Pinch My Salt

Food, Recipes, and Photography

How to Butterfly a Chicken

by 19 Comments

My favorite way to grill chicken is to butterfly (a.k.a. spatchcock) a whole bird, flatten it, and place it directly on the grill with a large brick on top to weigh it down.  Pollo al Mattone, or Chicken Under a Brick is a Tuscan style of grilling chicken and the results are fantastic!  The chicken cooks quickly since it is flattened under the weight of the brick and you end up with skin so crispy and delicious, a fight might break out before it hits the table.

I have a butterflied chicken marinating in the fridge right now that I plan on grilling later this afternoon.  I’m documenting all the steps with my camera, and I’ll show you the results tomorrow.  But in the meantime, I want you to watch this great video on how to butterfly a chicken, courtesy of the folks over at The Virtual Weber Bullet.  Since this is a skill I’ve only picked up recently, I figure there are a few others out there who might benefit from the lesson as well!

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Comments

  1. leah says

    wow- this is so crazy, i was just thinking about how I had to cook chicken tomorrow, and I had to learn how to butterfly it when I noticed that you updated your blog! Brilliant! Thanks for posting the instructional video, will def put this to good use! Leah
    Reply

  4. B says

    Hmmm. I've butterflied for years but I've always just cut the little piece in front of the keel allowing it to flatten. I've never removed the keel. I think I'll try it next time. Seems like quartering the chicken after I'm done cooking would be a smidge easier.
    Reply

  9. Michelle says

    Nicole... what a great idea for cooking chicken. I can't wait to try this. I'm so happy that I stumbled upon your website... very impressive :)
    Reply

  10. Bill Medifast says

    This is something I love doing with smaller sided chickens. Really helps get much more out of the little guys and the recipe options are amazing.Thanks for your video, now my wife can learn how to do this too! She has wanted to learn, but I always seem to forget.
    Reply

  11. Christine says

    Amazing idea. I usually just do a roasted chicken but I think this would be an even better idea. Thanks for sharing this and the video! Quite helpful.
    Reply

  12. donna says

    I am looking for instruction on how to debone a turkey. I want to roll it in the skin, light and dark meat along with stuffing and roast. It should look kind of like a football when done...can anyone help me out
    Reply

  14. Cat says

    This is a great video, thanks so much for posting it. My husband is the chef in the house, but he had to have major spinal surgery earlier this year. He can't use his right hand anymore (temporarily, thank goodness!) but he has had a hankering for chicken under bricks. Thanks to your video, I'll be able to prepare it for him tonight for a Valentine's Day surprise! :)
    Reply

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