spatchcock
UK /ˈspæt͡ʃkɒk/ · US /ˈspæt͡ʃˌkɑk/ noun, verb
Forms spatchcocks spatchcocking spatchcocked
- noun (cooking, also attributively) Poultry which has been cut along the spine and spread out for more even cooking.
- verb (cooking, transitive) To cut (poultry) along the spine and spread the halves apart for more even cooking. “For the party, he spatchcocked and grilled some chickens.”
- verb (figuratively, transitive) Often followed by in or into: to interpolate or insert (something into another thing) awkwardly; to sandwich (something within another thing).
Synonyms
Etymology
The noun is probably derived from one of the following:
* A variant of spitchcock (“eel split lengthwise and broiled”). from Middle English spiche-coke, The further etymology is uncertain; the following possibilities have been suggested:
** From Middle English *speche, *spiche (“to split”) + cock, coken (“to allow (something) to cook; to cook”).
** From spik (“animal fat, especially lard”), spik, spike (“large nail; pointed stud”), or spit, spite (“rod for cooking meat, spit; pointed object”); + cok (“male of the common domestic fowl, cock, rooster”).
* From Irish spot (“spot”) or spochta (the past participle of spoch (“to cut, clip”)) + coc (“male of the common domestic fowl, cock, rooster”).
A derivation from (di)spatch (“to dispose of speedily; to make a speedy end of”) + cock is now thought to be unlikely.
In a few texts from the 1400s–1700s the form smatchcock is found, possibly an error or an alteration under the influence of smatch (“a taste, a flavor”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Webster’s 1913
- noun See Spitchcock.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “spatchcock”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details