How to Spatchcock a Chicken

Spatchcock is a technique for opening up poultry. It's kinda like "butterflying" the bird. It makes for a pretty presentation and even cooking. It's a great technique to use for baking and grilling an entire roasted chicken.

To spatchcock a chicken, you'll need sharp kitchen shears or a sharp knife. Flip the bird over so that the backbone is facing up. Find the backbone of bird. Cut out the backbone by cutting right along the side of the backbone on each side. Flip the bird over so that the breasts are facing up. Apply pressure to the breastplate until the bone cracks and the bird can lay perfectly flat.

Once you have flattened the bird, you can season the chicken any way you like. Some of my favorite ways to season a spatchcock chicken is with jerk, Peruvian, or this spicy chicken shown in the video above.