[Warning: The following post contains images of raw meat]
I am proud to report that I have successfully butterflied a chicken on my first attempt. I used these instructions, which were very helpful. In anticipation of today again being too hot to bake, I decided to prepare the chicken after getting home from work/volunteering last night.
The chicken, with backbone removed:
The chicken, with breastbone [partially] removed, and flipped over:
Then I seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper, thyme, and a little butter (because, oh, why not), put it into the oven at 425degF, turned down the temperature to 350 after 10 min or so, and went to take a shower - part of why I like roasting chickens so much is that it enables multitasking. The legendary Zuni Cafe roast chicken is apparently cooked at 475 degF straight, but the best roast chicken I ever ate (from a food festival dinner at The Slow Club) was cooked at 500 for 5 min and then 325 until done....so I compromise.
The result, about an hour later, was evenly cooked, juicy chicken with a crisp skin. Part of this chicken was dinner tonight, along with a simple green salad with tomatoes and some peanut-sauced noodles.
Getting ready for a long weekend, which I know will involve some great food. Happy Labor Day Weekend to all :-).
