Wow! I think prepping a dozen chicken chicken lollipops is a PITA... not sure if i would have the patience to do that! Props to you Mike!
I can barely spatchcock a chicken ... my kitchen shears are not true poultry shears. More like black scissors that don't happen to say "Fiskars." Even so, you're not supposed to actually "need" them to break the parts apart, from what I've read?
So the deboning came from this progression of my brother and I️ trying to out-do each other with our birds. Started off with rubs, then smoked,
BBQ’ed, brining, deep fried, etc. You get the idea.
That year he sent me a picture of his spatchcocked turkey he made the day before Thanksgiving and I️ thought...seriously...what’s left? Where do I go from here? That’s when I️ thought to debone it. That Thanksgiving Day I sent him those pictures. The turkey prep “arms race” was over. Last year was the first year I’ve had Thanksgiving with him in almost a decade, and of all things I️ made... a ham.
Honestly, if you have a very sharp knife it’s really not that hard. Just start by the wishbone and cut the breast meat away from the breast plate/ribs. When that’s removed then remove the lateral bones, but leave the meat. The legs are the ones you really want to get perfect because of the tendons. I’d say in total it maybe took me 30-40 minutes. I️ could probably do it in 20 if I️ was in a rush.
The filling was great. I️ did all of the green ingredients in a pan before tying and added a good helping of duck fat so it would help with the flavor, moisture, etc.
Honestly, rolling and tying was a bit tougher than deboning. It’s a big jiggly mass the size of rugby ball that you are trying to tie up.
One of these days I’ll do it again...on the rotisserie this time.
As for the spatchcock, @jcnaz pretty much answered the “will it fit” question.
Shears are nice for removing the backbone, but you can also do it with a very sharp knife and some leverage.
Sent from my iPhone using
Weber Kettle Club mobile app