Oven-Roasted Lemon Herb Spatchcock Chicken, flavored with fresh herbs and lemon, is easy to do, roasts quickly and makes it easy for you to impress everyone!
Have you noticed the photos of whole chickens that look like they are doing yoga? You don't have to feel badly about your lack of flexibility as compared to a chicken! Those flexible chickens are no more flexible than you. They simply no longer have a backbone and their breastbone has been cracked.
The spatchcock chicken is a shortcut method for cooking a whole chicken and it's quite easy to do using kitchen scissors. Simply cut along both sides of the chicken's backbone, flip it over and press down in the center on the breastbone until you hear a crack and that's it.
Easy to do and easy to impress everyone when you bring it to the table, especially when your chicken is flavored with fresh herbs and lemon!
Oven-Roasted Lemon Herb Spatchcock Chicken
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Ingredients
- 1 lemon sliced
- several stems of fresh herbs
- 1 about 5 lbs. whole chicken
- 5 Tbs. butter ,softened
- 2 Tbs. chopped parsley
- 1 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano or fresh thyme
- 1 Tbs. lemon zest
- 1 clove garlic ,minced
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Arrange lemon slices and stems of fresh herbs in center of a baking sheet with sides.
- Place chicken on cutting board, breast side down and tail up. Using kitchen scissors, cut along both sides of backbone and discard.
- Turn chicken over and press down in center of the breastbone until you hear a slight crack.
- Place chicken, cut side down, on top of lemon and herb “bed”.
- In bowl combine butter, parsley, rosemary, oregano, lemon zest, garlic, kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Reserve 1 Tablespoon of herb butter.
- Gently loosen skin on chicken. Spread remaining herb butter under skin.
- Spread reserved 1 Tablespoon herb butter over skin.
- Roast 30 minutes or until juices run clear and meat thermometer registers 170F.
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