As a blogger, people often ask me what blogs I follow. There are tons of great blogs that I know and love, but one of the first I always mention is And Here We Are. It’s written by Ariana Mullins. She and her family are Americans living in England (soon to be moving to Spain).
I love reading about Ariana’s lifestyle because she is in love with real food. To get free-range eggs, she grabs her egg cartons and takes a walk – the eggs are left outside a lovely home and she just puts her money in the mail slot. She frequents farmer’s markets and butcher shops. Ariana has a backyard garden, and she is an avid forager. I’ve learned so much from her!
Ariana is the one that taught me to spatchcock chicken! Not only how to spatchcock, but what the heck spatchcock is. I had no idea. Simply, it means to butterfly.
In her book, And Here We Are At the Table, she explains, “Spatchcocking is basically splitting open and flattening out a bird for broiling, grilling or barbecuing. This speeds up the cooking time and ensures more even cooking. I also find that it produces a much juicier chicken!”
I’m pretty adept at cutting up a chicken, but I wasn’t so sure about this spatchcock thing. But, pshaw, it was a pieca’ cake.
How to Spatchcock Chicken
To begin, place your chicken on a cutting board, breast side down.
Now, using a knife, or heavy duty kitchen shears, remove the backbone by first cutting down one side of it, and then the other. You’re almost done.
Now spin your cutting board around so that the legs are facing away from you, and find the cartilage where the breast bone starts. Make a slice through the cartilage, and then use your hands to spread the chicken apart.
The breastbone will pop up, which is just enough to allow the bird to be spread flat. The breast bone may be removed if desired, but it’s not necessary.
This video is well done and is a great demonstration on how to spatchcock chicken.
Smokey Turmeric Spatchcock Chicken
And now the exciting part! What to do with that spatchcock chicken. I used Ariana’s recipe for Smokey Turmeric Spatchcock Chicken from her book, And Here We Are At the Table. It’s superb!
Be sure to check out Ariana’s new cookbook And Here We Are At the Table. It has 80 wonderful recipes from Ariana’s travels around the world – all naturally grain-free.
You’ll find more than recipes here. Ariana is a great storyteller and having lived and traveled around the world, she has many to tell. You’ll be as delighted in her and her family as I am!
Thank you for visiting Learning And Yearning. May "the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." Num 6:24-26
Sarah Auzina says
I made spatchcock Cornish hens last week for my wife’s birthday, I’m betting it’s even easier with birds bigger than 1 pound each!
Susanne says
This looks very interesting! I’ll have to try this soon. Thanks for sharing. =)
kiley says
Yes
Rust says
I am definitely going to try my hand at spatchcocking a chicken. Wonderful tutorial!
Ghada says
Yes
Avis Peterson says
First time I tried to cut up a chicken, I was 20 years old. It was not a pleasant experience. I’ve improved from then by no longer becoming ill.
Cheers,
izzi~avis
Sarah says
I’ve always been afraid to try spatchcocking but I may try it out now! 🙂
Liz A says
This seems much more intimidating than just rinsing and seasoning and throwing the whole thing in the oven, but if it makes the cooking quicker and the chicken juicier, I’ll give it a try! The book looks like fun!
🙂
Jonnie says
Interesting, and very useful. Thank you for posting this, it will do two good things. Making grilling chicken easier, and giving my granddaughters a new word to torment their mother with.
Sue D says
Yes, I will definitely give this a try.
Anne Marie Carter says
Yes, I plan on trying this on my BBQ. It looks like the chicken will cook more evenly.
Jeanette G. says
I’ve never heard of the term but I’ve butterflied chicken breasts before. lol I will have to try it on a bigger whole bird and see how it turns out.
Brenda H says
I am going to give this a try.
Joan Kubes says
Yes I will try to spatchcock chicken for the grill.
Krista says
Neat…now I’ve got to get me a good chicken.
Heike Woolard says
I did this with my turkeys last year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each was about 14 lbs and took about 1 hour and 15 minutes. These were the best turkeys we have ever had.
Deanna says
I would love to give spatchcock a try…but my kids freak out if their dinner looks anything like a real animal…so I don’t know when they’ll grow out of that…hopefully soon!!!!
Danielle says
I am definitely going to be doing this on the grill! I have seen this method before, but I didn’t know what it was called. Awesome giveaway! The cookbook looks fantastic, I am so going to be making the “Black Cherry Creme Fraishe ice cream”!! I am drooling..hahaha
Thank you for the opportunity to win!-Danielle
Norma says
I’m sorry. I was all into your website and about to bookmark, but alas… another grain-free, gluten-free site.
I don’t have coeliac disease and no one I know does either. No one else needs to eat gluten-free. I’m just sick to death of all the gluten-free madness.
Sorry. I don’t mean to be rude, but I felt you should know. There’s lots of us out here…
carol pecor says
totally want to win
carol pecor says
forgot to mention i already have spatchcocked a chicken.
Gary K says
Going to be going more low carb, so this could help.
Debbie says
I tried this once…my results were nowhere near as good looking as yours…guess I will have to practice! Great directions…Thanks!
Brenna says
I’ve been roasting a whole chicken every week now for awhile & would love to know how to cut up a chicken properly for other dishes!
kathy downey says
I sure do I think we would love it
Janice Yeagle says
I think this is a great idea to try.
Sarah says
I’ve never heard of spatchcook before now! Thank you for sharing. Excited to try 🙂
Yesenia Hernandez says
I’ve tried spatchcock turkey and it cooked so well!
Annette says
I’m excited to try spatchcock chicken. Thanks for the lesson.