No, its not a foul word, its a fowl word! Spatchcock means to remove the spine or backbone of poultry, flatten the poultry so it is ready for grilling. So, a fancy word for a butterflied chicken, duck, goose, turkey, cornish hen.
So, why “spatchcock?” <and its okay to giggle every time you say the word>
- Enables even cooking – since laying a bird flat ensures the bird is a more even surface which means the cooking will be more even. C’mon, when is the last time you put your hand up for dry overcooked white meat or, undercooked dark meat?
- Reduces cooking time by almost half, since you there is a “thinner” meat for heat to penetrate through, cooking time is reduced. Woohoo! That means more time to prepare dessert!
- Get that stuffing crispy! Since you can’t stuff a spatchcocked turkey, it allows stuffing to be cooked in a casserole dish which then allows for more “crispy” bits and less mush deep in the bird. That means the stuffing has more surface area in an oven and more crispy bits to come through!
- Fits better into an oven, bbq or smoker. With a flattened bird, you’re no longer worried that the bird will roll off a pan or looking for a roasting pan large enough for the bird. With a flattened bird, you can grill directly on a bbq or a smoker and not require a domed lid or worry about the bird hitting another rack.
- More crispy skin – more surface area of exposed skin means more opportunity to crisp that skin! Oh yea!
How to spatchcock? Click on this link for step by step picture instructions!