Honestly, I find spatchcocked birds best for grilled preparations. That’s pretty much the only thing I use them for (except for turkey, which I will also do in the oven on a rack and a drip pan beneath.)
Yeah, a spatchcocked chicken would easily fit on my grill. That’s what i planned to do the one time i did it. But then I thought it would be awkward to flip and stuff, so i just continued cutting it up into pieces. I tend to cut a chicken into:
- Back
- Two legs
- Two thighs
- Two wings
- Four pieces of breast
When I grill or broil.
Maybe I’ll try spatchcocking next time i want to grill a chicken, and see how it comes out. I suppose less surface area might be good.
I honestly don’t see any advantage to spatchcocking vs breaking out the pieces other than presentation. You have even more control with it completely broken down as you can remove the parts as they finish (usually you want to pull breast at a lower internal temp than thighs and legs.) It’s perfect for something like a Cornish game hen or a three-ish-pounder where one or two people are sharing a bird.
I was first introduced to the concept in South Africa where pretty much all the piri piri chicken was served in that manner.It flips just fine, as you just grab it along the breast, which is pretty sturdy, lift, and flip. Never had an issue.
I am perhaps unusual in that I find it somewhat meditative to cut up meat. So once I start cutting, it’s awfully appealing to just keep going. 
After all, the only parts that are tedious are pulling out the cutting board and washing everything when I’m done, and those parts are just as tedious if I cut more or less.
But I ought to try spatchcocking again sometime, just to say I’ve done it.
I guess I don’t pay all that much attention to the size, but I do something similar to this and she specifies 4 lb so I guess in that ballpark.
I do use the same roasting pan as turkey so that’s what I was thinking.
If you really like breaking down birds then I guess that’s the way to go. It saves you time before serving. I like to present the whole bird and then carve.
I like to present the whole bird, too. That’s why I usually roast a whole bird. That, and I really like roast fowl. 
But if I’m grilling or broiling I break down the bird.
What do you present a spatchcocked bird on? Again, it’s so big and unwieldy. I usually put the roast chicken on an ordinary dinner plate, and just carve it at the table.
Hmmm, but now I’m lusting for a 12 inch cast iron skillet…
Easy roast chicken:
Leave the 5 lb fresh chicken at room temp for an hour or three before you start to cook – a warmer bird cooks faster and doesn’t dry out or get tough. Note that my kitchen is cool, if your kitchen warmer than 70F or so, find a cooler place for the bird, as you don’t want the edges to spoil and develop off flavors.
Preheat a convection oven to 425F or 450F (450 is slightly better, but makes a lot more mess as the bird spatters)
Remove any pieces packed in the chicken, and rest it on its side (one wing down) on a wire rack in a small roasting pan. When the oven reaches temp, put the bird in the oven, on its side, for 15-20 minutes
flip to the other side, and cook at high heat for another 15 minutes or so.
Then drop the oven temp to anything from 250F to 350F, depending on when you want it to be done. If you didn’t let the bird warm a bit before you started cooking it, a lower temp now will yield better results. Flip the bird on its back and if there’s a large piece of abdominal fat from the cavity, you can drape that over the breast to baste itself.
After about 30 minutes, lift it with a cooking fork, and drain any juices from the cavity to the pan, and stick a thermometer in to see how close it is to done. I usually stick the thermometer in through the interior of the cavity, so as not to pierce the skin.
When the coolest part of the bird registers above 150F or so, turn off the oven, and let the bird rest for 30-60 minutes. Note that the resting time is critical not just to let the meat reabsorb its juices, but also for food safety – chicken needs to be pasteurized to be safe to eat, and that happens ~immediately at 165F, or in ~10 minutes at 150. (There’s a margin of safety in those numbers.)
Note that I don’t religiously check the temp every few minutes, and it often gets as hot as 165 before I remove it from the heat. But if it gets much hotter than that it gets dry and over-cooked.
Cook the veggies and set the table as the chicken rests in the open oven or on the back of the stove.
I’ve never seen nor heard of this cut before now.
Safeway here in Phoenix has started selling them.
Nor i. How do you cook it?
It’s for grilling.
Yeah, you could cook that really fast on a grill. I wonder if it will catch on where i live.
I keep hoping one of you will post a verse or two of “Why can’t you buy a spatchcocked chicken?” to the tune of “What shall we do with the drunken sailor?”
I don’t see this often, but there’s at least one store that regularly has a variety of different types, made from chicken, Cornish game hen, or other fowl. It’s referred to simply as “flattened” or “butterflied” and I assume it’s essentially the same as spatchcocked (a word I never heard before!). However, I’ve only ever seen it in the form of a marinated/pre-seasoned bird, and yes, it’s definitely intended for grilling.
The ones I’m referring to above are vacuum-packed in thick plastic in all their flattened expansive glory. They are store-made and the store must have an impressively large vacuum packer. It’s a great form of packaging because it keeps in the refrigerator a long time and freezes well.
That’s not all that easy, at least when compared to Kenji Lopez Alt’s recipe, which is really easy: Spatchcocked (Butterflied) Roast Chicken Recipe
He has about twenty more steps that i have!
Also, when i roast a whole chicken, the legs and thighs always end up hotter than the breast. They are thinner, and the wing partially shields the breast. Anyway, according to my thermometer, it works. In fact, the one problem with my method is that the legs are often a little overdone by the time the breast is done. The thighs are delicious, however.
I do note that he recommends the same temp as i do, 150F in the thickest part of the breast, to stop cooking.
Currently not available, but my local grocery offers American cut. It’s on a cedar plank and already seasoned, so just pre-heat the grill and cook.
I don’t like buying pre-seasoned meat. I’d rather choose my own seasonings.
https://www.coop.ch/en/food/meat-fish/packaged-fresh-meat/poultry/bell-chicken-american-cut-on-cedar-wood-approx/p/6699218?context=category
Only if you want the au jus, which I skip. I just put the chicken on the pan, apply the rub, and roast. No turning, changing temp, etc. Comes out great every time.
I don’t cut the chicken, or even rub it, and mine also comes out great every time. And roast chicken for dinner means i get to chill out and watch tv as it cooks/rests. It typically only takes about an hour and 15 minutes total cook time.
For fully roast chicken, I do the high heat method I learned from something I was reading about Thomas Keller’s favorite roast chicken: Get chicken (about 3 pounds – not these giant 5 pound birds.) Dry it as much as possible. Salt it well. Stick it in a preheated 450F oven for about 55 minutes. That’s it. I mean, take it out. Crispy, perfect chicken. (He properly trusses it. I just tie the legs together or tuck them into each other through a slit in the skin.
ETA: Here’s the recipe