Episode 57: Spatchcock Chicken and Board Sauce

Imgur AlbumSpecial ingredients - NoneSpecial Equipment - NoneGarlic Scape Pesto - If you can’t get garlic scapes, use an equivalent amount of garlic chives. Stuff the garlic greens into your blender and fill 1/4 of the bottom with olive oil. I used about 20oz of olive oil for a gallon bag of garlic scapes. Squeeze the juice of one lemon, and salt generously. Blend until smooth. You may need to tamp down the garlic to maintain contact with the blades. You may also need to add olive oil to keep everything liquid. Transfer to pint jars (widemouth are most convenient because you can spoon the pesto into the jar easily), apply lids and rings, and keep refrigerated for 3-6 months. If you water bath can your jars, you may get a dulling of the green color. Check your canning guides for that to make sure you can safely can an oil based pesto or if you need to use a pressure canner. Board Sauce - On your cutting board, arrange fresh herbs, salt, pepper, and a light drizzle of oil. When your protein is done, transfer to the board on top of the herb bed. Allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the meat to a serving platter and coarsely chop the wilted herbs left on the board. Easy breezy. Spatchcock Chicken - Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbone of the chicken. This will allow you to open the carcass of the bird like a book and all of the parts of the chicken will be facing “up.” This allows the whole chicken to be grilled in much less time than a whole, intact bird. Salt both sides heavily and flip often to avoid burning the skin. Cook to an internal temperature of at least 165ºF, but I like to go well-beyond that so the connective tissue starts to break down. My chickens were at just about 200ºF when I took them off the grill.