The Best Way to Roast A Whole Chicken – Spatchcock Your Bird

Today I am sharing the best way to roast a whole chicken – Spatchcocked Chicken! This technique allows the chicken to cook quickly and evenly, delivering super moist chicken with crispy skin.

Spatchcocked Chicken, also known as butterflied chicken – The fastest way to roast a whole chicken that is tender, moist, juicy, absolutely delicious and on the table in about an hour.

My sister, Anastasia, has been roasting her chickens this way for years, doing two at a time for her large family.

You can even Spatchcock  your turkey during the holidays.

Denver Post – Spatchcock Your Bird for Best Results – “Moist turkey with crispy skin is easy to achieve.”

To butterfly the chicken, you will need a strong, sturdy pair of kitchen scissors or poultry shears. Place chicken on cutting board/work surface, breast side down and cut the backbone/spine out using scissors/shears (see photos below). You can see an excellent step-by-step photo tutorial on Serious Eats.

If you do not have a good pair of kitchen shears or do not want to mess with the chicken, ask the butcher at the meat counter at your local grocery store to do it for you.

Remove the backbone, spread/stretch the chicken legs far apart, then flip the bird over with the skin side facing up.

Next, press down on the middle of the bird in between the breasts, (using palm of hands, one on top of the other, like you are giving it CPR), press down hard until you hear a crack (you are cracking the wishbone) and the chicken is laying nice and flat. That’s it!

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SPATCHCOCKED CHICKEN

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Ingredients

• One whole 4-pound chicken
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil- 2 tablespoons to coat chicken and 1 tablespoon for coating roasting pan.
• seasoning – kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper –  you can also add your favorite poultry herbs and spices – season to taste

Remove the Chicken’s Backbone/Spine (see photos above):

1. Using a good, strong pair of kitchen scissors or poultry shears, cut out the backbone of the chicken and remove.
2. Stretch the chicken legs far apart.
3. Flip the bird over with the skin side facing up.
4. Press down on the middle of the bird in between the breasts, (using palm of hands, one on top of the other, like you are giving it CPR), press down hard until you hear a crack (you are cracking the wishbone) and the chicken is laying nice and flat.
5. Pat dry with paper towels.
6. Brush center of roasting pan with one tablespoon olive oil (brush where you are going to place the chicken)
7. Place chicken in roasting pan or on rimmed baking sheet, skin side up.

Roasting Chicken

Preheat oven to 425 degrees f.

Brush chicken with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, coating evenly.

Season well with kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper along with your favorite poultry herbs and spices.

Place on middle rack of oven and roast for 45-50 minutes. Roast until skin turns golden brown and chicken reaches a safe 165 degrees f.  (use a thermometer or  instant-read thermometer, inserting it in the thickest part of the thigh).

Allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes – serve.

Tip: You can roast potatoes, carrots, onions and other veggies with the chicken. Be sure to add quick roasting veggies, like asparagus, midway through roasting so they are not overdone.

Thanks for stopping by!

cheers!