Spatchcock your brick chicken

Here’s an unusual word found in the culinary world: spatchcock. This word can also be found in the urban dictionary, but with apologies to Rudy Giuliani, this story has to do with its much more common usage as a culinary preparation method.

It seems the most likely derivation of the word “spatchcock” comes from its first mention in Irish cookbooks of the 18^th century as an abbreviation for “dispatch the cock” and involves butterflying the bird, in which the backbone is removed and the breastbone partially split, allowing the bird to lay flat and giving the beastie the appearance of a butterfly. By spatchcocking the bird, it can be cooked quickly or “dispatched.” I can hear an Irish chef yelling instructions to a prep cook, “Spatchcock those feckin’ birds now, wouldcha?!”

I’ll never diminish the Irish contribution to anything, but I suppose I can’t definitively say the spatchcock method originated in Ireland. As much as I’d love to attribute the method to the Irish, a more likely scenario is for it to have gained popularity beginning outside of Florence, Italy, in the Tuscan town of Impruneta during the feast of San Luca, the town’s patron. During the feast, a traditional dish called Pollo al Mattone (brick chicken) is prepared using terra cotta tiles as weight on spatchcocked chicken over a hot grill.

As an out-of-work former chef rattling around the house and needing to be compulsive about food, I set out on a quest for the perfect brick chicken. I first had to do my research on methods. After the fourth attempt, I think I found the best combination of time, temperature and seasoning to achieve moist and flavorful meat and a crispy skin.

Brick chicken

Look to purchase air-chilled chicken, as any bagged whole chicken has been sitting in its juices for days, saturating the skin and making it very difficult to dry. As a note, the latest findings are that washing a chicken does more harm than good, as it only spreads bacteria.

Ingredients:

• One whole air-chilled chicken weighing approximately 3.5 pounds
• 2 to 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• Approximately 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (for a real treat, use rendered duck fat)
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into thirds

Method:

1. Liberally rub the chicken inside and out with kosher salt and allow the chicken skin to air dry uncovered in the refrigerator for at least five or six hours and up to two days. I found kosher salt worked well to draw moisture from the skin and the dry atmosphere of the refrigerator finished the job. As an added benefit, salt inhibits any growth of bacteria.
2. Position the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 450°.
3. Spatchcock the chicken, press down on the flattened bird firmly and pat dry with paper towels. Here’s how I spatchcock chicken: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3YWFE30qeM.
4. Combine the lemon juice, rosemary and pepper in a small bowl.
5. Have ready a 12-inch cast-iron pan or equivalent heavy-duty pan, two double-foil-wrapped bricks or Dutch oven to be used as weight, and a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to cover the chicken.
6. Heat the pan over high heat for a few minutes before adding the olive oil or duck fat to the pan, making sure the bottom of the pan is coated.
7. Place the chicken skin-side down into the pan, brush the lemon juice mixture onto what was the inside of the chicken and lay the sheet of aluminum foil on top of the chicken. I found it easier to place the pan on the prepositioned rack in the oven before placing the weight on the chicken.
8. Roast the weighted, spatchcocked chicken skin-side down for 25 minutes.

9. 

   Remove the chicken from the oven, remove the weight and sheet of aluminum foil, and using tongs and a spatula, carefully flip the chicken over — try to avoid tearing the skin — and roast for an additional eight to 10 minutes or until the meat registers 165° with an instant-read thermometer at the thickest part of both the thigh and breast.

10. When the chicken is done, remove it to a rimmed sheetpan.
11. Over medium-high heat, deglaze the pan with the white wine, giving it a minute or two to burn off the alcohol before adding the chicken broth. As the liquid reduces, scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan and reduce the liquid by approximately half; add any juices from the sheet pan and whisk in the butter.
12. Cut the chicken into eight pieces and serve with the butter-enriched pan juices on the side to be used on the meat after eating the delicious crispy skin.

Something to consider with the holidays around the corner, especially with this year’s recommended smaller gatherings, is Mark Bittman’s recipe for spatchcocked turkey, in which a 10-pound turkey is roasted in 45 minutes. I’ve not used this method yet, but I like the concept. I’ll try to use it before the holidays so I can report back. However, I’m going to make two adjustments to the recipe. The first is I intend to liberally salt the gobbler’s skin and allow it to air dry uncovered in the refrigerator for a day or two before roasting. The other is I have a heavy-duty roasting pan for which I can use the brick method.

If you’re a grill master, I can imagine, given cooperating weather, a bricked turkey on the grill would be a somewhat nontraditional but delicious addition to a holiday dinner. Neither method will give you that Norman-Rockwell-turkey-carving-at-the-table moment, but for me, I gave up on that years ago.