To spatchcock a chicken, turn it breast side down, cut along both sides of the backbone with sturdy kitchen shears, and lift the backbone out. Flip the bird over, open it like a book, and press firmly on the breastbone with the heel of your hand until it cracks and the chicken lies flat. Tuck the wing tips, season it, and roast it at 425°F until the thickest part of the breast and thigh reach 165°F. A four-pound bird takes about 45 minutes, noticeably less time than a whole roast chicken.

Spatchcocking, also called butterflying, solves the problem every roast chicken has: the breast is done long before the legs. Flattened, the whole bird sits in one even layer, the dark meat gets more heat, and the skin crisps across its entire surface.

What you need

  • A whole chicken, about 3½ to 5 pounds, patted dry.
  • Sturdy kitchen shears or poultry shears. A sharp chef’s knife works too but takes more effort through the rib bones.
  • A large, stable cutting board.
  • Paper towels.
  • A rimmed sheet pan or a large oven-safe skillet for roasting.

Take the chicken out of its packaging over the sink and let any liquid drain.

Do not rinse it. The CDC says raw chicken is ready to cook and does not need washing, and a USDA study it cites found that 1 in 7 people who cleaned their sink after washing chicken still had germs in the sink. Cooking to 165°F is what makes the bird safe. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels instead and throw them away immediately.

Set up the board

Raw chicken is the messiest job on a cutting board, so organize before you start.

  • Lay a damp towel under the board so it cannot slide while you apply pressure.
  • Move everything else off the board and away from the splash zone.
  • Have the sheet pan ready next to the board so the flattened bird goes straight onto it.

A board with a perimeter groove catches the juices that run out when you cut; what a juice groove is for explains how it keeps the counter clean.

Cut out the backbone

  1. Place the chicken breast side down, with the neck end pointing away from you and the legs toward you.
  2. Find the backbone running down the center. You can feel it as a hard ridge with the tail at one end.
  3. Starting at the tail, cut along one side of the backbone with the shears, staying as close to it as you can. You will cut through the small rib bones; it takes firm, steady squeezes.
  4. Turn the chicken around and cut along the other side of the backbone, from the neck end down.
  5. Lift the backbone out.

Keep the backbone for stock. Wrap it and freeze it with the neck and wing tips if you have them.

Flatten the bird

  1. Open the chicken slightly with your hands, like opening a book, so the inside faces up.
  2. Look for the keel bone, the white cartilage and small bone running down the center of the breast. Run the tip of a paring knife along both sides of it to loosen it.
  3. Flip the chicken skin side up.
  4. Place the heel of one hand on the center of the breast, put your other hand on top, and press down firmly. You will feel and hear the breastbone crack, and the bird will settle flat.

Some cooks remove the keel bone entirely for a flatter bird and easier carving. Pressing it flat is enough for most roasting.

Turn the legs inward so the drumsticks point toward the center and tuck the wing tips behind the breast so they do not burn.

Season and roast

Pat the skin dry again. Dry skin is what gets crisp.

Season generously with salt on both sides, about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound. For the crispest skin, salt it a day ahead and leave it uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator overnight.

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F.
  2. Place the chicken skin side up on a rimmed sheet pan or in a large skillet. You can set it over sliced onions, potatoes or lemons to catch the drippings.
  3. Rub the skin with a tablespoon of oil or softened butter.
  4. Roast for 40 to 50 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F in the thickest part of the breast and the thigh, without touching bone.
  5. Rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Clean the board right after

Raw poultry can carry salmonella and campylobacter, and the board needs cleaning before anything else touches it.

  1. Scrape off any bits and wipe up the juices with paper towels.
  2. Scrub the board with hot water and dish soap, on both sides and around the edges.
  3. Rinse with hot water and dry it standing on edge.
  4. Wash the shears, the knife, the sink and your hands with soap too.

For a deeper clean after raw meat, including vinegar and peroxide options, see how to clean a board after raw chicken.

Carve it

A flattened chicken carves faster than a round one.

  1. Cut down between the breast halves along the breastbone to split the bird in two.
  2. Cut each half between the breast and the thigh to separate the leg quarter.
  3. Separate the drumstick from the thigh at the joint.
  4. Cut each breast in half crosswise, or slice it off the bone.

You end up with eight pieces in a few minutes. The WONAMU. bamboo cutting board is 12 by 9 inches with a perimeter juice groove that holds the carving juices; spoon them over the meat before serving. The same method works on a turkey, scaled up; how to carve a turkey covers the larger bird.

The short version

Do not rinse the chicken; pat it dry. Cut along both sides of the backbone with kitchen shears and remove it.

Flip the bird, press hard on the breast until it cracks flat, and tuck the wings. Salt it, roast at 425°F for 40 to 50 minutes to 165°F, rest 10 minutes, and carve. Wash the board, shears and hands with hot soapy water right after the raw prep.

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WONAMU. makes a bamboo cutting board designed for daily prep, 12 × 9 inches, bamboo, with a perimeter juice groove. Available on Amazon.

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