Spatchcock Chicken

[nickg]

I plan to try cooking a chicken in a similar method to Ray's Fish technique, buterflyed out on a stick. I have looked for spatchcock recipies and they all seem to just say cut out the backbone and press it flat. I think it may cook better, and spread on the frame more easily if it is filletted more completely ie ribs and upper leg bones removed.

Does anybody have any help, advice, experience in doing this.

Cheers

Nick

 

[Seagull]

Yup, I tried doing that, once.

Got out all the wifes cookery books and looked up on how to bone a chicken, before cooking.

The result of following the detailed instructions, was something that looked as if it had been trampled by a horse and cart

Taste 10, presentation NIL.

At least, a drumstick actually looks like something that came off a fowl.

Ceeg

 

[led]

There's a good article on filleting a whole chicken here. I'd reckon that if you had a banty or something small, then cooking it flattened that should be quite easy. The larger birds might be less easy to deal with and cook evenly though. Let us know how it goes.

 

[nickg]

There's a good article on filleting a whole chicken here. I'd reckon that if you had a banty or something small, then cooking it flattened that should be quite easy. The larger birds might be less easy to deal with and cook evenl though. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks mate - good link but not quite what I'm looking for. The idea is to keep the chicken in one piece - more or less - that way it keeps together on the frame whilst cooking. Then again what the hell you could always stick each piece on a stick and just tell yourself its the worlds biggest kebab.

With ny butchery skills I suspect thats how it will end up anyway.

Cheers

Nick

 

[ilovemybed]

Hi,
From my experience, it never looks pretty! To keep it looking like a chicken, you're best just to remove the backbone (and optionally the breastbone if it's a big bird), then the ribs, like in the following:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/butterflychicken.html
or
http://www.cutlery.com/debone.shtml

The only time you're better removing all the bones is if you're going to stuff it and roll it, then roast it like a boneless joint.

If you want to splay it out for roasting over a fire, then use two skewers going diagonally through the flattened bird. The flesh is very different thicknesses though, so it might not cook evenly - dunno, I've never tried it...


hope that helps!
Neil

 

[Ketchup]

I've quite often 'opened' chicken for grilling. It works quite well when you cut through the breast and flatten the whole with a Chinese cleaver (or wooden board) First grill the bird with the inside down to the fire. When half done, turn over and finish skin side down. The chicken looks like a saucer now (raised edges) and at this stage you can cook, say, fruit or veggies in the centre. I use a mixture of chopped pineapple, parsley, chilli and vermouth and call it Chicken Tamavua (name of a neighbourhood of Suva, Fiji, where I invented this dish). The pineapple makes the chicken more tender. Delicious

 

[jdlenton]

I have always found Poussin the best chicken to cook in this manner again with 2 crossed skewers and the spine removed as has been stated. If you a worried about evenness of cooking you can cook side that used to be the inside of the bird for alot longer than you can the skin side i have also cooked pheasant quail and pigeon this way and all have been better with the bones in. i like my spachcocked Poussin smothered in butter and herb de provence.

Right I'm of to the butchers to get two Poussin i know what I'm having for my tea tonight

James

 

[nickg]

Thanks all - great help


Last night I bought a poussin (£1.99 sainsbury) just to experiment with the technique. Cut the backbone along bith sides. Turned it over and using my thumbs eased the breast away from the breastbone and ribs. It all got away from me a bit when i came to the wing & thigh bones but I found that a twist & pull got them out of the sockes and the rest of the carcass could be eased off. It all remained vaguely chicken shaped at the finish without losing too much meat.

I will cook it on sunday ate the Kent Meet along with a trout in the same way. The experiment was in part to see if it could be done simply and quickly with no tools save a knife and i think it can. Took about 15 mins in all. I may remove the drumsticks as they may cook slower than the rest - well see.

Next phase is to see if its possible to do it without opening up the bird ie bone it in one piece so that the cavity can be stuffed and closed. No good reason for this - just think it may be interesting
Thanks again to everybody for help Reps on the way

Nick

 

[risby]

I will cook it on sunday ate the Kent Meet along with a trout in the same way.

I hope you are freezing it until Saturday then. It's quite a long time to keep prepared chicken from now until Sunday.

 

[scruff]

better still to practice cooking one tonight and get one fresh for the wknd?

frozen chuck and bbq/ fire cooking just sounds like a bad tummy risk.

good links by the way ilikemybed

you can easily spatchcock poussins without removing the breast bone and bang em under the grill. its a great way to cook em.

 

[nickg]

I hope you are freezing it until Saturday then. It's quite a long time to keep prepared chicken from now until Sunday.

dare I say Duh ;-)

 

[nickg]

better still to practice cooking one tonight and get one fresh for the wknd?

frozen chuck and bbq/ fire cooking just sounds like a bad tummy risk.

good links by the way ilikemybed

you can easily spatchcock poussins without removing the breast bone and bang em under the grill. its a great way to cook em.

Thats actually not such a bad idea Hmmm where did I put that chilli seasoning

Cheers

Nick

 

[risby]

dare I say Duh ;-)

That's very brave of you!

I recalled this post from a few weeks back on the BBC food MB but didn't mean to suggest you were a complete idiot it's just that some people have different ideas on gaminess.

 

[nickg]

That's very brave of you!

I recalled this post from a few weeks back on the BBC food MB but didn't mean to suggest you were a complete idiot it's just that some people have different ideas on gaminess.

Whoa Yeah !! Point taken
Do you ever think that some people just need the hard lesson?
He sounds like a real candidate for the Darwin Club

Cheers
Nick

 

[risby]

Whoa Yeah !! Point taken
Do you ever think that some people just need the hard lesson?
He sounds like a real candidate for the Darwin Club

Cheers
Nick

he he, yeah. After 22 posters telling him to chuck it he wrote back the next day to say his wife was off work with delhi belly. Pity it wasn't him.

 

[nickg]

Finally cooked the chicken at the Kent meet today

sorry i'm having trouble uploading images - Ill get there

 

[tomtom]

looks good mate.. seeing as its bushcraft based you can upload you pics to the gallery and link to them from there!

did they cook through ok?

 

[nickg]

Sorry mate i missed your question at the end there. Yes it was cooked through beautifully and really moist as well. It was a small chicken but i guess that there would be no probs with a full size one

 

[Mad Mike]

Tried a full size chicken in Wales last week
Thanks to Nickg for showing me the cutting out of the spine
it fed 4 of us & was eaten by non Bushcrafters

pic posted in galleryhere