Spatchco*ck Roast Chicken Recipe (2024)

Is there no mention anywhere of the roasting temperature? Did I miss it? Try preheating a cast iron skillet in a 500-degree oven and roasting the butterflied bird (or, like me, leg quarters) in that. Place empty pan in cold oven. Rub oil, salt, and pepper on chicken, add a sprig of something. When heated, put chicken in and reduce heat to 400. Perfect every time. (Lest I be accused of plagiarism, credit goes to Cooks Illustrated.)

Recipe says to heat oven to 450 degrees.

This is always how I roast chicken, usually adding onions and carrots to the pan to roast at the same time. I find a 4-5 pound bird takes about 60 minutes at 450. My dry brine uses salt, onion powder, garlic powder, dried sage and black pepper. Overnight brining is best but I have had great results at 6 hours too.

Be sure to use a high-quality, STAINLESS STEEL rack. The salt and high temperatures can leech out other metal coatings.

A sharp knife will do if you lack the shears. I don't remove the spine, I just cut one side and flatten it out.

Fabulous recipe. Ask your local butcher to spatchco*ck the bird for you. Another variation my family love that results in a flavorful and moist bird: brine the spatchco*cked bird in a ziploc bag in the fridge for 6-8 hours (or overnight) with buttermilk, 2-3 fresh rosemary sprigs, 2 garlic cloves, fresh pepper and 3-4 tablespoons of kosher salt. Remove bird from the bag, gently shake excess buttermilk off in sink, then place bird on the rack and follow recipe as otherwise written.

When I roast a spatchco*cked chicken, I put it directly on top of big pile of carrots and onions in addition to aromatics. After the chicken is done, I put the pan with the vegetables back in the oven until they are ready to eat, and they are delicious.

Always looking for different ways to roast a chicken. I’ve used spatchco*ck many times but never thought to put it on a raised sheet pan. My new favorite way to prepare - so crisp and juicy!

The only way to cook a Chicken. From room temperature (off an overnight wet salt brine) I coat the bird in spice rub and “dry brine” on the counter for several hours. Pop the bird in @ 500 degrees for 30 minutes then dial it back to 275. A few cups of white wine in the sheet pan for dripping gravy. Just over an hour or so for 4-5 lb bird to done.

A nice basic recipe. I like lifting the skin from breasts. Then adding herbs (dry or fresh mixed in olive oil) and minced garlic and stuffing under skin of breasts. Helps keep the breast meat moist while adding flavor.

See also Melissa Clark's two recipes--one with herb butter and one with a spice and brown sugar rub. I'm short and have never succeeded in squashing the breast till it lies flat. After removing the back bone, I usually use a chef's knife to crack the wishbone and spit the tough breast cartilage. If roasting the chicken on a rack, I would also put sliced carrots and potatoes (drizzled with oil )under the rack. Why let oven heat and drippings go to waste?

Very nice recipe but 160F too high, I take out at 140 for breast and 160 for thighs. Residual heat will move it higher for safe and really juicy meat.

Love the leg quarters idea and they are on sale frequently.

Very tasty chicken. Salt and pepper generously applied to olive oil-rubbed chicken tasted perfect. No one could taste the lemons. Would make again in heartbeat. Meat was moist and tasty.

Addition to salt and pepper: granulated garlic, granulated onion +/- a sprinkle of chili powder such as cayenne or chipotle. It's not as spicy as you think. A bed of sliced lemon can be the basis of a nice pan sauce.

Upside: Tasty chickenDownside: Filthy oven, smokey kitchen

This is the best roast chicken I have ever made. I watched the video and dry brined for 24 hours. As per the video I used an organic free range chicken and followed the recipe/video exactly. Thank You!

Overnight dry brine 5lb spatchco*ck chicken still cooked in less than an hour after setting on counter half hour out of fridge; great with planked russets ala AGA Blake & bull parboil but no flour

Great way to roast a chicken, breast meat stays moist and the thigh and drums are done at the same time. I used a roasting chicken so lots of leftovers for sandwiches and soup - including my favorite Melissa Clark soup that has farro, chickpeas and Indian seasonings in it. Note:, if you think you will be using this technique fairly often, consider investing in a quality pair of poultry shears. I have a good pair of kitchen shears but they were not equal to the task of cutting out the backbone.

Excellent, so moist!

The chicken itself was delicious but I wish the recipe suggested how to handle/use the drippings. I used misc aromatics from my fridge under the bird - some old celery, parsley stems, half an onion - but then i felt that these got all the delicious drippings in and on them, but weren't actually things I wanted to eat! So I threw them into the pot later with the bones, but since they had gotten a little singed, the broth now has a bit of burned flavor that I don't like.

I dry brined my chicken for about 6 hours and followed the recipe exactly. it came out very juicy and tasty! I will do this again!

Use convection oven, 350, and no need for any oil or butter just sprinkle with kosher salt....freeze backbones and use for chicken stock

There's no indication here about whether one roasts a spatchco*cked bird entirely on one side (skin side up as pictured) or flips it once about halfway through. Also, I find that gently loosening the skin (I use the handle of a silicone spoonula) and spreading an olive-oil based mix of chopped fresh herb under the skin adds a lot of flavor to the finished product.

After splitting, and seasoning the bird, I heat a cast iron pan on the stove top on high. Let it get hot. Put bird in the pan, skin side down, for 5 minutes. Then place the pan in a hot, 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the bird. Take out the pan, flip the bird over so the skin side is up, place back in the oven for 35-40 minutes more. This will result in crispy skin, evenly cooked, delicious chicken.

I’ll add a plea for smaller birds — impossible to find a three to four pound chicken, even with the flocks decimated by avian flu and ranchers trying to catch up financially. Everything is five pounds and up, regardless where we shop.

Back in 1995, Food&Wine magazine ran a series “Cooking with Julia”. Her recipe called for a spatchco*cked Cornish Hen, simply brushed with butter and salt and pepper. She broiled it until lightly browned and finished in a 350 F oven. She called it “A Simple Little Hen”. I have made it many times along with “A Soulful Chicken Soup”.

I'm rather short so can never quite get the leverage to flatten the bird. My five year old grandson solved the problem for me. "Step on it, Grandma". I did, with a cloth to protect the bird. 'Out of the mouths of babes...".

I also am wondering where to find a 3-4 pound chicken.

I’d never made a spatchco*ck chicken before this and found it actually surprisingly easy with day-ahead planning (which I’m not good at generally). The results were wonderful! Brined an 8-lb stuffing chicken with dry rosemary, salt and pepper for 22 hrs. When ready to roast, placed cut onions, carrots, fresh fennel, and 1/2 lg lemon in sheet pan with salt, pepper, rosemary, then the rack and olive oiled spatchco*ck chicken. Used auto-roast function at 400 degrees. Roasted maybe 1hr 15? Delicious!