Spatchcock is far and away my favorite culinary term. Basically, it's when you split a whole bird open right before you cook it. Very much like butterflying a piece of meat, but a whole lot cooler to say.
Spatchcock. It sounds so dirty. But it's not!
Using a pair of sharp and clean kitchen shears, I cut down the chicken's backbone and opened it up. Now, I've reduced cooking time because there's more surface area to get heat to. Perfect for grilling when you want to avoid cutting into a totally charred chicken only to see raw poultry. Bad news all around.
The picture here was taken after I'd spatchcocked it...and sort of "put it" back together again for the photo. But, you get the point, no doubt.
This was the recipe: Food Network's Aarti Sequiera's Orange-Cardamom Roast Chicken. Excitement was the emotion of the hour, as I like roast chicken a lot and I have an excess amount of the spice cardamom in my pantry (for reasons unknown). Anytime you mix butter herbs and spices and then rub it all under a chicken's skin, you figure it's going to be pretty good.
However, as I had to work that night, my family was left to be the judge and jury on this particular dish. The verdict: bland. No flavor. I had not seasoning the outside of the bird, because the recipe did not say to, and I figured the buttery rub would provide it. Alas. When I had the leftovers today, I got the orange, but not so much the cardamom. A little salt and pepper perked the meat right up as well, and thus, lesson learned, always season roasted chicken. Next time, I think I'll still do the butter rub, but also a rub on the outside as well.
So, kind of a failure...but not really, because I got to use the word spatchcock.
Spatchcock. It sounds so dirty. But it's not!
The picture here was taken after I'd spatchcocked it...and sort of "put it" back together again for the photo. But, you get the point, no doubt.
This was the recipe: Food Network's Aarti Sequiera's Orange-Cardamom Roast Chicken. Excitement was the emotion of the hour, as I like roast chicken a lot and I have an excess amount of the spice cardamom in my pantry (for reasons unknown). Anytime you mix butter herbs and spices and then rub it all under a chicken's skin, you figure it's going to be pretty good.
However, as I had to work that night, my family was left to be the judge and jury on this particular dish. The verdict: bland. No flavor. I had not seasoning the outside of the bird, because the recipe did not say to, and I figured the buttery rub would provide it. Alas. When I had the leftovers today, I got the orange, but not so much the cardamom. A little salt and pepper perked the meat right up as well, and thus, lesson learned, always season roasted chicken. Next time, I think I'll still do the butter rub, but also a rub on the outside as well.
So, kind of a failure...but not really, because I got to use the word spatchcock.
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