Chicken - Chara's Spatchcock Chicken

 

Ingredients

• One 3-4 lb whole chicken
• 4-5 T Fresh Churned Garlic Butter, melted or 2 tbsp of olive oil
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage (or 1 tsp dried sage)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or ½ tsp dried rosemary)
• ½ tsp paprika

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 425F.
• To spatchcock the chicken, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut out the backbone (save it for chicken stock or bone broth).
• Flip the chicken over to breast-side up, and press down on the breastbone to flatten the chicken.
• Pat the chicken skin all over with a paper towel, soaking up as much moisture as possible.
• Brush the chicken generously with melted Garlic Butter (or olive oil)
• In a small bowl, combine lemon zest, salt, pepper, thyme, paprika, and rosemary. Sprinkle on top of the chicken, rubbing in so it will stick.

If using a grill: 

• Reheat the grill by turning all burners to medium high heat for 15 minutes. Then turn off the middle burners only.
• Place chicken in the middle of the grill (not over flames), close the lid, and cook until internal temperature reaches 165° F.
• Allow chicken to rest 10-15 minutes, then serve.

If using oven:

• Place  the chicken on a sheet pan (the bigger the better, so any chicken  juices that splatter don't burn on the floor of the oven), and roast for  about 40-45 minutes, until the breast registers at 160F. 
• Let  the chicken rest for 10 minutes after roasting, so the juices can  redistribute. The chicken will also continue cooking slightly, to about  165F. Enjoy!