This Spatchcock Chicken is the easiest way to roast a delicious chicken for dinner. A spatchcocked chicken cooks much faster than a traditional roast chicken so it’s perfect for a busy weeknight meal. Spatchcock roasted chicken comes out tender and juicy every time!
This spatchcock chicken is the easiest, fastest, and the perfect way to roast a chicken whenever you’re in a rush. Nothing beats a roasted chicken for dinner as everyone is always excited for it. Spatchcocking means to remove the spine of a chicken and press down, so that the chicken lays flat, speeding up the roasting process and giving you much more crispy skin!
It’s simple, delicious, and everyone loves it. Chicken is a household favorite and there are almost never any leftovers. If you want another easy chicken recipe, you should try my Creamy Chicken Alfredo Lasagna and my Baked Chicken and Broccoli Pasta! They are some of my favorite weeknight meals that can be made in a jiffy.
Why You’ll Love This Marinated Spatchcock Chicken Recipe
- It’s faster. It takes less time to roast a spatchcock chicken than a whole chicken as it’s cut open. There’s more surface area for the oven to roast the chicken.
- It’s easier to carve. As the chicken is flattened and spread out, it’s much easier to carve the chicken to serve after.
- No more dry chicken. Thanks to how the chicken is cut open, you decrease your chances of having dry chicken! The breasts are just as juicy as the thighs!
Oven Spatchcock Chicken Ingredients
- Flavored butter: for the flavored butter, you’ll need unsalted butter, garlic, parsley, and Italian seasoning.
- Spices: you’ll need paprika, black pepper, salt, dried thyme, and ground cumin for the seasoning of the chicken.
- Whole chicken: you’ll need to thaw a whole chicken. Do not try to roast this from frozen.
- Olive oil: or any oil you prefer.
- Onion: cut into thick wedges. You can use any type of onion.
- Celery stalk: cut these into 1 inch pieces.
- Fresh thyme: or any fresh herbs you may have such as rosemary.
- Chicken broth: I recommend using low sodium when possible.
- Lemon juice: I recommend using fresh lemon juice and not bottled juice.
- Cornstarch: to thicken and make a pan sauce with the drippings.
How To Cook a Spatchcock Chicken
- Prepare the equipment: Preheat the oven to 450F and cover a roasting pan with aluminum foil.
- Make the butter mixture: In a bowl by combining butter, garlic, parsley, and Italian seasonings.
- Spatchcock chicken marinade: In a separate bowl combine the spices paprika, black pepper, salt, thyme, and ground cumin.
- How to Spatchcock chicken: Place the chicken on a cutting board and remove the spine using the kitchen scissors. Flip the chicken and press the chicken to completely flat.
- Season the chicken: Spread the butter mixture under the skin and outer part of the chicken and sprinkle the spice mix all over the chicken evenly.
- Add ingredients to the roasting pan: Add oil, onions, celery, thyme, and chicken broth.
- Roast the chicken: Place the chicken on a wire rack above the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350F and bake further for 50-60 minutes.
- Rest and make the gravy: Once done remove the chicken from the rack and set it aside to rest for 10 minutes. Transfer the cooked vegetables along with the broth to a skillet. Add lemon juice and cornstarch and allow the sauce to thicken.
Serve: Slice and serve the chicken along with the prepared sauce.
Tips to make the Best Oven Grilled Spatchcock Chicken Recipe
- Let the raw chicken sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking for even baking.
- Don’t over cook the chicken. I would recommend taking it out when the internal temperature is at about 160 F because when you cover the chicken to rest, the internal temperature will rise another 5-10 degrees F.
- You will need a very sharp pair of kitchen shears to cut through the chicken to remove the spine. It will make the process feel effortless.
- Make sure not to skip seasoning the inside of the chicken. Once it has been spatchcocked, there’s so much more surface area to season!
- Make sure you pat dry your chicken first as the moisture from thawing it will make it difficult for your skin to crisp up in the oven.
- Don’t skip resting the chicken before you cut into it. When it is resting, the juices inside the chicken are redistributed back throughout the meat.
- Variations: You can use whatever herbs and spices you prefer to your liking. It does not have to be exact. Also if you don’t want to use butter, replace it with avocado oil because it has a high smoke point.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cooking Spatchcock Chicken
Spatchcock chicken cooks more evenly leading the breast and thigh meat to be done at the same time. The chicken also cooks faster and has more crispy, golden skin as the sides and bottom are now all in one layer.
Store any leftover chicken you have inside of an airtight container in your fridge. It’s best that you avoid carving the entire chicken as storing it as uncut as possible help keep it moist when reheating it.
Yes, just place pieces of chicken into a resealable bag, with as much air removed as possible, or an air tight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
A spatchcock chicken is when a whole chicken is split lengthways down the back and then pressed on down to flatten it out. Whereas butterflying a chicken, means to cut a boneless chicken breast horizontally, almost all the way through, to open it.
It’s best to roast it uncovered as it helps the skin get brown and crispy. However, if it’s browning too quickly, cover it for the first 30-45 minutes (depending on the size) and then finish it off, uncovered so the skin gets crispy and golden.
The best way to tell when your chicken is done is using a meat thermometer. A chicken is safe to eat when a thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165 degrees F. Mostly the thigh area because it takes longer to cook.
More Simple Chicken Recipes
- Oven Baked Roasted Whole Chicken
- Baked Chicken and Broccoli Pasta
- Crispy Honey Chicken
- Creamy Chicken Florentine
- Easy Chicken Stew
- Baked Chicken and Broccoli Pasta
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Spatchcock Chicken recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it, and share it with your friends and family!
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Oven Roasted Spatchcock Chicken
Ingredients
To prepare flavored butter
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tsp Italian seasonings
To prepare spatchcock chicken
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 4-5 lb whole chicken
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion cut into thick wedges
- 1 celery stalk cut into 1 inch size
- Fresh thyme
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450F.
- Prepare the flavored butter in a bowl by combining butter, garlic, parsley and Italian seasonings. Set it aside.
- In a separate bowl combine the spices paprika, black pepper, salt, thyme and ground cumin. Set the spice mix aside.
- Place the chicken on a cutting board and try to remove the spine using a sharp kitchen scissors. Flip the chicken and press the chicken to completely flat.
- Spread the butter mixture under the skin and outer part of the chicken.
- Sprinkle the spice mix all over the chicken evenly. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil.
- To the bottom of the pan add oil, onions, celery, thyme and chicken broth. Place the chicken on a wire rack above the pan and bake for 45 minutes.
- Reduce the temperature to 350F and bake further for 50-60 minutes.
- Once done remove the chicken from the rack and cover with aluminum foil wrap. Set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked vegetables along with the broth to a skillet. Add lemon juice and cornstarch and allow the sauce to thicken.
- Slice and serve the chicken along with the prepared sauce.
Notes
- Let the raw chicken sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking for even baking.
- Don’t over cook the chicken. I would recommend taking it out when the internal temperature is at about 160 F because when you cover the chicken to rest, the internal temperature will rise another 5-10 degrees F.
- You will need a very sharp pair of kitchen shears to cut through the chicken to remove the spine. It will make the process feel effortless.
- Make sure not to skip seasoning the inside of the chicken. Once it has been spatchcocked, there’s so much more surface area to season!
- Make sure you pat dry your chicken first as the moisture from thawing it will make it difficult for your skin to crisp up in the oven.
- Don’t skip resting the chicken before you cut into it. When it is resting, the juices inside the chicken are redistributed back throughout the meat.
- Variations: You can use whatever herbs and spices you prefer to your liking. It does not have to be exact. Also if you don’t want to use butter, replace it with avocado oil because it has a high smoke point.
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