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    How to Spatchcock a Chicken

    Mar 22, 2018 · 1 Comment

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    Learn how to spatchcock a chicken, or butterfly a chicken like a pro! The benefits of spatchcocking chicken include even seasoning, even cooking, crispy skin and reduced cooking time, especially when roasting chicken.

    how to spatchcock a chicken


    Spatchcocking chicken means to remove the spine of a chicken, so that the chicken lays completely flat during the cooking process. I originally created this tutorial for this amazing Instant Pot Spatchcock Chicken.

    Required Tools to Spatchcock a Chicken

    1. A pair of good-quality affordable kitchen shears with sharp stainless steel blades that easily come apart for cleaning.
    2. Boning knife, sharp, made out of high-carbon, stain-free Japanese steel

    STEP BY STEP PHOTO TUTORIAL

    1. Place a whole chicken on the cutting board, breast side down and legs facing away from you.
    Raw chicken on a cutting board
    How to Spatchcock a Chicken

    2. Using kitchen shears, cut along one side of backbone with kitchen shears.

    Partially spatchcocked chicken

    3. Cut up along the other side, cutting the rib bones as you go until you can completely remove the backbone.

    How to Spatchcock a Chicken

    4. Remove the backbone.

    How to Spatchcock a Chicken

    5. Open the chicken out and expose the keel bone.

    How to Spatchcock a Chicken

    6. Take the sharp end of your boning knife and slide it gently up one side of keel bone being careful not to cut the meat. This is done to disconnect the keel bone from the breast. Once the bone is loosened up, run your finger around each side to pull it away and then pull the keel bone out.

    How to Spatchcock a Chicken

    Keel bone is removed:

    How to Spatchcock a Chicken

    7. Turn the chicken around. It’s ready to be roasted, grilled or cooked in the Instant Pot!

    To spatchcock a chicken is not a science, it’s very easy once you do it once and the chicken cooking possibilities after that are limitless! We’ve been eating spatchcock chicken for years now because it’s such a timesaver when roasting it.

    You will never go back to roasting a whole chicken once you get a taste of a spatchcock chicken.

    Hungry for some chicken now?

    Craving some chicken recipes now?

    Instant Pot Spatchcock Chicken
    Roasted Spatchcock Chicken with Garlic Mustard Crust
    Peri Peri Portuguese Chicken
    Oven Baked Rosemary Chicken Thighs
    Herb Roasted Creamy Chicken and Potatoes

    How to Spatchcock Chicken
    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    How to spatchcock a chicken

    Step by step instructions on flattening the chicken and removing its backbone.
    Prep Time20 mins
    Total Time20 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: how to, spatchcock chicken
    Servings: 8
    Author: Olya

    Ingredients

    • 3 ½ lb. whole chicken

    Instructions

    • Place a whole chicken on the cutting board, breast side down and legs facing away from you.
    • Using kitchen shears, cut along one side of backbone with kitchen shears.
    • Cut up along the other side, cutting the rib bones as you go until you can completely remove the backbone.
      Remove the backbone.
    • Open the chicken out and expose the keel bone.
      Take the sharp end of your boning knife and slide it gently up one side of keel bone being careful not to cut the meat. This is done to disconnect the keel bone from the breast.
    • Once the bone is loosened up, run your finger around each side to pull it away and then pull the keel bone out.
    • Turn the chicken around. It’s done.
    Nutrition Facts
    How to spatchcock a chicken
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 426 Calories from Fat 261
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 29g45%
    Saturated Fat 8g50%
    Cholesterol 148mg49%
    Sodium 138mg6%
    Potassium 375mg11%
    Protein 36g72%
    Vitamin A 280IU6%
    Vitamin C 3.1mg4%
    Calcium 22mg2%
    Iron 1.8mg10%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

    « Boneless Pork Chops in Creamy Irish Whiskey Sauce
    Instant Pot Spatchcock Chicken with Mustard Crust »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. A Cloud says

      April 09, 2018 at 11:33 am

      I just did this! Very easy.

      Reply

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