How to Butterfly a Chicken
You can put a chicken flat on the grill or in a multipurpose spit basket for cooking by butterflying or spatchcocking it. This method of cooking chicken has two key advantages. The first benefit is that it will cook faster and more evenly. The second, and far superior reason is that the chicken is more exposed to coals. And if you choose to use it, you can generously cover the chicken with a fantastic rub like the Flaming Coals Clucking Mad Chicken Rub. The more flame exposure and more rub you get means more crispy, crusty delicious chicken you’ll have!
Butterflying chicken is a simple and easy process.
Below are the procedures to follow in order to prepare it to lay flat.
Procedure:
- To begin, pat your chicken dry and set up a clean, dry work surface.
- Locate the spine, which runs down the centre of the back, by laying your chicken on its breast side. Although kitchen shears are simpler for this stage, you can also use a knife. Cut along each side of the chicken’s spine all the way up to the top, starting at the bottom. The spine should separate from the rest of the chicken once you have made a complete cut. You can throw out the spine, but you can keep the bones for stock.
- The chicken should begin to lay out flat after the spine has been removed, but not quite flat enough. Now, find the white piece of cartilage that emerges from the chicken’s breastbone close to the neck end. Cut into that cartilage with a sharp knife while holding the chicken breast side down. The cut can be around 1 cm (depending on the size of the chicken).
- The chicken should lay much flatter when the cartilage is removed. You should now be able to see the top of the breastbone just beneath it. The breastbone’s sides can be trimmed down to be removed if you want. But if not, it should be fine as I’ve also seen them left in for cooking.
- Once you’ve finished, cover the inside and exterior of the chicken with your chosen spice mixture. We recommend the Flaming Coals Clucking Mad Chicken Rub.
- All done – Your chicken has been butterflied and is prepared for cooking.
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By: Rhiannon Peterson