Spatchcock chicken worth the effort?

I roast chickens in the oven often enough. Being a lazy cook, I never bother doing much other than sprinkling salt and pepper, and sometimes, tugging herbs into the skin.

For oven roasting, is the spatchcock technique worth the effort? I understand its not much effort to cut the backbone and the breast bone, but is the result noticeably better than roasting the chicken the ā€˜traditionalā€™ way? Thoughts?

Note we arenā€™t talking about grilling the chicken, which I understand having a flatter/ spatchcocked chicken will help the chicken cook more evenly.

I definitely think the spatchcocking makes a big difference. The chicken cooks more evenly and the skin is crispy. Itā€™s easier to carve as well. I have the butchers at my local Whole Foods do it. Some of them arenā€™t familiar with the term, but I say itā€™s like butterflying, and they seem to get it. Iā€™m a lazy cook too. I use various dry rubs, and I think it turns out great! Make sure you let it rest for 10 - 15 minutes after you take it out of the oven.

The main reason Iā€™ve spatchcocked is to get chicken fat cooked potatoes. You line the pan with sliced potatoes, and elevate the chicken above on a flat roasting wire thingy. As the flattened chicken cooks, the rendered fat evenly bastes the potatoes. Potatoes also prevent smoke from forming when hot fat hits an empty pan.

I seem to remember it being easier to evenly apply seasoning under the skin with a spatchcock, but Iā€™m not sure that makes a big difference once cooking spreads things out.

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I think itā€™s worth the (minimal) effort, if for no other reason than getting crispy skin everywhere. Nothing worse than soggy back skin! It also helps the chicken cook more evenly and faster, so less chance of the white meat getting overcooked.

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Have you considered roasting a chicken with ā€œbeer canā€ method? In a roaster I mean.

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I like the beer can method for crispy skin as well, but it takes up a lot of space in the oven!

True, I do this when I barbecue more often.

Agreed itā€™s minimal effort to cut out the back bone, which goes in the freezer carcass bag for stock. I do it most often when roasting a chicken. More even cooking and easier to cut and server.

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+1 on Spatchinā€™.

Works in the oven, on the smoker or grill.

Save the backbone(s) for stock. Win/Win.

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When roasting upright like this, try jamming the NECK onto the upright. It WILL fit and go all the way down to the bottom of the upright. I use the removable center of an angel food pan. That way, the fat from the legs bastes the breast, and the wings donā€™t overcook.

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I have always gotten soggy back skin since it touches the pan. But why would the chicken spatchcocked gives crispy back skin?

Because when it is spatchcocked, you lay the whole chicken out flat, with all the skin facing up (not touching the pan). Everything has a chance to get exposed to the dry heat and get crispy.

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Forget about the spatchcock.

You should either get yourself a $400 hairdryer, which will save you hours!

OR

Hang their bird like Chinese do and let them air-dry a day before roasting. It works too!

:rofl: :sweat_smile:

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Itā€™s always great. You can get a couple of bricks and wrap them in foil and place on top of the chicken skin side down while cooking. Crispy skin. So good.

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I roast a chicken weekly just in a cast iron skillet after dry-brining for 2 days. Iā€™ve tried spatchcock method both in the skillet and on a roasting rack, but have not noticed any big difference as far as crispiness of skin. The dry-brine makes the biggest difference in flavor, just leave it uncovered in the fridge for 2 days. I usually just use salt but sometimes also garlic powder, smoked paprika or oregano and/or lemon zest.

Iā€™d heard a lot about beer can chicken and enjoyed it a few times at various peopleā€™s BBQā€™s (or grills in the US sense).

After using amazingribs.com to help with my attempts at real BBQ, I was pretty surprised when I found this seemingly comprehensive takedown: https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/chicken-recipes/debunking-beer-can-chicken-waste-good-beer-inferior-cooking-technique

Although an oven is hotter than the temperatures in the article most of the arguments probably still hold up. Having said that, hereā€™s a serious eats recipe for exactly what you suggest, so who knows: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/05/beer-can-chicken-recipe.html

I spatchcock for three reasons (when I bother): (1) you can season more evenly and use spices and herbs and citrus; (2) you retain the backbone to save for stock, and; (3) it think the whole bird cooks more evenly (you know, the leg/breast difference).

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Super-spatchcocked.

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Cool!

I retain all the bones for stock even if the chicken is roasted the non-spatchcocked way, but thatā€™s because we eat at home, and I donā€™t really mind throwing all the chewed-on bones into a pot for stock.

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