How to Make a Spatchcocked, Salted, Pan-Roasted Chicken
What in the world is a spatchcocked chicken?
Welp, it's actually just a fancy word for a butterflied chicken and it means you cut the backbone out of the chicken and flatten it out before roasting.
This helps the bird to cook more evenly, and also greatly reduces the overall cooking time (For a chicken, 45 minutes in the oven and boom! It's done.), which is particularly helpful when you're roasting something ginormous like a turkey.
(If you want to spatchcock your turkey like I did last year, follow NomNomPaleo's guide. I'd never roasted a turkey before and mine turned out great!)
At any rate, spatchcocking is pretty fabulous even just for your everyday chicken.
Also fabulous: salting your bird.
Salting is sometimes referred to as a dry brine, because it accomplishes the same purpose (making the meat juicy and flavorful) via the same means (salt) without the water.
You do have to let the bird sit, butterflied and salted, for 4-24 hours before roasting. This is slightly annoying, mostly because you have to find room in your fridge for a pan the size of a butterflied bird.
Jo would not find this challenging; I do.
Ahem.
Ok, so, here's what you do.
You'll need a chicken, obviously. This one's from Aldi, but basically any chicken will do.
And you'll need a kitchen scissors, plus a whole bunch of salt, a little paprika, and some pepper.
Lay the bird out on your cutting board, backbone side up, and use your scissors to snip out the backbone.
This is, not gonna lie, a little bit difficult.
Or maybe I just need to sharpen my scissors.
At any rate, it is not nearly as hard as cutting out the backbone of a turkey. So if you do that first, and then do a chicken, you will suddenly feel this is a walk in the park.
SAVE THE BACKBONE.
You can use it later to make some mahhhhh-velous broth, along with the bones and such from the roasted chicken.
(I will write a blog post next week about how I make my broth, since many of you asked.)
Ok. Turn your chicken over, and press down firmly on the breast to flatten the bird as much as possible.
Again, this is not particularly challenging with a chicken.
Turkey?
'Nother story.
You need some muscle for that.
Every chicken-roasting recipe I've ever seen says to "tuck the wing tips under" and no matter how many times I do that, they always pop out at some point during the cooking process.
I don't even bother anymore and nothing seems to have gone wrong in the universe, so I have concluded that wing-tip-tucking is overrated.
Take your now-flattened chicken and rub the salt/paprika/pepper mixture alll over. For bonus points (and tastier chicken), gently lift up the skin by the breasts and thighs and rub some of the spice mixture directly on the chicken meat.
Place the chicken on a wire rack atop a rimmed pan.
Next, open your fridge, survey the packed shelves, and conclude that there is no way a chicken is going to fit.
Then, frantically rearrange All Of The Things in the fridge, feel smug about your fridge-packing skillz, and refrigerate the chicken.
Leave the chicken there overnight, or up to 24 hours.
When you're ready to roast the bird, heat your oven to 400 °F and get out a cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet.
I use the one I bought at Aldi.
(Which reminds me: Aldi has the cast-iron line available this week. I saw them in the store myself. Go get one!!)
Heat it over medium heat on the stove with a tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is nearly smoking, put the bird in, skin side down, and let it get nice and brown.
Once it's browned (this takes about 5 minutes), it should release from the pan pretty easily. Flip it over, and then place it in the oven.
Roast for about 45 minutes, or until a thermometer reads 160 °F to 165 °F in the breast, and 170 °F or higher in the joint between the thigh and the drumstick.
Remove the chicken from the pan, and drain the juices/rendered fat from the pan into a bowl.
(Don't get rid of the fat if you want to make gravy!)
To keep the chicken warm while it rests and while you whip up some gravy, you can tent it with aluminum foil. I never do this because, um, hi, I'm cheap.
And maybe a little bit lazy.
And my family doesn't care if their chicken is less than piping hot.
So, gravy.
Make the gravy right in the same pan you just used because there are delicious browned bits in there which you want for your gravy if you are at all sensible.
I use the pan gravy recipe from my trusty old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and it is not complicated.
In fact, I am regularly confused when people think gravy is way too hard to make at home. If you can operate a whisk or spatula, you really can make gravy.
You just melt chicken fat (yours will be hot already, so no need to melt), stir in flour, stir in the milk, broth, or water (I use milk), being sure to whisk out any lumps, and cook until the gravy thickens.
You'll want to season it with salt and pepper, but for the most part, it will already be delicious and flavorful because
A) Chicken fat
and
B) Browned bits from the bottom of the pan
Once your gravy is done, cut up the chicken, and serve it with the gravy.
Please excuse the not-exactly-award-winning photo of the chicken. The early darkness of fall and winter are conspiring against me to make my blog photos 73% more horrible.
Stay with me, people! Things will look more appetizing around here in the spring.
Anyhoo. Serve the chicken with the gravy.
And once you've finished enjoying your juicy, flavorful chicken, set aside the bones/skin, because we'll use those to make broth next week.
(If you have leftover meat, save it for making chicken noodle soup. )
Salted, Spatchcocked, Cast-Iron Roasted Chicken
1 4-pound chicken (you can use a larger chicken-just adjust salt/spices accordingly)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Remove the giblets from the chicken, pat dry, and place on cutting board. Using a sharp pair of kitchen scissors, cut through backbone on both sides and removed from chicken, reserving for broth if desired.
Turn chicken over, and press down firmly on breastbone to flatten.
Combine salt, paprika, and pepper, and rub evenly all over surface of chicken. Gently lift skin around thighs and breasts, and rub some of the salt mixture directly on the skin.
Place chicken on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet, and refrigerate 4-24 hours.
When ready to cook, heat oven to 400 ° F.
Heat a cast-iron skillet (or other heavy oven-safe skillet) over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add a tablespoon of oil, and swirl the pan to distribute evenly. Place the chicken in the skillet, skin-side down, and let sear for about 5 minutes. Flip chicken over carefully, and place pan in oven.
Roast chicken for about 40-45 minutes, or until the meat reaches 160 °F to 165 °F in the breast, and 170 °F or higher in the joint between the thigh and the drumstick.
Remove chicken from pan and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Let chicken rest 10 minutes before carving.
Gravy (makes 2 cups)
¼ cup pan drippings (fat)
¼ cup all purpose flour
2 cups broth, water, or milk
Carefully pour chicken fat from skillet into a small bowl, and place skillet on stove over medium heat. Pour ¼ cup pan drippings into skillet; stir in flour. Stirring constantly, add broth, water, or milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir one minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Roasted Chicken Recipe Creds: Method is originally from Judy Rodgers, but I found it on Dad Cooks Dinner.
I've been aware of this butterflying chickens for a while, but never actually thought it was something I'd do. But knowing that it's just a matter of taking out the back bone and that the cooking time is so much less, I think it's how I'll do my next chicken.
Oh and I boiled an egg this week for the first time in decades because of your post. My daughter thought it was really fun to peel the eggs. So thanks for entertaining her for a while!
Yes! Overall, I think it's way easier (at least once you get past the backbone cutting part). I love how fast and how evenly the chicken cooks.
I really want to make this this weekend! Also, I want to get n Aldi cast iron skillet. 🙂
You should! They're only $14.99: https://www.aldi.us/en/weekly-specials/special-buys-for-nov-19/
Looks delish! I can buy chickens cut in half from my local meat market, for the same price as a whole chicken. I have bought a few chickens from Aldi but last time I was at Aldi I looked at the ingredients on their chicken and it has carrageenan in it! I know not everyone would care but I do...it's not an ingredient I think is necessary in a chicken! (or in every dairy product on the shelves...)
Thanks Kristen for taking the time to share your cooking processes. I'm really looking forward to the broth/soup recipes. In my head I think I can do it and should, but getting started sometimes is just too much for me right now. It really helps to be able to see that it really is not as difficult as I think it might be 🙂
Understandable! I'm that way with some things too, and if I see someone do it step by step, then suddenly it seems less overwhelming.
I love to spatchcock chicken! It cooks SO much faster and you never have to worry about the inside still being raw when the outside is drying out.
I don't have a cast iron skillet (and I don't have an Aldi's out here in the Wild West territory called Portland), plus I'm lazier than Kristin. I quarter a bunch of potatoes (yellow ones are best) and maybe chop some carrots and lay them in the bottom of a 9x13 pan, then lay my not-salt-brined/not-browned spatchcocked chicken on top and bake the whole thing at 450 for 30-45 minutes.
Dinner, done!
(About that lack of a cast iron skillet...I actually used to have one, but I never used it and ended up giving it away to my sister who adores it.)
Yup...this method has consistently produced juicy breast meat with properly-done dark meat, a combo hard to hit with an intact chicken.
I've never tried spatchcocked chicken before although I think it's really fun to say ... spatchcocked ... ha! Michelle, I like your carrots/potatoes idea--I'm into low-hands-on-time home-cooked dinner ideas. The all-in-one meal has a lot of appeal for me. I've done something similar with roasting chicken but there are days when faster is better. Thanks, both of you, for your ideas.
This was such a great post on so many levels. Kristen, you have made me wish one more time that we have an Aldi's around here. But, I will muddle on. LOL
I am grateful for your step by step instructions. I might even be able to accomplish this. I love the picture with the chicken on the rack over a pan. I have always thought in my head (not sure where else I would have a thought) that I had to have the rack in the pan. Duh.
I also like your take on being frugal. I don't use stuff like aluminum foil unless I absolutely have to use it. Because I am, well, cheap. I love it when others do things to fit their needs rather than following things exactly. Helps me believe that the universe really isn't that picky.
Thanks, Kristen.
So glad you found it helpful!
When I'm doing something like roasting meat on a wire rack, I usually do put it inside of a pan (my wire racks fit perfectly inside my half sheet pans). BUT. When I'm trying to fit a chicken in my fridge, space is my highest priority, so I just put the rack on the smallest pan possible.
Thank you for taking the time to show exactly how to do this. It looks delicious!
There's no way I could fit a butterflied turkey in my fridge, but I'm thinking that if the weather is right (as it has been lately here in NY), I could do this with our Thanksgiving turkey and just put it outside to chill.
I hope you did not have marauders purloin your turkey (as in raccoons, coyotes, neighborhood dogs, cats, etc.).
Oh this tutorial! I roast a chicken about every other week bc it is delicious,economical (hello leftovers for meal prep) and easy. But I've never butterflied it! Your awesome pictures and tutorials inspire me right up there with my other fav cooking guru pioneer woman. Muah! I'm trying this for the weekend!
I do this occasionally, only I pull out the breast bone also which makes the chicken lay flat quite nicely. It's super easy to get out too, once the backbone is out, you just cut a slit along it from the inside of the chicken and slide your fingers between the meat and the breastbone to separate and then you can easily lift it up and out.
Thanks for posting this, it looks delicious! I really want to try it but I think my cast iron pan might be too small. What size is the pan that you use?
Mine's a 12-inch, which is pretty standard, I think?
Thanks, I just measured, my pan is only 10 inches. No wonder it looked like it would never fit. I will definitely try this when I get a bigger pan. Thanks for posting this and all the other great recipes you post. I love reading your blog.
Yeah, that would make it tough to fit a big chicken in there..maybe a really small one!
If you have an Aldi near you, pick up a 12 inch skillet there this week. They're $14.99 and are really great.
Is it made in America or China?
I am a huge cast iron fan and have several Lodge pieces. There is always a pan on my stove. I am looking forward to trying spatchcocked chicken and roasting it in my cast iron.
I love reading your recipe stories, mostly because your helpful tips and comments often echo what's going on in my kitchen when I'm cooking (especially opening the fridge to find that the chicken won't fit ;)). Thanks for sharing!
At least I am not the only one. I swear, it could me just Mr. FG and me here and I would probably still have a full fridge.
If you are strong and have a heavy, long bladed chef's knife you can remove the backbone with two cuts. It is a wonderful way to cook chicken.
Just made two (marked down!) chickens this way. Worked great and tasted great.
In the recipe though, you say to go under the skin and put the rub on the skin. Don't you mean on the meat under the skin?
Great recipe and I'll be making gravy and chicken stock as well.
Love your recipes,
Barbara
I actually do both...some on the skin and some on the meat under the skin.
So glad yours turned out great!
I was looking for something different to do with the whole chicken I bought, and I remembered seeing this.(I originally didn't have the right size pan.)I cooked it tonight. It was so tender and juicy. Thank you so much for posting this. I will be definitely be writing this in my recipe binder.
Yes, I love how juicy this method makes the chicken!
Just made my first spatchcocked turkey today. Only took an hour and a half to cook. Would never have known about this method had I not seen this post a while back.
The website I got the instructions for said to use kitchen shears to cut out the turkey's backbone, and they warned it would be hard. But in my case it was impossible. I had just about given up, when I decided to try with a heavy-duty serrated knife I have, and I just sawed away at the backbone. I was almost in tears of joy at how easy it was to remove with the serrated knife. Might be worth trying that next time you're spatchcocking a bird.
Funnily enough, I was just spatch-cocking a chicken the other day and discovered this as well. I'll definitely try it next time I do a turkey.
"Gently lift skin around thighs and breasts, and rub some of the salt mixture directly on the skin."
Do you mean rub some salt mix directly on the flesh if not what is the benefit of separating the skin from the flesh?
Oops. Yes, that's what I meant! I fixed it now.
Wow it looks so delicious. I definitely need to try making this for Mr. FAF one day. I think he will love it!
Not sure if you’ll ever get this comment because this post is rather dated but do you cover the chicken with anything when you put it in the frig?
Nope, I just leave it out in the open. Generally when you salt a piece of meat like that, you just leave it exposed to the air. Part of the idea is to dry out the skin so it gets nice and crispy when you bake it.
My husband saw your chicken and asked, How does she split up 8 pieces of chicken amongst six people? So I thought I'd ask-- since even when we have a family gathering, one chicken is usually not enough for four people, especially when there are teenagers! Do you cook two chickens?
Well, if we're all here, one chicken isn't enough. But last night, not everyone was home...there were only four of us. So the single chicken worked out fine!
My husband did this and even though he skipped the browning part, it came out soooo moist. I loved it!
I bought a chicken and had it spatchcocked because we have a very reasonable local butcher whose shop I like to try to keep in business. It was done at no extra charge and I used the backbone for broth. Thanks for the tip.
I'm making this tonight! 🙂