Spatchcocking a Chicken
The 45-minute roast, flat and gloriously crisp.
Removing the backbone and flattening the bird cuts roasting time by a third and gives you more skin surface — so more crackle. This is the technique for a Tuesday roast when you're not really up for a Sunday roast.
Watch a demonstration
The Food Lab: How to Roast Spatchcock Chicken
hosted by J. Kenji López-Alt
How to do it
- 01
Bird breast-down
Sit the chicken breast-side down on the board. Legs pointing toward you. You're going to cut out the spine.
~1 min - 02
Cut down one side of the spine
Slide your shears in through the cavity and cut firmly along one side of the backbone from tail to neck. It should feel like cutting through thick card, not bone.
~2 min - 03
Cut down the other side
Repeat on the other side. The backbone will lift out in one piece. Straight into the stockpot with it — that's tomorrow's soup.
~2 min - 04
Flip and press
Turn the bird over. Put the heel of your palm firmly on the breastbone and press until you hear a small crack. The bird will now lie flat like a chicken pancake.
~1 min - 05
Tuck the wings
Fold the wing tips behind the breasts so they don't burn. Season aggressively — twice as much salt as feels right, because it's a big flat surface.
~2 min