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I love roasting a whole chicken when entertaining. Guests can choose their favorite cut of meat and there are plenty of options for using the leftover chicken meat. Making a spatchcocked chicken allows the meat to cook evenly and quicker than if you left the chicken whole.
The best tip I’ve gotten for nice crispy chicken skin is to rub butter under the skin. It makes all the difference! My favorite part of roasting chicken is sneaking some of the crispy skin after its done.
This method of cooking chicken entails removing the backbone and flattening the chicken. This exposes more skin to crisp up in the oven while also cooking the chicken more evenly and quickly.
In my opinion the chicken is also easier to break down once it has been spatchcocked. You can easily separate the rest of the parts of the chicken for serving, just be sure you have kitchen shears to remove the back. A chef knife will do but it’s much easier with poultry shears.
Preheat oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Place the chicken breast-side down on a clean workspace with the legs facing towards you.
Starting at the thigh, cut along one side of the backbone with kitchen shears. Turn the chicken around and then cut along the other side of the backbone. Discard the backbone or save it and use it for homemade stock. Flip the chicken over so the skin side is facing up. Use the palm of your hand to press down on the breastbone and flatten the chicken.
Arrange the lemons in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place the chicken skin side up on the baking sheet on top of the lemons.
Gently use your fingers to separate the chicken meat and the chicken skin, being careful not to tear it. Slip the chunks of butter under the skin.
Rub the skin with the olive oil and garlic then season with salt and pepper.
Roast the chicken until the skin is golden brown and crispy and the temperature of the thickest part of meat is 165ºF (74ºC), about 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and let rest on a cutting board for at least 10 minutes before serving.
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