Spatchcocked roast chicken

roast
chicken

Day before brine

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken
  • salt
  • pepper

Directions

  • Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the chickens backbone
  • Trim off the winglets, saving the backbone and winglets to make a pan gravy
  • Near the top of the neck opening, find the wishbone with your fingers, then slice into is and pull it out
  • Press down on backbone to make the bird flat
  • Trim off any extra fat
  • Using your fingers, seperate the skin from the meat over the breast and place in a tsp of salt and pepper to each opening
  • Salt the outside of the bird, and but on a rack over a tray
  • Leave in fridge for ~1 day, uncovered

Day before gravy

Ingredients

  • Scraps from a spatchcocked chicken
  • 1 carrot, peeled and halved
  • 1 onion, peeled and halved
  • 1-3 tbsp flour

Directions

  • Place the chicken bones (the more broken the better), carrot and onion on a baking tray.
  • Lightly toss with oil, and bake at 180 degrees for 40 mins (till brown).
  • Place into a large pot, with water till covered and cook on low for as long as possible (e.g. 8 hours).
  • Strain and place in fridge overnight.
  • When ready to serve, scrape off fat and add to medium pan with flour (adjust based on amount of liquid)
  • Slowly stir in stock.
  • When at desired thickness, season to taste.

Day of

Ingredients

  • 1 dry brined spatchcocked chicken
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • salt

Directions

  • Heat oven to 220 celcius
  • Place chicken on rack into oven and cook for 35 to 45 mins
  • Chicken is ready when breast (near bone) is 63 celsius, and the thigh is at least 71 celsius.

Another recipe from Kenji’s, The Food Lab. I’ve tried to make it deboning the chicken, but then the timing gets messed up as without the ribcage the breast meat overcooks before the legs are ready.

We often slightly overboil some potatoes toss them in a little oil and place them in a tray at the bottom of the oven before it’s hot. Then once the overn is upto temp, and in the chicken on a rack over the potatoes. This leads to really tasty chicken flavoured roast potatoes.