Transform Your Dinner Game with this Spatchco*ck Heroine Chicken Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

How do you butcher a cooked Spatchco*ck chicken? ›

Breaking down a cooked spatchco*cked chicken is incredibly easy. Because many of the connecting bones are now gone, you can simply pull at the base of the thighs to separate the thighs and breasts. The breasts should require nothing more than a cut between them, providing easy portioning for a full meal.

Flip the whole chicken over and turn OFF the middle burner so that the chicken is now in indirect heat. Cook it with the lid closed for 45 minutes to an hour until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F. Rest & serve. Once the chicken is done, let it rest for about 20 minutes before cutting into it and serving it up.

Poultry is often butterflied. Butterflying makes poultry easier to grill or pan-broil. The more specific term spatchco*cking refers to a variation on butterflying that also removes the backbone and possibly the sternum, typically from a smaller bird. Removing the sternum allows the bird to be flattened more fully.

The most common complaint about spatchco*cking is that it “just doesn't look right”.

Not only does spatchco*cking produce a roast chicken in at least 15 minutes less than the time required to prepare an intact roasted bird, but it also results in a more perfectly cooked dish. Who hasn't suffered the age-old issue of overcooked breast meat and undercooked thighs?

THIGHS. Arguably the tastiest part of the chicken, thighs are little parcels of tender, juicy meat from the top of the bird's leg. You can buy them bone in, or bone out, and with the skin on or off. The meat is darker and firmer than the white breast meat and needs slightly longer to cook.

Roast the chicken until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F, about 40 minutes. Let the chicken rest 5 minutes before serving.

Bake uncovered at 425˚F for 45 min or until instant read thermometer reads 160˚F when inserted into thickest part of chicken breast**. Remove form oven and rest uncovered 10 minutes on a cutting board before serving.

You want one side to have direct heat and one to have indirect heat, with the overall temperature at 350 degrees F. Prepare the chicken. Cut your chicken on both sides of the backbone with a pair of good, sharp kitchen shears, and then pull out backbone.

It is very important to marinate chicken whenever you plan to cook with high, direct heat such as grilling or pan searing, as these techniques tend to dry out the meat as it cooks. A marinade is an acidic solution that gets a head start on breaking down the structure of a protein before it is cooked.

What is the secret to juicy chicken? ›

Soak them in a solution of salt and water for about 30 minutes to an hour. This helps the chicken retain moisture during the baking process, resulting in juicier and more tender meat. Marinate the chicken breasts in a flavorful mixture of herbs, spices, and acidic ingredients like yogurt or citrus juice.

Put the pot over medium-high heat and heat the oil to 375 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches, add the chicken pieces to the hot oil, 3 or 4 at a time and fry, turning the pieces occasionally, until evenly golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Cut the back bone from the chicken.

Flip the chicken over so it is breast-side down. Use kitchen shears to cut out the back bone: Starting from the tail end of the chicken, cut along one side of the back bone, then repeat on the other side to remove the backbone.

To butterfly a chicken simply means to slice a boneless chicken breast horizontally almost three-quarters of the way and then opening it out like a book. On the other hand, spatchco*cking a chicken refers to cutting the chicken's back lengthwise down the spine and then flattening it by pressing on the chest.