Ask A Butcher: Spatchcocked Chicken

What is a spatchcocked chicken and why do people love them? 

A spatchcocked chicken, sometimes called a butterflied chicken, is a whole chicken from which you remove two bones: the spine and the keel bone. Doing so allows the bird to lay flat for cooking, both decreasing the time it takes to cook and increasing the ways to cook it. 

Spatchcocking a chicken dramatically decreases the cooking time, regardless of the method. The time it takes to roast a whole chicken in the oven is cut in half, from around an hour and a half to a measly 45 minutes. Because they can lay evenly on a flat surface, spatchcocked chickens are also perfect for grilling. This also exposes more skin to the heat, rendering even more of it crispy and delicious. If you want your chicken to be fall-off the bone tender, you can even grab your biggest, deepest pan and braise the chicken on the stove or in the oven. That is, after searing the skin, of course. 

Breaking down a cooked spatchcocked chicken is incredibly easy. Because many of the connecting bones are now gone, you can simply pull at the base of the thighs to separate the thighs and breasts. The breasts should require nothing more than a cut between them, providing easy portioning for a full meal. 

Spatchcocking a chicken at home is surprisingly simple, too. To remove the spine, you stand the chicken on its head, running a sharp knife down both sides of the spine, all the way to the neck. If you don't feel comfortable using a knife, a pair of kitchen scissors works as well. Once you have the whole spine removed, you flip the chicken over and press down on the back of both the chicken breasts. This should expose the keel bone, located between the two breasts. It's very easy to remove with your hands, and with that, the chicken will lay flat on a surface. If you want to see an example, or have any more questions, please ask us at the meat counter! We love your questions, and were always happy to spatchcock the chicken for you, too! 

Ask A Butcher // What's the Lamb American Roast?

This will be a regular series, in which our St. Paul Meat Shop butchers, Scott and Peter, answer your questions about meat! Sign up for our emails and never miss a post.

Q: What is the Lamb American Roast and how should I prepare it?

A: The Lamb American Roast comes from the same place on a lamb as it does from a cow (namely, the chuck section). The big difference is that the lamb version is a smaller 1-2 person roast, while the beef version can feed 3-5 people.

This cut has loads of rich lamb flavor. It's really well marbled and great for slow roasting. As usual, we recommend cooking this guy to medium rare.

Each Lamb American Roast weighs about 3/4 of a pound and there are only two per animal. That means we only have two of these roasts a week in our meat case. Plan ahead for this one!

Ask A Butcher // What's The Teres Major?

ask_a_butcher

This will be a regular series, in which our St. Paul Meat Shop butchers, Scott and Peter, answer your questions about meat! Sign up for our emails and never miss a post.

Q:What sort of cut is the teres major and how should I prepare it?

A:Teres major is a cut of beef that comes from the chuck section of the cow, right below its front leg. It is about the size of a pork tenderloin and happens to be the second most tender cut from a cow (after the tenderloin, of course). Fun fact: Teres major takes its name from the same spot in human anatomy. Whaaat?!

Teres major has a much richer flavor than beef tenderloin, however. Because this cut comes from a very active part of the cow's body, it experiences greater blood flow and thus develops more complexity. Normally, lots of physical activity leads to tougher meat. However, because teres major sits just below the cow's leg, it remains melty tender with all the added flavor benefits of the leg.

Treat this cut very simply. Salt and pepper it and then roast or grill it whole to your desired temperature (we like medium rare). Grass-fed beef tends to taste pretty great on its own, without much special treatment. Why? Typically, cows that are corn-fed fatten up quickly and get sent to slaughter around 8-10 months old. Grass-fed cows have more time to mature and develop rich flavor. At our butcher shop, we usually receive our cows (from Hidden Stream Farm in Elgin, Minnesota) when they're 28-30 months old.

**Note: Teres major is a rarer (but affordable) cut, which means our shop on Grand Ave carries a limited number of them every week. Something to keep in mind when you're planning dinner!