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No need to endure dry whole chickens anymore! This spatchcocked chicken recipe is the best way to cook a whole chicken leaving it amazingly juicy and flavorful. You will never cook a whole chicken any other way!
After years of tweaking my recipe for cooking a whole chicken, I was beginning to feel discouraged when my family still didn’t love it. To be honest, a whole chicken is often on the dryer side and it wasn’t my favorite either.
When my husband decided to try his hand at a method I had never heard of – spatchcocking – I gladly handed him the reins. The first spatchcocked chicken was great! The second was amazing. And by the third time, we had it down and decided we would never cook a whole chicken any other way.
No need to take three times to figure it out! Instead, follow this easy recipe for the absolute best way to cook a whole chicken. I promise you won’t go back to your old chicken roasting ways!
Yields: 8-9 servings
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
Prep bin:
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 lbs. medium red potatoes
Defrost:
- 4-5 lb. whole chicken
Pull out same day:
- 3 medium carrots
- 1 lb. brussels sprouts
- 4 T unsalted butter + 2 T butter
- 1 T olive oil + more for drizzling
- 1 tsp. dried parsley
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/8 black pepper
- additional salt, pepper, and your favorite seasoning for chicken
Prep Directions:
- Place the whole chicken on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, breast-side down with the wings and neck towards you. Using kitchen shears, cut through the ribs right next to the spine down the length of the chicken. Repeat on the other side of the spine and remove it. (The spine is great for making broth later!)
- Open the rib cage and use a sharp knife to score down the sternum so that the chicken will lay more flat. Season the side of the chicken facing you with salt and pepper.
- Flip over the chicken so that it is breast-side up now.
- Using the palm of your hand, press firmly on the breastbone until the chicken lays flat.
- Mince the garlic.
- Peel and quarter the onion.
- Wash and quarter the potatoes and carrots.
- Wash, trim, and half the brussels sprouts. Set the veggies aside.
- In a small bowl combine the 4 T softened butter, 1 T olive oil, 1 tsp. dried parsley, minced garlic, 1 T lemon juice, 1 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- Use your thumb to separate the skin from the meat in the breast, thigh, and drumstick areas.
- Spread 2/3 of your butter mixture under the skin. Spread the remaining 1/3 over the top of the chicken.
- If your baking sheet will fit in your fridge, or if you are going to bake this right away, move on to assembling the veggies onto the pan.
- If you plan to bake this later and your baking sheet won’t fit, lift the chicken and parchment paper onto a sheet of foil or into a large container. Seal tightly and refrigerate. Place the veggies in a bowl and cover and refrigerate.
- To assemble the chicken and veggies on the sheet pan spread the veggies around the chicken. Drizzle both the veggies and the chicken with a little olive oil. Season everything heavily with salt, pepper, and your favorite seasonings.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.
1 hour 15 minutes before you plan to serve dinner
- Remove chicken and veggies from the fridge, uncover, and set aside. Don’t skip this! They need to get closer to room temperature before baking.
- If you haven’t prepped the chicken and veggies on the baking sheet yet, do that now. Place the chicken (nicely flattened) in the middle surrounded by the veggies. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Season heavily with salt, pepper, and your favorite seasonings.
- Preheat oven to 425 F
- Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes, or until the thickest part of the breast meat comes to 160 F.
- Remove the chicken and veggies from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve chicken and veggies alongside your sides of choice and enjoy!
