Speaking of Spatchcock; Alton Demo'd Tonight

wdan

I finally saw it demonstrated tonight by Alton Brown. He prepped a chicken a la spatchcock where he actually pulled out the breast bone, and I'm here to tell you that thing layed as flat as roadkill. I have a Raichlen cookbook that talks about "running your thumbs along the white cartilage, then pull these out." Pull what out? I don't know! I've gotten out of some pretty tough spots in my life, but I never could figure out what the hell Raichlen was talking about...not until I saw Alton tonight.[p]So simple...after cutting out the backbone and then flipping the bird over and "opening it like a book," here's all you do:[p]Take a sharp knife and slit the white filmy stuff covering the breastbone down the length of the breastbone. Use your fingers to dig under the white stuff some more until it is separated from the breastbone and The breastbone is completely exposed. Then grab ahold and yank out that breastbone. And now you got a chicken carcass that'll lay just as flat as roadkill![p]Man, sometimes I can be real slow. And it is a major revelation when I actually get the point...I'm the guy who is in the back of the room and laughs at the joke 10 minutes after it was told.

Rumrunner

WDAN, save this link and refer to it if you forget.

[ul][li]Video of Spatchcocking a chicken[/ul]

Dug

rumrunner,
It is much easier to understand after watching the vidio. Thanks!

Dug

Dug,
(Some people spell it video...not me!)

Retired RailRoader

rumrunner,
Thanks so much for posting the link to the video. I also was a bit confused as to what Steven Raichlen was talking about. Now it is all makes sence. Thanks again.

fishlessman

WDAN,
i watched that last night, looks like a much better way for prepping the spatchcock for carving later.maybe im just as slow, is that the way people on the forum have been doing it all along and i just overlooked it.

Steve-B

rumrunner,[p]I learned the breastbone trick from your video. It is much easier than hitting it with a fist to flatten it out. Thanks!!!

DobieDad

WDAN,[p]Whew! Talk about SLOW!!! My Momma sent me to school and all I did was rip the pages out of the books and eat 'em![p]As a brand new Newbie, with only a bare hint of soot on the inside of my Egg's dome, I tried to Spatchcock a chicken. I took the breast bone out, laid the chicken flat, seasoned, cooked and served it to the family. We liked it! It came out great! Best chicken ever![p]Then, a couple of months later I was cruzin' TNW's site, picking up pointers that I had missed on my first run thru, and there I saw it. My glaring error![p]Quote the Whiz: "Spatchcock the chicken. What's that? It's a term that is thought to have originated in 18th century Ireland. It means "to butterfly". Basically, you cut the backbone out of the chicken so you can open it up and press it flat. "[p]It sez it right there ... "you cut the backbone out", and shows it in photos. Yup, the Whiz takes out the BACKBONE.[p]Well, how DUMB could a newbie feel. Don't even know the bow from the stern of a chicken. There I am again, goin' about life bass-ackward.[p]Well, I was so embarrassed that I decided I would conceal my error from the general public and live the rest of my life in shame.[p]Well, it didn't seem to matter much. The chicken tasted great, and now that I've got one technique under control, I think I'll stick with it.[p]Now I can imagine. Long strings of posts "backbone spatchcockers" vs "breastbone spatchcockers". What an intellectual pursuit for a Friday. Ain't live GREAT!!![p]DobieDad

DobieDad

When you think about it, 'life' is pretty great, too ... LOL![p]DD

BucsFanJim

rumrunner,
Thanks for the video link. I've been leaving that breast bone in. Think I'll do a spatch tonight.

Smokin Joe

rumrunner,
Thanks for the video clip!!! I've benn doing it wrong the whole time - Okay, I guess I'm slow too. LOL Joe

Unknown

Thanks Rumrunner! I just used that video clip for my first spatchcooked chicken to cut it up. It was easy to do and it lays as flat as a book now. I have always used the spanek vertical roaster until now. This method looks interesting. I have the chicken marinating in Italian dressing with the extra herbs and spices. It goes onto the grill in about 1.5 hrs. Perhaps the wings will not get so crispy like when I use the Spanek at 350 on my grill. I'm going to grill up some asparagus wrapped in bacon to go with it along with my home made stuffing. John C.