When I first started cooking, I failed hard at cooking chicken. I remember buying a whole chicken, reading a recipe, following said recipe yet still having an underdone chicken. The results were a very dry bird after cooking it longer in the oven. What a miserable meal! Now I can cook chicken like a master but my friend Desiree taught me how to spatchcock chicken which makes it even easier and quicker. You can roast or barbecue a spatchcocked chicken in 30 minutes. If you’re scared about underdone chickens, try this method.
What is spatchcock you ask? It’s when you cut open a chicken and cook it. I made a Moroccan spice rub and roasted the chicken over a bed of carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, and cauliflower. How Paleo!
Here’s how to spatchcock a chicken:
- Take your whole chicken and lay it on a cutting board.
- There is usually a heart, gizzards, neck bone, etc in the cavity. Take it out. You can toss this but I saved the neck bone to make broth and then cooked the heart and whatnot to give to Maggie the Lab.
- Take a pair of kitchen scissors and remove the backbone. Cut as close as you can. You’re going to have to cut close and hard and hear some bones crunch.
- Turn chicken around and then cut the other side. Save the backbone along with the neck for chicken stock.
- Flip open the chicken and press down and flatten it.
- And done!
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Here’s a photo of me spatchcocking this chicken:
I then put the bird in the roaster and put it in the fridge to dry out. A dry bird makes the crispiest skin so that is why you should dry it out. If you don’t have time, pat it dry with some paper towel.
Spatchcocked bird
Moroccan Spice Rub
To make a Moroccan spice rub, I added these ingredients together and mix in a bowl/container. I found this recipe on Epicurious.
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Now take the rub and rub the chicken with it. I put it back in the fridge for a bit.
I chopped sweet potatoes, onions, carrots and cauliflower and sprinkled it with the rub
Now that the bird on the veggies!
Cook at 400 degrees for 30 minutes! I checked on the veggies midway and moved them around with a spatula.
Kaboom! Delicious spatchcock chicken with a Moroccan spice rub and roasted veggies!
Have you ever tried to spatchcock chicken before? Tell me what you think if you try this recipe! My friends loved it!
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