Spatchcocked chicken not only cooks faster than regular whole chicken, but more evenly too! Season your bird with a few simple ingredients (fennel, thyme, lemon zest, salt & pepper) then pop it in the oven for a simple and delicious chicken dinner winner.
⭐Recipe Highlights⭐
A few things to love about this Spatchcocked Chicken Recipe:
- Basic Ingredients: Salt, pepper, thyme, fennel, zest, oil & chicken – that’s it! The spice blend is simple, but incredibly flavorful.
- Fast Cook Time: A five-pound spatchcocked chicken like this typically takes about 45-60 minutes to cook while a whole roast chicken usually needs closer to 80-90 minutes in the oven.
- Adaptable: While I do recommend you try the recipe as written at least once to see just how delicious the simple spice combo is, I absolutely encourage you to play around with the seasoning! Add your favorite herbs and spices, swap out the olive oil for butter, add garlic, etc.
🍗What is ‘Spatchcocked Chicken?’🍗
Spatchcocking (a.k.a. butterflying) is a cooking method used for preparing poultry that involves removing the backbone of the chicken so that the bird can lay flat when it cooks which allows the chicken to cook faster and more evenly at higher temperatures.
Why it’s worth doing:
Two main reasons: it cooks faster and more evenly!
By flattening the bird, you end up roasting the chicken with the breasts positioned in the center of the oven (usually the coolest part) with the legs on the outer (hotter) edges of the pan.
This is ideal because white meat cooks (breast) much faster than dark meat (legs, thighs, wings). By simply removing the spine, you’re able to easily roast the whole chicken without overcooking the white meat or undercooking the dark meat.
How to Butterfly (Spatchcock) a Chicken
All you need is a cutting board and a pair of sharp kitchen shears.
- Place chicken breast side facing down:
- Place the whole chicken on your cutting board with the breast meat facing down and the backbone facing up.
- Remove the backbone:
- Locate the backbone then use a good pair of kitchen shears to up along one side of the spine from tail to neck.
- Repeat on the other side to fully remove the backbone.
- Discard the backbone or freeze it for later to a chicken stock.
- Spread the legs
- Pull the legs apart then flip the chicken over so it’s now breast-side up.
- Flatten the chicken:
- Firmly press down on the breast bone (use the palm of your hand to get enough force) until you hear a crack. You should be able to flatten the butterflied chicken even more now.
- Tidy it up:
- Trim off excess fat, skin, feet and/or cartilage if needed.
Seasoning & Roasting Tips
- Pat dry: Before seasoning the chicken, pat it dry with paper towels to dab up excess moisture. Do this to ensure crispier skin and a more golden brown color after roasting.
- Season under the skin: Gently pull the skin up around the breast and thighs so you can apply whatever marinade or seasoning you have underneath the skin.
- Roast on a wire rack: Roast the chicken on an oven-safe wire rack placed over a large rimmed baking sheet. This will allow airflow to more easily circulate underneath and around the sides the chicken. This also means you’ll keep the skin nice and crispy all over since it’s not sitting in its own pan juices.
- Season (again) with salt & pepper: After applying the marinade, season generously with salt and pepper before roasting. The salt will help draw out moisture in the skin which will help create crispy chicken skin.
FYI – use coarse salt (like kosher salt or flaky sea salt): Table salt is much finer than coarse salt which means it weighs about twice as much when measuring by volume. You can’t be as generous with seasoning all over when using table salt because it can easily be too much.
Serving Suggestions
Complete your roast dinner with a few delicious sides!
- Herby Boiled Potatoes
- French Carrot Salad
- Crunchy Spring Greens Salad
- Malfouf Salad (Lebanese Cabbage Slaw)
- Mashed Potatoes with Cauliflower
- Gluten Free Yorkshire Pudding
- Crispy Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Lemony Feta & Sweet Potato Mash
What to do with leftover chicken?
Chop or shred the leftover meat and add to soups, salads, wraps or omelettes.
In case you need a few ideas:
- Paleo Chicken Salad
- Herby Vietnamese Chicken Salad
- Balsamic Strawberry Chicken Salad
- Peanut Cucumber Chicken Salad
- Ginger and Spring Onion Egg Drop Soup
- Low FODMAP Quinoa Chicken Ranch Wraps
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this Spatchcock Chicken Recipe! I’d love to hear what you made with it and how it turned out! Please leave a comment and review with your thoughts and suggestions for me and future readers.
Fennel & Thyme Spatchcock Chicken Recipe
Season your bird with a few simple ingredients (fennel, thyme, lemon zest, salt & pepper) then pop it in the oven for a simple and delicious chicken dinner winner.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 large whole chicken (about 4-5lbs | 1.8kg - 2.2kg)
Instructions
Spatchcock the Chicken
- Place the whole chicken on a large cutting board, breast-side down.
- Locate the backbone/spine of the chicken then use a pair of kitchen shears or a sharp knife to cut it out by cutting right along side the spine on both sides.
- Spread the legs apart then flip the chicken over is the breast is now facing up.
- Press down firmly on the center of the chicken until you hear a crack and the chicken and lies flat.
- Trim excess skin, fat, cartilage if needed.
Roast
- Set oven rack to the upper-middle position. Preheat to 425°F (220°C). Place a wire rack over a shallow roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.
- In a small mortar and pestle: bash together the thyme leaves, fennel seeds, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Stir in the olive oil, then set aside. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, just mix it all together in a small bowl.
- Place the spatchcocked chicken on the wire rack set over the baking sheet. Spread the herb mixture all over the outside of the chicken, including the bottom along the inside of the rib cavity. Make sure to get underneath the skin on the breast and thighs as well.
- Position the chicken so that it's in the center of the wire rack with the breast side facing up.
- Roast in the oven for about 45-50 minutes until the thickest part of the breast close to bone reaches 160°F (71°C) when checked with a meat thermometer. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your chicken. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes on a cutting board before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Before Roasting: Allow the chicken to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking.
- Leftovers: Let cool then store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Use within 4-5 days.
- Wire Rack: Cooking the chicken on a wire rack will allow the hot air to circulate under the chicken, resulting in a crispier/ less soggy bottom. It's totally optional though, so you can roast this directing in your roasting pan or on a baking sheet if you prefer.
- Fennel: If you can find fennel powder, feel free to use that instead (you'll only need 1/2 tsp ground).
- Internal Temperature: Keep in mind that the internal temp will continue to rise about 5-10 degrees after it comes out of the oven.
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