"Found the heart!"

The usual subject of avian immolation is a turkey, that massive, delicious bird one can find beautifully cooked in holiday classics like It's a Wonderful Life, or horribly butchered in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Regardless, turkeys are amazing birds, but not if you are eating for two. First, it's too expensive, and second, it's simply too much food for two. A useful substitute is a fryer chicken - perfectly sized and priced for a couple wanting a romantic, peaceful night in. Therefore, we are sharing our roast chicken recipe done up with compound butter. From Chris and Kinnon, we wish all of our beloved readers a happy, restful, refreshing holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year!

Spatchcocking

Spatchcocking is a preparation technique for roasting a chicken. Basically, it involves cutting the spine out of a whole chicken with kitchen shears, flipping the bird over, and using both hands to effectively flatten the whole chicken by breaking the breastbone. If you think that this is the most metal way to prepare a chicken, you would be right. Spatchcocking is also a wonderful way to ensure your whole chicken cooks evenly and the skin browns efficiently.

Compound butter

Compound butter is the result of mixing butter with spices, herbs, alliums, and so much more. It's a very quick way to add a ton of flavor to your cooking: if butter wasn't enough, you are also adding all the good stuff from the mix-ins of your butter too. This can have great effects in a sauce, or in our case, under the skin of a roast chicken. You can also simply have it on toast: the world is your oyster with this one.

Making compound butter is quick. First, soften some butter (basically take it out of the fridge for an hour) then mash in whatever ingredients you want. Once you do that, how you store it is up to you. For our roast chicken, we are using it immediately, so we just had it in a bowl. As long as it's in a covered container, it will keep in the fridge for 5-7 days. If you want to keep it for longer, however, do the following: put some onto a sheet of plastic wrap, fold the wrap over it, then roll it into a tube like we did with our -stuffed pork tenderloin-. You can also pack it into ice cube trays and freeze it that way (though it may freezer burn). Compound butter stored like this will keep for 4-6 months.

Compound butters are versatile, and can take on any flavor you like. Some ingredients that make for good compound butters include:

• Capers
• Paprika
• Rosemary and thyme
• Garlic and lemon zest
• Caramelized Shallots
• Brown sugar
• Cheese (Really any type as long as it can mix in well)
• Honey and dill
• Garam Masala
• Cumin
• Blueberries

And so many more. Try some different flavors that you enjoy with butter, and see which ones enter your regular rotation.

Gravy: a quick how-to

Gravy from a roast piece of meat is an easy way to get the most out of what may be a large purchase. The basics of a gravy are this: take the drippings from your roast, and add it to a sauce pan. add flour to a separate small bowl along with some water, and make a slurry with it: this helps the flour incorporate into the hot drippings. If you want, you can make a roux with butter first then add your drippings second - both methods work great. Turn the pan to medium and start adding the slurry, whisking constantly as you do. After all the slurry is in, keep whisking until the mixture comes to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add any spices you want, and keep whisking until the gravy is as thick as you like. Season with salt to taste, and that's it: you have your gravy from scratch, and you can enjoy it on your garlic mashed potatoes, or on your Yorkshire puddings. You can even do shots with it if you want - we don't judge.

How to make it

Work while preheating

Set your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Take your softened butter and put it into a bowl. Zest and juice a lemon, mince your garlic and dill, and add it to your butter bowl with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mash everything together and set aside.

Take your chicken, and pat it dry with some paper towel. Grab a pair of kitchen scissors, and cut out the backbone from the chicken; Reserve the spine for making stock.

Flip the chicken over, place both hands on the breast bone, and press down firmly, breaking the breast bone. The chicken should now sit flat-ish on the cutting board.

Spa Day! (body massage and a trip to the sauna)

Gently separate the skin from the chicken without tearing it. Take half of the butter, and rub it under the skin. Take the other half, and rub it on the surface.

Roughly chop up some onion, carrot, and celery, and halve a head of garlic: add these veggies to the pan.

Pour in the wine, lemon juice, and chicken broth into the bottom of the pan. Place the chicken skin side up on the vegetables, and place the whole thing in the oven.

Roast it for 45 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (anymore and the chicken will start to dry out). Once it hits this temperature, remove the chicken and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.