Spatchcocking a Bird

Small birds are spatchcocked—split and flattened, often on skewers—as an attractive presentation for baking or broiling. The French call it en crapaudine, since, with a stretch of the imagination, the bird resembles a flat toad or crapaud.

1. Cut off the wing pinions at the joint with a pair of poultry shears or with a knife.

   

2. Hold the bird in your hand, breast down. Cut along each side of the backbone with poultry shears and remove it.
3. Clean the inside of the bird by wiping it with paper towels. Trim the skin. Open the bird out and snip the wishbone in half or remove it.
4. Set the bird, breast side up, with the legs turned in. Using the heel of your hand, push down sharply on the breast to break the breastbone and so flatten the bird.

   

5. Make a small cut in the skin between the leg and breastbone and tuck in the leg knuckles.

   

6. Thread two skewers through the birds, to hold the wings and legs in a flat, splayed position.