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Now for the cooking… Spatchcock or butterflied preparation is mostly cutting the backbone out of the poultry. This technique allows you to open up and flatten out the bird, evenly exposing the entire chicken to the roasting temperatures in the oven. What does this mean? Shorter cooking time and even cooking of the breast and thighs. No more dry meat, yay!
Dry brined with herbs, this butterflied roasted chicken is super flavorful and juicy! Butterflying the chicken allows for even cooking for less time.
INGREDIENTS
- 5 pound whole chicken
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 3 dried bay leaves finely crumbled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine salt, oregano, thyme, ground pepper and crumbled bay leaves.
- Dry the outside and inside of the chicken. Evenly sprinkle skin and cavities of chicken with salt mixture, about 2 tablespoons inside, and the rest rubbed onto the outside of the bird.
- Wrap chicken in plastic wrap and place chicken in a large plastic bag. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
- Set wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, set aside.
- Remove plastic from chicken. Rinse chicken inside and out; pat dry with paper towels.
- Using sharp kitchen shears, remove spine from chicken, cutting along the spine from the neck down to the tail. Discard the backbone.
- Flatten chicken by placing skin side up on cutting board and applying firm pressure to the breast bone.
- Transfer chicken to the wire rack and position chicken so that breasts are aligned with the center of baking sheet and legs are close to the edge. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
- Set oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
- Rub chicken on all surfaces with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Lightly season chicken with freshly ground black pepper.
- Roast until thickest part of breast close to bone registers at least 160-165°F on an instant-read thermometer and joint between thighs and body registers at least 165-170°F, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let meat rest for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving.
RECIPE NOTES
For a crispier skin, you can refrigerate the butterflied chicken on a sheet pan on top of a wire rack uncovered, for 24 hours.
If you like a saltier chicken, butterfly the chicken first then season with salt just on the surface of the skin (breast, thighs, and wings), but not on the cavity. Refrigerate uncovered on a sheet pan on top of a wire rack for 24 hours, then roast (do not rinse). You want to season generously, but not have a thick salt crust.
Source:jessicagavin.com
