Please log in with your username or email to continue. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. How is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-how do u make chicken dressing by multiple authors.
To create this article, 14 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 41,768 times. Cooking a chicken flat allows it to cook faster and retain more moisture. In order to flatten a whole bird, you will need to butterfly or spatchcock it. Here’s how to correctly make the cuts and cook the chicken.
Place the chicken on your cutting board. The chicken should be breast-side down, with the backbone facing up. Cut along both sides of the backbone. Start on one side at the bottom cavity and cut a straight path to the top cavity. Make the same cut on the other side of the backbone. Stay as close to the backbone as possible. The closer the cut is to the backbone, the less meat you’ll lose.
Sawing the backbone away with a knife will be much more difficult and may increase your chances of accidentally getting cut. You should be able to lift the backbone out using your fingers and without needing to do any additional cutting. Chicken backbones can be used to create stock or soup. The bird should now be breast-side up, with the opened back facing your cutting board. Press down on the wing and leg joints using the heels of your hands.
Use your body weight to apply as much pressure as possible. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position so that there is enough room to fit your roasting pan. Use a gentle patting motion to dry the outside of the chicken Do not scrub the skin dry and do not dry the inside of the chicken. Salmonella and other bacteria could be lurking on the surface of the bird, making disposable paper towels a much healthier option. Think twice before rinsing the chicken. Home cooks have been rinsing chicken for years, but the USDA actually warns against doing so since bacteria on the raw chicken spreads more easily through water and could contaminate other surfaces. If you do decide to rinse the chicken to remove blood, only use cold water.