Roasted Spatch Cock Chicken

I was  in  the grocery store on Saturday looking at the chickens. There are a lot of choices these days. In the bag, out of the bag, cut up, boneless and skinless, bone in skin on,  and even spatch cocked chicken for roasting,slathered in this that and the other.  Garlic butter, barbeque, spicy chili, etc.   Those already spatch cocked and seasoned birds cook in half the time of a whole bird, but they also cost roughly twice as much.  You are paying for the convenience I guess!




They're not even that big.  They barely serve four people . . .  with no leftovers.  Looking at the prices of whole chickens,  I realized I could buy a LARGE whole chicken for the same price as one of the smaller spatch cocked ones.

 

I decided to buy one of the large chickens and spatch cock and season it myself. I would have plenty of meat for both of us and Mitzie for several meals, so it only made economic sense and I could control the seasoning myself as well. Spatch cocking is not that hard to do . . .  all you need is a sharp pair of kitchen scissors.  It only involves removing the back bone and bashing it out to lay flat.   You can find a great tutorial on how to do just that HERE.



I like to make a garic butter, which I push beneath the skin of the breast on both sides.  No need to mash it together or anything. I just mix the garlic, some lemon zest, mixed herbs, salt and pepper onto a plate and roll some slices of butter in it.  Simple.   Not only is this moist and delicious,  but you can have some fabulous roast chicken on the able in less than an hour, with plenty of leftovers for the next day!

*Roasted Spatch Cock Chicken*

Serves 4 to 6
Printable Recipe 

A deliciously tender and moist roasted chicken that cooks in half the time of the regular method.  You will need a sharp pair of kitchen scissors for this.  I noticed in the shops you pay twice as much for a spatch cocked chicken than a regular one and thought to myself, I can do that at home for half the price and so I did.

4 thick slices of butter (just cut from the stick of butter)

the finely grated zest of one large lemon

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 (4 pound) roasting chicken

salt and black pepper to taste

paprika

olive oil

Preheat your oven to 225*C/425*F/ gas mark 7.  Have a large deep sided baking tray ready.  

Flip your chicken over upside down.  Take a sharp pair of kitchen shears and cut down both sides of the back bone, starting at the pope's nose.  Remove and discard.  You should be able to see the whole chicken cavity now.  Sprinkle with some salt and pepper to taste.  Flip the chicken over right side up.  Carefully loosen the skin over the breast.  Mix the lemon zest, garlic, coarse sea salt, black pepper and herbs together on a plate.  

 

Dip your slices of butter into this mixture to coat each one.   Slice two pats beneath the skin on each side of the chicken breast, making sure you pat the skin back down over top when done.  Put the chicken onto the baking sheet and press down firmly to spread it out a bit.


 

Using a sharp knife make several cuts diagonally across the drumsticks and the thighs.   Sprinkle some salt and black pepper over all.   Cut the lemon in half and squeeze it all over  the chicken.  Put the two spent halves underneat the chicken.  Sprinkle with paprika and drizzle with a bit of olive oil.

Roast in the heated oven for 20 minutes at the high temperature.  Baste and then reduce the oven temperature to 190*C.375*F/ gas mark 5.   Continue to roast for another 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear, and basting it every 10 minutes or so.

Let the cooked chicken stand for several minutes, loosely tented with foil.   Slice to serve along with some of the pan juices spooned over top.