Semi Crunchy, Always Extra

Flattened is hands down my favorite way to roast a chicken. Why?

• Cut the cooking time in half
• Even cooking throughout = moist tender breast
• Crispy skin all over

Sold on this concept yet?

I promise it’s easy to do and will change your easy weeknight dinner game!

Bonus- the flattened chicken/turkey on a platter looks pretty dang impressive for guests too. You can pretend you slaved over the feast. 😉

Ingredients:

• 1 whole roasting chicken, approx 5-6lbs

Desired rub mixture (recommended):

• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Crushed oregano
• Paprika
• Olive oil

Optional:

• Whole carrots
• Celery stalks
• 1/2″ thick sliced onion

Tools:

• Baking dish
• Heavy duty kitchen scissors

How? Just cut it out!

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Cut out the chicken’s spine. Lay the chicken breast side up. I recommend using heavy duty kitchen scissors to get the job done. This is what I prefer over trying to cut out with a knife. Start at the tail, cutting upwards (away from you) just to the side of the spine.

Crack the breast bone. After removing the spine, turn the chicken breast side up and firmly push down on the breast bone (center) until you hear it crack and the bird will flatten even more. Picture chest compressions, but harder.

::crack::

Season as desired. Spatchcocked chicken works with any style dry rub, brine, or marinade you desire. So, you may season the chicken however you’d like!

Here’s the rub mixture I use:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Crushed oregano
• Paprika

Pyrex baking dish

Get tasty. Season your chicken all over. Over and under the skin, ribcage and underside. I also cut a thin slice of butter ~1tsp and slide that under the skin of each breast. I also like to drizzle a little olive oil over the skin.

eeek! I *just* had enough oil to drizzle. If I was completely out, the roast would still turn out fine. These no-drip glass oil/vinegar containers are one of my favorite purchases for our kitchen.

Extra credit:

If you have any of the holy trinity of vegetables around, place them under your chicken to serve as a flavor-infusing cooking rack that you can eat afterwards! Whole carrots, celery stalks,1/2″ thick sliced onion. It’s perfectly fine to place your chicken directly in your baking dish if you don’t happen to have these extras.

Roast at 425 degrees F, approx 45-55 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165. For my 5lb chicken, we roasted for 45 minutes.

Baste for extra crispy and delicious skin. Brush some of the cooking liquid released to baste the skin about 25 minutes into the cook time.

Continue cooking until internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Approx 45-55 minutes total cooking time.

Let it rest for about 5-10 minutes before carving.

We served ours up with handcut carrot and sweet potato oven fries. Same temperature and cook time as the chicken, just shuffle them around right after you baste the bird. 😉

Viola! Chicken breast that’s moist and tender enough to cut. with. a. fork.