How To Spatchcock A Chicken

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My First YouTube Video – Spatchcock Chicken Dinner

Welcome back you guys, in today’s post I will be walking you step-by-step through spatchcocking a chicken for dinner!

Well, this sure has been an eventful week for me. I’ve felt the urge to really focus myself and move towards what I want in life. Have you ever felt that urge? Did you listen to it? Or do you find yourself now, looking back, and wishing that you had listened to it? That’s kind of how I felt. I’ve attempted YouTube before, once. I liked it well enough, but I was in the midst of having two small children and it just felt like every day was the same. I felt like the content I could offer, no one would watch. Honestly, I wish I had stuck with it. Content can change, but if I had stuck with it, I’d be in my third year now instead of starting over.

That being said, I am also happy that I have decided to take the plunge one more time. I do not have any intention of quitting this go-around. Over the past few years, I’ve learned more about myself, about God, and about the kind of life I want to give my children.

I feel that I can offer more content focused on what I want to share now than I could have back then. Like cooking videos and gardening videos. My only hope is that working a camera or phone camera will become a bit easier for me! If you watch my first video, you will see what I mean!

My First YouTube Video

The video above is my first video on YouTube which I uploaded last night, March 3^rd, 2023. I intended for my first video to actually be posted on my birthday, February 25^th. That didn’t happen because, when I decided to start making videos again, I pulled out the same Canon camera that I used 3 years ago. Only when it came to getting the videos off the camera. I couldn’t. I didn’t have the right cable to hook it up to my Mac, I couldn’t get it to connect via Wi-Fi, I even tried a couple other things – long story short. Those video clips are stuck in my old Canon camera.

So, what you see as my very first YouTube video was shot with my iPhone 12 Pro Max. Filming will take some getting used to, especially since half of my first video was filmed like it was going on Instagram and not YouTube. While some people would probably shy away from posting a video like this, which I did at first, I think it’s important to share these kinds of videos. We all have to start somewhere, just start. So, this Spatchcock Chicken Dinner is my first video! I will be able to look back, and others will be able to look back, and see that I was not perfect the first time. Probably a handful of next videos will not be perfect either. And that’s okay. I’m trying, I’m learning, and I’m sharing the journey with you.

Here is the Spatchcock Chicken Dinner recipe that I followed!

Spatchcock Chicken

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Spatchcock Chicken is what it's called when the backbone is cut or removed and the whole chicken can be laid flat in the skillet. This allows the outside skin to become crispy and the whole chicken cooks quicker and more evenly.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Resting Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Whole Chicken
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Mint
• Fresh Thyme
• 1 Lemon - sliced
• 1 Stick of butter
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Rinse your chicken very well under warm water.*
2. Cut along one side of the back bone, leave the other side intact.
3. Lay the chicken on a flat surface - breast side up - and push down on the breast to crack the breast bone so the chicken will lay flat
4. Give your pan or skillet two turns of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and heat over medium heat.*
5. Pre-heat your oven to 200C
6. While the oil gets hot on the stovetop, rub one third of the softened butter under the skin of the chicken breast as best you can
7. Rub another third on the outside skin of the chicken all over so your seasonings will stick. Sit the last third of the butter aside for now
8. Sprinkle your herbs, salt, and pepper all over the inside and outside of the chicken. Push some up under the chicken breast skin as well.
9. Slice the lemon and stuff half of the slices under the chicken breast skin.
10. Lay the chicken breast side down in the skillet of hot oil. The oil should be very hot but not smoking. The buttered chicken breast will sizzle and crisp up. Let it sit for about 5 minutes then flip the chicken and leave for another 5 minutes.
11. Move your skillet into the oven and roast until the inside temp of your chicken reaches about 82C (180F) or over. *

Notes

* Rinse the chicken in a clean sink and move directly to your cutting board, keep contaminated areas to a minimum.

* Leave the breast bone intact so it will be roasted and ready for broth at a later date.

* I use a 14 inch cast iron skillet

* 180C if you're using a fan assisted oven or 400F if you're in the USA.

* For me, this is usually between 50 and 75 minutes.

** The exact amount of herbs and butter you use will depend on your preferences and the size bird you have. I do not use exact measurements for this recipe, however, I tend to use a little more basil than mint because I find the mint can be a little overpowering.

** An internal temp of at least 180F helps the collagen melt and turn to gelatin, revealing juicy and tender thigh meat. Lower temps (165-170F) can produce chewy, rubbery meat.

** Nutritional Information will depend on many different factors, down to the kind of butter you use. This recipe feeds my family of 6 (4 kids under 5 and 2 adults) and we have some leftover for the next day.

I hope you give this recipe a try, I watched, learned and adapted this method of cooking chicken from Jess at Roots and Refuge farm.

As always, thank you so much for being here with me,

~ Tori