Friday, October 7, 2011

Olive Tapenade Spatchcocked Chicken for French Fridays with Dorie

A bowl of corn veloute notwithstanding, I have not exactly been the most active Dorista lately. But I just couldn't miss this week's French Fridays with Dorie. You didn't think I would pass up an opportunity to spatchcock something, now did you?

Stop it! There is nothing untoward about spatchcocking. It is simply the removal of a chicken - or other bird's - backbone, and a subsequent flattening of the bird before roasting or grilling in order to facilitate even cooking. As if by magic, both the thighs and the breast are simultaneously  finished at an optimal state of juiciness.

The term may be all innocence, but I'll grant you that the results are bit ... explicit:

To be fair, Dorie's original recipe  - which called for Cornish game hens - may have yielded more delicate results. But I wanted to spatchcock a whole, big-girl sized chicken. 

Also, Dorie's recipe only uses one teaspoon of olive tapenade on each bird. As you can see, I used rather more.

And so, inspired by this post on Jenna's Everything Blog, I  made my own tapenade - oil cured olives, green olives, capers, thyme, olive oil, and Taste #5 Umami paste -  and slathered great big messy handfuls of the stuff under and on top of the skin.  I laid this over some thyme and lemon slices, and popped it into a 400 degree F oven for 50 minutes.

The result? Crispy skin and meltingly  soft meat intensely flavored, but not overpowered, with olive.  And the lesson? Sometimes more really is more.

I served the bird perched on top of a nest of butter-sauteed Brussels sprouts:
If you want to become a Dorista and cook along for French Fridays with Dorie, just pick up a copy of Around My French Table and get to it. In the meantime, you can see other interpretations of this week's dish here.

Happy French Friday!





23 comments:

  1. Wow - you made your own tapenade? Awesome! I used way more than it asked for too :) I love love this technique and will be using it again soon - roast chicken dinner in under an hour? Yes please!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I recently used a whole pot of olivade on some lamb shoulder... just that, slow-cooked in the oven, and it was unbelievable! It must be good on chicken too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Now this is a keeper for me will love it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great method of preparation! I would eat that rather quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Homemade condiments always make the dish! I've never made tapenade, but now you've got my olive juices flowing...Theresa

    ReplyDelete
  6. OMG, you're back on the wagon this week! I'm the opposite of you, I can't bear to spatchcock anything...big hen or small hen, or person even. But that doesn't stop my voyeuring everybody else's flattened birds on French Fridays! Btw, your homemade tapenade sounds gooood with the umami paste in there.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I first spatchcocked when I was 16. Boy THAT was "meltingly intense meat softly flavored", or something like that. Been doing it ever since. Great to see you back to FFwD. Once again I'm not hitting the Dorista target today... but because I love love LOVE spatchcoking so much you can be sure I'll be back on this saddle again soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A whole chicken on a bed of roasted brussels sprouts - excellent choice! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think I would have liked more of the tapenade like you did. It was so tasty with the hen. I definitely would like to try this with a big-girl bird. Cute post!

    ReplyDelete
  10. More tapenade would definitely have been better. I could barely taste it on my bird. And I agree...something about the pictures I took of my finished product all looked vulgar, somehow. Vulgar makes me laugh, so it's all good. Your chicken looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yeah! Trix is back!
    I totally used a half cup of tapenade. It seemed wrong to do less.
    And I think I totally need a live-in "spatchcocker"...

    ReplyDelete
  12. SO good to see a wayward Dorista return ;) We did miss you! I think my Cornish hen looked a bit untoward splayed out...but your chicken looks fabulous on that vibrant bed of Brussels sprouts!

    Have a great weekend~

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love your tapenade and good call on a chicken. I never heard the word spatchcock but in French we say "en crapaud" which translates directly to "like a toad" Go figure

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good work on the big girl bird with a healthy dose of tapenade to boot;-) Love, love, love the bed of brussels sprouts, good time to come back for this recipe!
    All the recipes look good to me this month but I have no time to cook, will catch up next month;-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I was rather surprised when a good friend and uber-cook had never heard of spatchcocking (the name always brings giggles, doesn't it?) or, as in the Italian version, placing a brick on the little bugger to keep it flat on the grill. No one laughed when we ate it... groans of pleasure were heard. It's a great way to cook a bird, if you ask me. Now must try this olive idea... NUM!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. well I'll be darn, been spatchcocking my chicken for years and up until now, if you had said that to me, I would have cold-cocked ya!... very nice with the tapenade

    ReplyDelete
  17. Way to go for spatchcocking a whole chicken! I should have done that instead of buying safe and easy thighs. Mmmh... brussels sprouts...

    ReplyDelete
  18. That word has me giggling :) I know I'm so immature, hehe. But seriously it looks so gorgeous and juicy. That's so great that you made your own Tapenade. One day I'll have to get the nerve up and make my chicken do the splits or spatchcock it. Love your brussels sprouts too.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This looks amazing. I love the tapenade. More is always better imho.

    ReplyDelete
  20. LOL!..when I saw your chicken..I say to myself.. " how come her spatcocked looks gorgeous with the legs wide spread out and compared with mine, my spatcocked looked demure with the legs almost close together " :p I love your sides that goes with your roast chick :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. That is one gorgeous chicken dish lady! I am so excited that you made your own tapenade...nice :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Your chicken really pops with the brussel sprouts!!! It looks delish! Welcome back to FFwD!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'm not sure what's more satisfying - saying spatchcock or the beautiful results this technique brings. Your big girl bird looks gorgeous. Those Brussels sprouts are a perfect side.

    ReplyDelete