3 Pros of Flattened Chicken
The world of food and cooking is full of terms that we don’t always understand. Sometimes these are just technical terms, and sometimes we talk about a very special way of preparing a food or an ingredient. Here’s one: the flattened chicken.
What is flattened chicken?
Well, a flattened chicken is literally a whole chicken, but flat. It can also be called a butterflied chicken or even a spatchcock.
How do you make a flattened chicken? First, you must completely remove the backbone, using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors that can cut small bones. Then we turn it over and flatten the chicken as much as possible with our hands.
Don’t want to get your hands dirty? At Maillard, the online butcher shop, we offer chickens already flattened.
The 3 pros of the flattened chicken
1. Fast cooking
Unlike a whole chicken, the flattened chicken, due to its lower thickness, cooks faster and equally. The flattened chicken is good when you’re in a rush and have less time to cook.
It might save you an easy 15 minutes of cooking.
2. Easy seasoning
Some people want to cook the chicken in the oven on its own, and that's good too. But some people prefer to season it or simmer it in the oven, which gives a lot more taste.
You can add sauce, a marinade or vegetables under the chicken in an ovenproof dish. And as the flattened chicken’s thickness is less, the marinades and other ingredients will get in contact with a larger meat surface, which makes your meat tastier and better seasoned.
3. Uniform crispness
As you may know, chicken has two types of meat; white meat and brown meat. You’ll mostly find white meat on the breast, and the brown meat is in the legs.
These two meats don’t require the same cooking time on a whole chicken. Legs or thighs require about 5-10 minutes more than the breast. So, by the time the legs are ready, the breast is getting dried up.
However, with a flattened chicken, the meat cooks evenly, so, the chicken will be juicier and crispier.
Tips for flattened chicken cooking
The wings under the breast - Make sure to hide the wings under the breast, because it’s sometimes very thin (especially the tips). So, during the roasting, tips and some parts of the wings will burn quickly.
Peel off the skin - Before cooking, slightly peel the chicken’s skin, but not completely, in order to leave a small gap between the skin and the flesh for the marinade to penetrate and season the flesh. This is a little trick to enhance the flavours.
How to cook it? Roast in the oven for about 45-60 minutes at 400 ° F, up to an internal temperature of 165 ° F, and to the desired crisp. If you use the barbecue grill, cook at indirect fire.
Need ideas? Try our Maillard flattened chicken recipe ideas:
Flattened chicken with mustard, maple and oregano
Flattened chicken with maple bacon
Maillard, online butcher shop
Maillard is an online butcher that offers a wide range of exceptional quality meats, delivered right to your doorstep the very next day. You will find all the meat products you love: local and exotic meats, seasoned or regular, ordered by the box or just a single piece, but always with our guarantee of great taste!
Order now: www.maillard.co
