Simple to make in a fraction of the usual roasting time, this spatchcock chicken is the perfect family dinner. This chicken is extra flavorful and juicy thanks to a simple dry brine combined with my favorite herb butter. Serve this roasted spatchcock chicken with my best mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans for a classic combination.
Ever since my endless rounds of recipe testing for my Thanksgiving Spatchcock Turkey, I couldn’t help but think I needed to try the same thing with my usual roast chicken.
Watch How To Make Spatchcock Chicken
I love roast chicken for dinner on the weekends, but I don’t always have an hour and a half to wait for it to cook.
By removing the backbone and flattening the chicken out, it cooks in about half the time which means it’s so much easier to have roast chicken on the table.
So, the next time you’re thinking about Costco rotisserie chicken, I hope you’ll give this spatchcock chicken a whirl. It’s so flavorful, juicy, and easy to make.
I like to dry-brine the chicken the night before and let the skin dry out in the fridge for extra-crispy results. But don’t panic you can skip this if you’re in a hurry. It’s definitely worth trying though, dry brining as a whole new level of juiciness to roast chicken.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Turkey – a fresh whole chicken without a brine is what you’re looking for so you can dry brine it for better flavor. You can also buy a frozen chicken and defrost in the fridge for a few days.
- Kosher salt – is key for dry brining, do not use table salt! I used Baleine kosher sea salt. I don’t add black pepper because it’s in the herb butter, but feel free to add more.
- Herb butter – you can prepare my herb butter recipe with fresh herbs and garlic ahead. Soften it at room temperature first so it’s easier to spread under the chicken skin. My herb butter uses rosemary, sage, and thyme. You can usually find all 3 in the fresh herb section in little boxes labeled ‘poultry mix’ so you don’t have to buy them separately. You can also use just one herb, rosemary, sage, and thyme all work well alone with roast chicken.
- Broth – or water added to the bottom of the pan, using the roasting rack helps keep the grease from the roasting chicken from splattering. You can also use this liquid with the drippings to make a quick gravy.
How to make this recipe step by step
Step 1: Using a pair of sturdy kitchen shears/poultry shears, cut the spine out of the chicken, beginning from the bottom end.
You can see in the photos I get about halfway through the sides of the spine before I turn the chicken around and start from the other side. It’s just easier for my small hands this way, my husband can cut all the way through the sides of the backbone no problem.
Step 2: Next turn the chicken over and press the tip of a large chef knife into the center of the breast bone. Lightly tap the top of the knife handle holding it sturdy like it’s a hammer until you hear the slight crack of the breast bone.
Turn the chicken over and push down on the breastbone like you’re doing CPR until you hear a light crack.
Next turn the legs over so you can loosen the skin and rub salt under and on top of the skin for the dry brine. Place the chicken breast-side up in a shallow roasting container and refrigerate it uncovered overnight to let the skin dry out.
Step 3: The next day when you’re ready to roast the chicken preheat the oven. Rub the dried out chicken skin with a little olive oil.
Step 4: Then loosen the skin around the legs and breast meat and rub the meat all over with the herb butter. Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken breast, and bake the chicken until the thermometer reads about 160°F.
Remove the chicken from the oven and let it come up to temperature before carving on a cutting board.
Ways to serve this
- Serve this roast chicken with all the classic side dishes My Best Mashed Potatoes or Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, Gluten-Free Gravy, Sautéed Green Beans, and Honey Glazed Carrots.
- Or keep it light and serve this roast chicken with my Apple Spinach Salad or Strawberry Spinach Salad.
- Finish your roast chicken meal with my Gluten-Free Apple Crisp, Pumpkin Crisp, and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. These crisp recipes are also good with my Maple Ice Cream or Honey Ice Cream.
FAQ’s
Spatchcock chicken cooks in about 1/2 the time of a regular roast chicken. It also flattens out the chicken, making the skin even crispier. The main point overall is faster cooking time.
To make spatchcock chicken skin even crispier, refrigerate it uncovered overnight in the fridge while it dry brines. This allows the skin to dry out, and it will be crispier. Also, cooking the chicken at 425ºF is important for crispy skin because spatchcock chicken cooks so much faster.
Storing leftovers
- To store – store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
- Reheating – Add any leftover chicken to a small skillet along with 1-2 tablespoons of water. Cook partially covered for one to two minutes, then remove the lid and cook until the chicken is heated through or the water evaporates.
- To freeze – place any leftover chicken meat in an airtight container and freeze for 3 to 6 months. Defrost the chicken in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Tips & Tricks
- I’ve been using the thermometer from the company Meater, and I’ve been loving how easy it makes large cuts of meat! I absolutely love these thermometers, which you insert and leave in the chicken while it cooks. The thermometer connects to your phone and will alert you when the chicken is getting close to done. It has made the timing of every meal I make so much easier. I could go on and on about this thermometer. But it does make everything much easier, and I can’t recommend it enough.
- Spatchcocking a chicken is easy—much easier than turkey—and it’s definitely worth trying at least once in case it becomes your new favorite way to roast a chicken.
- Dry brining the chicken uncovered in the fridge overnight really adds incredible flavor to the meat. And it makes for way crispier and more evenly cooked skin.
Dietary Options & Substitutions
- Dairy-free—I don’t recommend using dairy-free butter in this case. Refer to my herb butter recipe, which has a dairy-free option. I find the best results are using olive oil instead of butter, but I use half the amount.
- Paleo – use ghee instead of butter.
More Chicken Recipe Inspiration
- Herb Roasted Chicken
- French Onion Chicken
- Creamy Garlic Chicken
- Lemon Chicken Thighs
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken
I really hope you enjoy this Spatchcock Chicken recipe! If you do get a chance to make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Spatchcock Chicken
INGREDIENTS
- 4 pound whole chicken
- 1 tsp kosher salt - I use Baleine kosher sea salt
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp herb butter - see notes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Using a pair of sturdy kitchen shears, cut the spine out of the chicken, beginning from the bottom end.
- Next, turn the chicken over and press the tip of a large chef's knife into the center of the breast bone. Lightly tap the top of the knife handle until you hear the slight crack of the breast bone. Turn the chicken over and push down on the breastbone like you're doing CPR until you hear a light crack.
- Then, turn the legs over so you can loosen the skin and rub salt under and on top of the skin for the dry brine. Place the chicken breast-side up in a shallow roasting container and refrigerate it uncovered overnight to let the skin dry out.
- The next day when you're ready to roast the chicken preheat the oven to 425ºF. Rub the dried out chicken skin with a little olive oil.
- Then loosen the skin around the legs and breast meat and rub the meat all over with the herb butter. Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken breast, and bake the chicken until the thermometer reads about 160°F, 40-45 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and let it come up to temperature, about 10 minutes before carving. Refer to the video to see how to carve a spatchcock chicken.
