Friday, December 2, 2011

Spatchcocked again...

I love this technique. I was a little skeptical that it would take a lot less time to cook, but it worked. Definitely cut the cooking time down a lot, and it was perfectly juicy and cooked through. My normal my roast chicken is iffy. Even with the silly popup timer and an instant read, my roast chicken most of the time comes in two styles, overcooked and undercooked. But not any more. Perfectly done.

Decided to be somewhat adventurous this time and took out the breast bone and the ribs. Pounded it a little, too. Flat chicken. Perfectly roasted. Easy to serve and slice. This recipe from Food52 had fantastic flavor. I adapted it a little, using lemon juice, leeks and a pinch of crushed red pepper in the compound butter, and roasted teeny potatoes in the pan to soak up the flavors.



And on the bright side, yesterday's dinner is today's pulled chicken sandwich.





Spatchcocked Roast Chicken with Lemon and Leek Compound Butter
Source: Food52

4 tablespoons softened butter
zest and juice of one lemon
1 leek, sliced, white part only
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves, roughly chopped (I used dried)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
big pinch of crushed red pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 large chicken

For the compound butter
In a food processor, combine the butter, lemon zest, juice, garlic, thyme, mustard, leek, slat and pepper.

For the chicken:
Preheat the oven to 425° F.

Remove the gizzards from the chicken and discard. Rinse the chicken. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and set it on a cutting board. Flip it onto its breast and using kitchen shears, remove the backbone by cutting carefully down each side of the bone. The entire inside of the chicken will be exposed when you’re finished. You can also pull out the breast bone, if you want to, or flip the chicken over and press down hard to crack it, the chicken will lay flatter this way.

Sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper, and then flip the chicken over so that it lies flat. Trim any excess deposits of fat from around the cavity and tail end. Gently slide your fingers under the skin and ease it away from the meat, around both sides of the breast and both thighs and legs. Carefully smear the compound butter, underneath the skin, being careful not to tear, if you can. Reserve about a tablespoon of the butter, and then spread the reserved butter evenly over the skin, followed by a sprinkle of more salt and pepper.

Lay the chicken flat in a shallow roasting pan just large enough to accommodate it.

 Roast for about 30 minutes, then baste. Decrease the heat to 375°. Put potatoes or whatever vegetables you like around the chicken to roast. Cook for another 30 minutes, basting once again in the middle, and continue to roast until the chicken is done. Let the chicken sit for a few minutes before carving; serve with the pan juices, the potatoes and some crusty bread for sopping up the juices.


Joining 
Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 
AND




54 comments:

  1. I want to try making chicken this way. It looks difficult to cut but I guess once I try it I won't have trouble. It does seem like it will cook more evenly. Thank you for this post.

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  2. I like this technique. I remove the backbone, flatten the chicken, and it roasts quickly and evenly.
    I call it 'flat, roast chicken.' However, now I'll have a name to go with it! :D

    But I'll tell you Carol, the name, in this case, does not fit the luscious dinner photo!

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  3. Needing to get a meal on the table in a hurry when the kids were small/I was working, spatchcocking was the easiest way to do it before we all ended up cranky! I haven't done it in years...

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  4. This is a great way to roast a chicken! You are so right about this being an easy way to slice and serve the chicken. I'm going to a Pampered Chef party tonight and plan to buy a new pair of poultry shears just for this technique.

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  5. This sounds amazingly delicious! I had never pounded chicken until a few months ago - I did this with the bone-in breasts. They were amazing and like you said, perfectly evenly cooked!

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  6. The crusty bits look inviting, making me salivate

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  7. OMG! why I came here? Iam now hungry!!

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  8. That chicken looks absolutely delicious! I haven't met a roast chicken I didn't like.

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  9. The chicken looks so delicious and moist and ready to eat!!! I have never tried to do a chicken like this! And I love the potatoes roasting with it! Yummy!

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  10. You left a 'c' out of cock on your title!!! Knew you would want to know!!
    Looks delicious..well else will you be trying to spatchcock in the future??? ME

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  11. I've got a spatchcock recipe coming up in a couple weeks. I did it with game hens, so did not remove the breast bone, but saw someone do it on TV so I know how. I loved making the dish!
    This looks wonderful, Carol.

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  12. hey you (ME) THANKS :) I fixed it!

    Thanks for the nice comments! Have to say that butterflying the chicken turned out to be a lot easier than I first thought.

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  13. I love love love this Carol. The chicken and potatoes are just delicios and a great combo. I sure would make this soon.

    Have a great weekend.

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  14. I can't imagine getting a chicken with an inbuilt timer. It sounds weird! Is this normal for the USA?

    Deboned chicken is nice; we love it. For roast chicken, I cook a 2kg chicken at 250C for 75 minutes. I baste at 50 mins and at 65 mins. Perfect every time.

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  15. This sounds like a great recipe with the lemon, leek and garlic butter! Love what you did with the leftovers too :) I've got to get spatchcocking.

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  16. I have good luck with roasting, but I have always wanted to try this. Yay for you for giving it a go. This sounds wonderful. Oh, and pulled chicken sandwiches? Brilliant use of leftovers.

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  17. Roasted chicken is my favourite. I had a cut up chicken and was surprised how well it roasted.

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  18. TBG would love this one! No pale looking chicken here. Your sandwich looks and sounds very tasty too.

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  19. I've never had the courage to do spatchcocked chicken. I need to give it a try. Love any meal that can also be a second meal. THe chicken is beautiful.

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  20. I am totally unfamiliar with this technique...the chicken turned out really lovely looking!

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  21. She's a beauty! What I'm taking away from this one is adding leek to the butter mix. Typically limit it to citrus and herbs, so it'll be nice to try something new.

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  22. Roasted chicken with little potatoes in the bottom of the pan to soak up all the wonderful juices...yummy! Reminds me of buying a rotisserie chicken in France with a side of the potatoes cooking beneath the spit...fabulous! Now I am hungry! Happy weekend!...hugs...Debbie

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  23. Your are getting good at de-boning the chicken, Carol! I saw Mario Batalli do this technique and he placed a foil covered brick on top as it cooks to squash down the chicken even more. I love the sound of leeks and hot pepper in ten compound butter.

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  24. Seriously there is nothing better than a roast chicken. Love your variation with lemon and leeks. Definitely going to have to keep it in mind since I'm guilty of rubbing it with a bit of olive oil and poultry seasoning

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  25. Looks beautiful and I'm sure tastes even better. I haven't done a whole chicken in a long while. Time to get a bird!

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  26. I am just a so-so cook, but every time I come here, I learn so many things and new techniques.

    Delicious day after meal too!

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  27. I have been seeing chickens prepared this way at the grocery store, now I want to give it a try. Thanks so much for the nudge.

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  28. It looks really delicious!Have a great week,dear Carol!

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  29. I really need to spatchcock a chicken! :)

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  30. I've never heard of 'spatchcocking' a chicken, but it sure looks yummy. I like the compounded butter too.

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  31. It looks and sounds delicious. My hubby has been cooking lately and I honestly can not see him taking the bones out of the chicken before cooking it. But, you never know. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Have a great week!

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  32. Sounds really good. Can never have too many ways to cook a chicken!

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  33. I'll definitely bookmark this recipe. The lemon and leek butter sounds like a great addition!

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  34. This sounds like such a delicious dish Carol!! I love lemon chicken but this is stepping it up several notches.

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  35. I am filing this recipe away, it sounds delicious. I love all shortcuts but only if the final results is tasty. I can tell by your pics its a great dish. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

    ~Emily
    The French Hutch

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  36. Oh I really want to try this and soon. It looks a little flat, but it sounds delicious. Are you able to use the backbone for chicken stock or not?

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  37. Why not use this again it's wonderful!! love this and it looks SO delicious:)
    Mary x

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  38. Thanks for all the nice comments!

    @ Vee, yes, I froze the backbone for stock. I save the tips of the wings, too, for stock.

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  39. Mhhh....that looks very lecker!
    Have a wonderful week,
    Markus

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  40. Dear Carol, Looks absolutely fantastic!! Love having the leftover too to create another great meal. Blessings, Catherine xo

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  41. I just kind of love saying the word spatchcocked. Whoever came up with that was a genius.

    And that compound butter? doubly genius.

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  42. SO intimidating!! ;) But I love the idea of leftover BBQ sandwiches. One day when I'm feeling more grown up (than 30) I'll work up to it...

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  43. I have spatchcocked a chicken once and really enjoyed the finished product. The leftover chicken sandwich looks tasty too!

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  44. Your chicken looks delicious! There was an article in the "Chicago Tribune" roasting a turkey with this method. Sounds great and I must give it a try. Great way with the leftovers too!

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  45. Pulled chicken sounds good, never made that!

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  46. Oooh, does that look delicious!!!!
    Come back & visit, I'm having a give-away!

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  47. Hi Carol, the chicken looks fantastic!As good as that pulled chicken sandwich sounds,I don't think I'd be getting any leftovers...Have a great week!

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  48. I have been wanting to do this for a long time; your recipe is inspiring me; sure looks good.
    Rita

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  49. This would make the most perfect weeknight meal. I LOVE the sound of the leek compound butter. Wow! Your chicken is really gorgeously cooked and looks magazine cover worthy.

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  50. You had me at chicken and lemon! I love this combination! I'm getting hungry for it too after reading your post! Happy holidays! ♥

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  51. I'd been working up my courage to spatchcock a chicken, and I finally did it... not so hard after all! Actually rather fun.

    I like that you don't have to flip it halfway in order to get the skin crispy, because it's all on one side now :)

    I forgot to turn down the temp, ha, but it worked out beautifully anyway. I had a pretty big bird so it was fine. I roasted it for a total of 1 hour, 10 minutes-- covering it with tinfoil at the 30-minute mark.

    Definitely didn't follow the recipe for the compound butter, but used it as inspiration: 1/4 cup butter, 1 tablespoon Dijon, a bunch of sliced green onions, a big pinch of red pepper flakes, some rosemary and basil. Delicious.

    Thanks so very much. I will be doing this from now on.

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    Replies
    1. I felt the same way, took me a long time to get the nerve but now it's the way I usually roast chicken these days. I'm so glad it worked out for you. I never remember to turn down the heat and half the time I forget and just roast it at 350 anyway. Still quicker than roasting it whole.

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