To Spatchcock A Chicken!

There is something that doesn’t sound right about that, but having now done it myself I see how innocent it is! Spatchcocking is simply a method for cooking chicken by removing the backbone. This allows the white meat and dark meat to cook evenly. Sometimes when cooking a whole bird, in order for the legs to get completely cooked, the breast meat dries out. It doesn’t change the taste, but I believe because it cooks more quickly, with bones still in, it stays juicier and more tender. To spatchcock is to remove the back bone from the whole bird and lay it flat for cooking. Here are some photos to demonstrate.

Clean chicken thoroughly. Dry the chicken with paper towels and lay breast side down on a large cutting board. Rub your fingers along the backbone to identify it. Carefully insert your sharpest knife on one side of the bone and begin making a cut. You can alternatively use chicken shears to cut out the bone.

Continue cutting on each side of the bone until you are able to remove.

Lift and remove the bone and save for soup stock.

Next, cut off wing tips and also save for soup stock.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lay chicken flat on a baking sheet and roast at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and roast for 10-12 per pound or until chicken is done. FDA recommends cooking to an internal temp of 165 degrees F.

I slathered my chicken liberally with olive oil, salt and pepper and then doused with a quick BBQ sauce. These are the ingredients I used. I will leave it to you to decide how much of what to use.

QUICK BBQ SAUCE
Tomato sauce
Roasted Red Pepper paste
Onion salt
Garlic granules
White pepper
Smoked Paprika
Brown sugar
Malt Vinegar
Cook down for about 15 minutes. Cool. Pour over chicken to marinate for 1 hour before roasting. Once the chicken is in, baste every 15-20 minutes with more sauce.

I’m going to close today with a few photos from a delightful new restaurant in Portsmouth, NH. I just returned to Ireland from a week long visit with my dear brother, Skip and his wife, Esther. Botanical is an upscale, hip, but casual gin bar serving 32 different varieties of gin along with just about any other spirit you might want, and of course, beer, wine and fabulous food!

Botanica opened in January. It’s located in a cool, funky converted warehouse.

Esther chose the Empress gin from Canada. It is royal blue when poured, but see what happens once the tonic (or any acid) is added.

…it turns purple!

Our server, Nick, was very knowledgeable about the gins.

He suggested I try a traditional martini made from Nolet’s. This family owned distillery in Holland has been making this gin for over 325 years. It was clean, crisp and delicious!

Skip selected ‘The Last Word’ made with Dry Town Gin, Green Chartreuse, Marachino Liqueur and Lime. Very herbaceous!