I can admit that I experienced some trepidation upon seeing I would need to butterfly a chicken for the 5th episode of Good Eats. As a child, I shrieked in horror upon seeing our family’s naked Thanksgiving turkey sitting on the kitchen counter. Fleeing the room, I was chased by my older brother who had a handful of giblets. Ever since, I have really not liked the appearance of uncooked fowl. Really, though, can anyone truly say they find raw chicken appetizing? It’s an odd shade of yellowish pink, slimy, slightly sticky, and covered by prickly yellow skin. Still, amazingly, the cooked version can be quite tasty.
The smallest chicken we could get at our grocery store was five pounds, while Alton’s recipe calls for a three or four pound bird. I made my paste of peppercorns, garlic, salt, lemon zest, and olive oil, and filled my roasting pan with carrots, onions, and celery. Then it was time to face the bird… DUN, DUN, DUNNN!!!
Veggies in the roasting pan.
Garlic, pepper, lemon, salt, and oil paste.
I placed my chicken (I called her “Sally”) on my board and cut down both sides of the back bone. This part was actually pretty easy. The keel bone, however, proved to be harder to remove than it was when Alton did it on the show. I pressed down on her until she was flat, loosened her skin, and spread the paste under her skin. Then I oiled her up and placed her on top of the veggies in the roasting pan.
Sally.
Butterflying Sally.
Into the oven.
My oven rack was 8 inches from the broiler, as recommended in both the episode and online recipe. This proved to be too close, as Sally’s breasts were getting too dark too quickly. It was fine after lowering her to the very bottom rack.
Ready to flip. Breast got a little too dark.
The online recipe tells you to check the bird after 10 minutes of cooking. The episode, on the other hand, tells you to check after 18 minutes. Since my bird was larger, I checked her after 18 minutes, and decided to let ‘er go for another couple minutes before flipping her over. Her derriere took considerably longer also, and she ended up cooking for a total of nearly an hour before she was at 165 degrees.
Ready to eat.
While Sally rested in the shade of a foil-covered bowl, I deglazed the roasting pan and made the jus. I cut Sally into quarters, making incisions to catch the jus, drizzled her with jus, and topped her with a lemon wheel.
Making the jus.
The final plate.
Ted declared Alton’s chicken to be delicious, and I think it’s safe to say that he is happy I am pursuing this project.
Allison Cooks Alton's Good Eats 