If you’ve watched a cooking show on TV (Food Network or Cooking Channel), chances are you’ve seen a chef preparing a chicken in this manner. Butterfly chicken, also known as spatchcock, which refers to the chicken when the backbone is removed is not a difficult thing to do. I’m going to give you an easy, step-by-step tutorial because I know you’ll want to try this. I use this method all the time as the chicken roasts in half the time. Last holiday season, I even spatchcocked a turkey with amazing results. You can scroll down this post to see the recipes I’ve made using this method.
How to Butterfly (Spatchcock) a Whole Chicken – Step by Step
Step 1 – The tools
Just 3 items are needed. A sturdy cutting board, a sharp pairing knife and sharp kitchen shears.
Step 2 – Backbone removal
With the bird breast-side down and the open end of the bird closest to you, grab the end of the backbone. Using the shears, cut down either side of the backbone and remove.
Step 3 – Open up the chicken
Once the backbone is removed, open up the chicken with the legs closest to you (sorry, it’s not the prettiest of pictures).
Step 4 – Remove the breast bone
There’s a soft, white, almost transparent piece of cartilage down the center that joins a bone. The best way to remove this is to cut either side so you can grab a hold of it and then cut around it. Just keep cutting away fat around it and pulling.
Step 5 – Flatten the bird
Flip the chicken over skin side up and with the palm of your hand, press down on the center to flatten the bird. You may hear a pop.
Step 6 – Half the chicken (optional step)
The chicken is ready to be cooked whole, but if you want, you can cut the bird in half to portion it out. To do this, use a large chef’s knife and cut down the center. So now that you know how easy is it to spatchcock a chicken, you need some recipes. Here you go: Sheet Pan Roasted Chicken & Vegetables For the holidays, you need to try this Spatchcock Cranberry Orange Glazed Turkey, which was a huge hit last year.
