# Technique - Spatchcock, I'm Sold!



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jan 26, 2014)

I roasted a six pound roaster chicken from WalMart last night.  Now I know what you're thinking, "WalMart Chicken , it's a travesty!".  But I want you to know that the chicken was amazing, and not because it came from WalMart, but because of the cooking technique.  Please see this link:How to spatchcock a chicken - YouTube.

Once you've spatchcocked the bird (this works with turkey too), place in breast side down on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Dry the skin, then rub with butter.  Season simply with salt, onion powder, and granulated garlic.  Pop the chicken into a 400' oven and cook to a breast temperature of 155' F.  Remove from the oven and let rest for ten minutes.

My chicken took 55 minutes to come up to temperature.  It was the most flavorful, tender, and juicy chicken I've ever roasted.  I've used this technique before to prep a chicken for the grill, and came out with great results as well.  But I've made whole chickens on the grill and had equally good results.  But for oven baking, I think I'll be doing this from here on out.  The results were incredible.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Dawgluver (Jan 26, 2014)

Oh, sounds fantastic, Chief!  Thanks for the share!


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## CraigC (Jan 26, 2014)

Love this technique! Although the last chicken we did came out horrible. The dang thing was actually a "rubber chicken"! I tried to fix it after the grilling by braising it. No such luck. We discussed what might have been the problem and settled on the roasting chicken. Will never buy that brand again.


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## pacanis (Jan 26, 2014)

I've been spatchcocking now and then since a former member here mentioned it. Here's his vid.
"Spatchcocking" a Chicken | BBQ Butcher

I've never tried it for roasting the bird in an oven before though. Come to think of it, I've never cooked chicken in an oven


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## salt and pepper (Jan 26, 2014)

Hey Chief, I'm shocked you've never done that before. Bet you can't wait to try it on the BBQ.


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## Kayelle (Jan 26, 2014)

My Daddy and I used to turn them out in no time once I was tall enough to reach the butcher block in his meat market. It's certainly not a new technique, but a very useful one. Cornish Game Hens are nice done this way too for a dinner party.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 26, 2014)

I love spatchcocked poultry.  It cooks like a dream.


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## Kayelle (Jan 26, 2014)

P.S.  Kitchen shears sure make it easier that it once was!!


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## Rocket_J_Dawg (Jan 26, 2014)

Kayelle said:


> My Daddy and I used to turn them out in no time once I was tall enough to reach the butcher block in his meat market. It's certainly not a new technique, but a very useful one. Cornish Game Hens are nice done this way too for a dinner party.



Me too.  My Grandfather was a butcher from the old country and a half a chicken is on the menu of a lot of German restaurants. ( halbes Hähnchen) We would do dozens every day for the local restaurants


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## taxlady (Jan 26, 2014)

salt and pepper said:


> Hey Chief, I'm shocked you've never done that before. Bet you can't wait to try it on the BBQ.


I guess you missed this line in the Chief's post, "I've used this technique before to prep a chicken for the grill, and came out with great results as well."

He's never done it before in the oven.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jan 26, 2014)

salt and pepper said:


> Hey Chief, I'm shocked you've never done that before. Bet you can't wait to try it on the BBQ.



Oh I've done it on the grill, with great results.l  I'd just never done it in the oven.  Go figure.  But yeh, I'll be doing it more.  I wonder how it would work with cornish game hens.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Kayelle (Jan 26, 2014)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Oh I've done it on the grill, with great results.l  I'd just never done it in the oven.  Go figure.  But yeh, I'll be doing it more. * I wonder how it would work with cornish game hens.*
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Perfectly Chief.


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