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Familiar Tastes with a
Cooking Twist
I hope this month finds you all well.
So we’ve all been at home and definitely
cooking more. When some look into their
pantries, they may think, “What in the world
can I make that will be good out of THIS?”
One line I have always remembered in Mel
Gibson’s movie, “Forever Young”, is when
Jamie Lee Curtis declares to McCormick,
“I can’t believe you made something this
good from my kitchen!” Sometimes it just
takes a creative look at your ingredients
to make something delicious and maybe
a little different than what you would
normally make. So here is a great idea from
ingredients that most Americans will find
in their pantries, especially when a quick
run to the store is not so easy lately.
The challenge in this recipe is the
preparation. Why not try a new culinary
skill? I’ve never done this one before and I’m
glad I tried it. It is called “spatchcocking”.
This term means to butterfly meat,
fish, or poultry. The middle section is
deboned and then the meat is spread
out flat. Doing this reduces the cooking
time and allows for speedy cooking
in different ways, such as grilling.
So I recommend that you first watch
a short video on how to spatchcock a
chicken, which is what we will be doing
for this recipe. BBC’s Good Food is
a good one (bbcgoodfood.com).
Then gather your supplies and ingredients
(mis en place!) which you will already
have, more than likely. I used a recipe from
ChefSteps.com, which is a great site for trying
new culinary ideas! It is simple but very good
and probably something that everyone will
really like, just cooked a little differently.
If you don’t feel brave to try a new
technique, you can use two chicken
breasts, two thighs and two leg quarters,
especially if that’s what you have on hand!
42 LAKE WEDOWEE LIFE
Ranch Chicken
1 whole raw thawed chicken
2 ranch dressing powder packets
About 30 small baby gold potatoes, boiled in salty water til soft, drained
Salt and pepper to taste
Additional quality olive oil for drizzling
Smash the baby potatoes with a fork into the bottom of a greased 13x9 glass baking dish. They
should cover most of the bottom of the dish. Line the sides if you have more. Set aside. On cutting
board, spatchcock your bird and score the meat on both sides. Score it well all over, through the
skin and slightly into the meat, even the leg portions, because this is where the ranch seasoning
will add lots of flavor while cooking. With one ranch packet sprinkle generously all over the bottom
side off the scored bird. Place the bird into your tater covered baking pan bottom side down-breast
side up, and flatten it to cover the potatoes as much as possible. Then use the second ranch packet
to sprinkle over the top of the bird. Add pepper to taste and salt if desired ( I did not add more salt
because the ranch seasoning had plenty for my taste).
Drizzle oil over the meat. This will cause the skin to brown and crisp as it cooks. Place the pan into a
preheated oven at 400 degrees or a 425 degree convection oven. Cook until the meat reaches 170
degrees internally. Reduce by 25 degrees if the skin is getting too brown in the last 15 minutes or
so. This should take between 30-45 minutes depending on your oven.
Let your dish rest for 5 minutes after removing from the oven to allow the juices to distribute
evenly. Enjoy! Serves about 4 generous portions.