Fabulous Flattened Chicken

Eating, Recipes 0 Comments 686 Views August 07, 2020 Sandra
07 Aug. 2020
Comments: 0
Views: 686
By: Sandra

Have you every had a recipe that you were a smidge too intimidated to try?   For me it was flattened chicken. I have to say the whole prospect of cutting the backbone out was kind of icky. That never stopped me from buying the marinated prepared versions from my favourite butcher though.

We all need to push our trepidations in the kitchen once in a while, so I was on a mission to master this.

 

Whether you call it flattened, butterflied or spatchcocked, the entire process is brilliantly outlined in a Youtube video from Food Network.

 

 

The time had come to jump over this hurdle and once mastered, I have to say I really don’t know what took me so long! The absolutely vital element to the whole process is a very sharp pair of kitchen scissors. I have a great pair of 8” Henckels  and they are perfect for anything from meats to finely chopping herbs.

 

What I simply love about a flattened chicken is that it cooks more evenly and quicker than a whole chicken.   Moreover, if you are like me and take advantage of the packs of organic whole chickens from Costco, you can flatten all of them, add your own marinade of choice and freeze them flat in a large ziplock bag for an easy peasy delicious dinner later in the week.

 

My latest go-to, and upping my flattened chicken game, is a stuffed flattened chicken. “But how can you stuff it when it’s flat?” you ask. Well this cooking hack is one of my new favourites: you separate the chicken breast skin from the meat and put your stuffing or paste between the breast and skin. Allowing this to marinade for 30 minutes at room temperature gives time for the deliciousness to soak in.

 

Now I do have to admit this takes a bit of a gentle touch as you do not want to rip a hole in the skin so that the marinate or paste leaks out.

Let’s Feast has a great video illustrating this process. Since I have discovered this simple little process, I have been experimenting with a variety of things to stuff my flattened chicken. The options are endless, but given the abundance of fresh herbs in my garden, my current go-to is a lemon pesto paste.   So easy and super flavourful, it has become a family favourite.

Lemon Pesto Chicken

  • 1 large handful of fresh basil
  • 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 3-4 sprigs of lemon balm (optional)
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • dash of lemon sea salt
  • cracked pepper to taste
  • 2 T of EVOO
  • 1 lemon thinly sliced into crescents
  • 2 T fresh lemon zest

Put all in a small food chopper or processor and whirl until it forms a lovely paste.

 

 

Gently spoon half of the  paste under the chicken breast and massage to ensure all corners of the breasts are covered. Add in a layer of the thinly sliced lemon (about 6 slices).

 

Arrange the flattened chicken on a parchment lined shallow baking dish. Brush with the remaining pesto mixture and arrange remaining chicken slices down the centre.

Arrange the remaining lemon slices down the center of the chicken and allow to marinade for 30 minutes.( you can at this point freeze it in a large ziplock bag for a dinner later in the week.)

 

Bake at 375F for 45-50 minutes ( until juices run clear)… and voila! You have a juicy and oh so flavourful flattened chicken that is as gorgeous as it is delicious.

 

Enjoy!

 

Xo – Sandra

 

Video credits to:

Food Network

Let’s Feast