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Some people like the nice, compact shape of a trussed chicken, and argue that it helps keep the white meat moist. Spread out the thighs out so they can lie flat in a preheated skillet Then splay the thighs open until you feel the joint pop on each side.
Chicken temperature done skin#
To splay the chicken, use a sharp knife to cut the skin along the thigh on each side, where the legs connect to the body. And the technique is quicker and easier than spatchcocking. The thighs, usually the slowest part of the bird to cook through, get a head start by being positioned directly on the burning hot pan. Splaying yields a chicken with succulent white meat and perfectly roasted dark meat. This doesn’t affect cooking time and saves you some knife work.) Cut along the backbone on only one side of the bird, then open the chicken and roast as is. (You could also just leave the backbone attached, rather than removing it from the bird altogether. Roast it alongside the chicken, and either serve with the bird (delicious to gnaw on), or save for stock.
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But the speediness and great flavor make up for it.Ī tip: Don’t toss that backbone! A roasted backbone will add more flavor to stock than using a raw backbone. The only disadvantage to this method is that you’ll lose the classic Norman Rockwell presentation of the whole bird. Cut along the other side of the backbone to remove it entirely.
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To spatchcock a chicken, take a pair of kitchen shears or a very sharp knife and cut along one side of the chicken's backbone. Spatchcocking, also known as butterflying, is an extremely simple move that delivers a gorgeously cooked chicken with crisp skin, and it does so quickly - usually in less than 45 minutes.
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