Easy Oven Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken, my new favorite way to bake chicken. It takes less time than traditional baked chicken and is absolutely scrumptious.
Easy Oven Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken
Easy Oven Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken
Hi. It's Lois at Recipe Idea Shop, with an Easy Oven Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken. Moist, flavorful, super easy. This ain't your momma's chicken, at least it's not mine, it's so much better. In the past, I have roasted chickens whole. That's pretty simple, but it takes a long time. Usually 1½ hours in the oven, plus 15 minutes resting time.
But with Easy Oven Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken you are ready to eat in about an hour and once you are good at it, it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare it. Plus, its skin so so crispy and amazing.
The Quest
We had to eat early one day because Don was driving to Baltimore after supper, and that's about a five-hour drive. So I planned dinner for 5:30. I thought I'd pick up one of those delicious roasted chickens at the grocery store, but they didn't have any ready when I was there. So, not one to be deterred when I have my tastebuds set on something, I bought a whole chicken and decided to bake it myself.
I must admit, though, regular baked chicken is kind of a mystery to me. Sometimes it's moist; sometimes it's dry as a bone; sometimes it's undercooked. It probably has more to do with my attention span than anything, but you do have to pay attention. And I usually don't do a consistent job with slow cooker chicken. It's often too dry for me. (It's better if I put the chicken in the pot frozen.) What's the knack?
What You Need
So I decided to spatchcock the chicken. And for this method, you need a good pair of kitchen shears (affiliate link) or a sharp knife (affiliate link). I also use a jelly roll pan (affiliate link) instead of a roasting pan. And measuring spoons, of course. I like the magnetic type of measuring spoons (affiliate link). Read about why spatchcocking is different after the recipe.
Easy Oven Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken 4 pounds or so, parts removed; there's usually a bag in the cavity
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and sliced into strips
- 6 sprigs about 2" long fresh rosemary
- ½ teaspoon Herbes de Provence
- 1 lemon sliced
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450°F.
- Spread two tablespoons of oil long the baking sheet. Don't put too much oil or it will splatter all over your oven unless you line your pan with potatoes or vegetables.
- Place the springs of rosemary and garlic slices in the middle so that they will be completely covered by the chicken when you place it on the pan.
- Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut the backbone out of the chicken, cutting down both sides of the backbone and removing it. (Save the backbone in a bag in the freezer to make broth in the future.)
- Place the chicken, back side down, opened wide, on the baking sheet over the rosemary and garlic.
- Press on the breast to flatten the chicken.
- Drizzle the chicken with the a little olive oil.
- Sprinkle salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence over the chicken.
- Spread the sliced lemon around the chicken and on the pan.
- Bake the chicken at 450°F for 40-50 minutes until nice and brown and the internal temperature reaches 185F degrees (breast) and when you poke it, the juices run clear.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Why Spatchcocking is Different
Spatchcocking is almost foolproof. The chicken cooks evenly because you cut the backbone out (save it for chicken stock) and flatten the chicken before baking it. That makes it so most of the parts of the chicken are equal thickness and it cooks evenly and quickly.
Add some small potatoes to the pan to roast at the same time.
True confession: I have only cooked a chicken this way five times, once on the grill (affiliate link) and four times in the oven. But I don't think I will ever cook another whole chicken the old-fashioned way again. I suggest you cover your baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, however, for easy clean-up. I made quite a mess of my pan!
Use this trick: Be sure to cook some small potatoes sliced in half and place sliced-side down on the pan to prevent your chicken from splattering all over your oven. The added advantage is that you have nice, roasted potatoes to eat with your chicken.
The first time I did it, I made it the way Martha Stewart said to make it. It took hours. Six to eight hours marinating the chicken, 15 minutes of prep, and about 35 minutes to cook it. Our Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken was amazing. But you have to plan for it. You can't just heat the oven, cut the chicken, throw on some spices, and pop it in the oven. And, although it tasted heavenly, it wasn't beautiful. Believe me, it doesn't look so great, but that charred black skin is amazing. Take a look:
Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken.
On the other hand, this Easy Oven Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken took a total of one hour and 10 minutes, including resting time. And it is my new favorite way to make chicken. It's not only delicious. It's gorgeous and simple. And I roasted the potatoes in the same pan at the same time. I think you could do this with any root vegetable as long as you have room on the pan.
Why Rest the Chicken?
Or meat, for that matter? There's a science behind it. As you cook the chicken (or meat), the juices ooze out and gather in the pan, which can dry out your food. As it rests (10-15 minutes for chicken, 15-20 minutes for roasts), the juices are slowly reabsorbed into the meat, making it juicy and flavorful. So, it's best to let your meat sit on the counter in the pan a few minutes (rest) before carving. Trust me, it will stay hot.
Recipe Nutrition Information
This recipe is GF, DF, NF, SF, EF, CF (use sea salt)*
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
More Chicken Recipes
- How To Spatchcock a Chicken
- Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken
- Croatian Grilled Chicken
- Easy Chicken Marsala
- South Beach Balsamic Chicken
- Easy Fried Chicken
- Spicy Shredded Chicken
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Spatchcocked Chicken is so good. Crispy skin, juicy meat. Simple. Takes less time than baking.
Easy Oven Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken. Like Valerie Bertinelli's roast chicken.. 1 hour, 10 min to superior chicken.
*Allergen Key
GF = Gluten free | DF = Dairy free | NF = Nut free | SF = Soy free | EF = Egg free | CF = Corn free | V = Vegetarian | VG = Vegan
Note: If you have serious allergies or sensitivities, to be considered free of these allergens, you need to use products specifically marked "gluten free," etc. There can be cross-contamination in facilities.
Jennifer
I have never cooked a chicken this way before. But now that I have tried it I will never cook it the traditional way again! My family loved it!
Lois
It’s my favorite too!
Luanne Austin
We made chicken by this method last night. It was SOOOO good! Even cooking, nice and juicy, and more crispy skin! I'll never go back to shoving it in the oven whole again!
Lois
I know what you mean. It is amazing! Glad you liked it.