A few years back I was given some poultry shears and once I overcame general squeamishness, jointing chickens is something thats a regular occurence at home. However I had always fancied getting a bit more creative with them and following a browse of the internet and in particular the great videos they have over at BBC Good Food, I decided spatchcocking was the way forward!
This recipe is no way meant to be authentic chinese cookery but it tastes gorgeous and is so easy. Another bonus of spatchcocking the chicken, is it cooks in half the time! I used a small whole chicken from M&S, bought as part of their fab 2 dine for £10 deal, we ate this with a very nice bottle of Spanish red, which was also part of this weeks offer.
Firstly, spatchcock your chicken as per the video. Prepare ideally a disposable roasting tray or line a shallow roaster with lots of foil, the marinade will burn on the foil so be careful not to use your best dish! Place the chicken in the middle, breast side up.
In a jug, combine the following:
50ml sweet chilli sauce
50ml runny honey
1 heaped tsp cornflour
50ml chinese cooking wine
Black pepper
50ml dark soy sauce
Black pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1cm piece ginger, finely chopped (or grated)
1 spring onion, finely chopped
Pour gently over the chicken, using a silicon / pastry brush to thoroughly coat, cover lightly with foil and refridgerate for at least 4 hours.
Pre-heat your oven, I have a electric fan assisted oven which has its own mind and was about 170o, about 180/ 190 for a standard oven. Remove the foil cover and roast for 40-45 minutes or until the juices run clear. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before removing the skewers and carving as desired. I seperated the leg from breast, into four portions. Garnish with diced spring onion, though not essential.
This really is so tasty, sweet, savoury and so moist. Spatchcocking is the way forward for chicken I think!
Oh I like this idea very much, I have not heard about spatchcocking before, will check out the video and try it out too.
ReplyDeleteThe marinade sounds delicious, I love the way it looks too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, spatchcocking is the way forward, it makes cooking a chicken so quick and easy.
I´ve never heard of spatchcocking before either but will have to try it out sometime. I like the sound of the marinade-delish!
ReplyDeleteThat looks yummy, all glazed and sticky :) never tried spatchcocking, might give it a go on the BBQ.
ReplyDeleteWe too have taken advantage of the M&S offers. Great way to use the chicken Anne.
ReplyDeleteGreat way to cook the chicken Anne! Like the sticky marinade.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the kind comments, I keep wanting to make this again and again now! Am waiting for some friends to buy a bbq and going to test on there, think would be perfect for it!
ReplyDeleteAnne :)