thumb|Butterflying pork loin

Butterflying is a way of preparing meat, fish, or poultry for cooking by cutting it almost in two, but leaving the two parts connected; it is then often boned and flattened. Spatchcocking is a specific method for butterflying poultry that involves removing the backbone, and spatchcock as a noun may refer to a bird prepared in that way.

Poultry and "spatchcocking"

thumb|Turkey with backbone removed in preparation for spatchcocking

thumb|Spatchcocked turkey

Poultry is often butterflied. Butterflying makes poultry easier to grill or pan-broil.

The more specific term spatchcocking refers to a variation on butterflying that also removes the backbone and possibly the sternum, typically from a smaller bird.

According to The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson, the word spatchcock could be found in cookbooks as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries. It was thought to be of Irish origin, possibly short for "dispatch cock," which referred to "grilling a bird after splitting it open down the back and spreading the two halves out flat." It may also derive from "spitchcock," a method of grilling eels.

Other

Butterflying shrimp or lobster tail involves cutting the hard top side, without cutting all the way down to the other, softer side.

See also

  • Accordion cut

References

  • Food Network picture demo on butterflying a chicken
  • How to spatchcock a chicken, cookthink.com