped parsley

2 garlic cloves minced

Instructions:

After the bird has dry brined for at least a few hours (ideally ovenight uncovered) you can rub the herb/garlic oil all over the burd and under the skin.

At this point, place the bird in a 400F oven and roast for 25 minutes, then turn the pan and roast for another 25-30 minutes. You will need a themometer at this point. You want the breast to read 150-155F and the legs to hit around 170F. Since the heat hits the outside of the pan faster than the inside, the legs will cook quicker than the breasts, hence the even cooking time.

At this point, allow the bird to rest before slicing.