Lemon and Herb Butterflied Chicken

My favorite method to prepare roast chicken is butterflied or spatchcock. My lemon and herb butterflied chicken is tender and delicious!

All hail Ina Garten, the queen of roast chicken.  I modified one of her wonderful recipes for spatchcocked chicken to lighten it up a bit.  It is extremely flavorful, and will certainly be a family favorite!  I am extremely excited to check out her new book, Modern Comfort Food - it is on my Christmas list for sure!

When I prepare a whole chicken, I generally prefer to butterfly it.  This is also known as spatchcock chicken.  I love using this cooking method because the final product is a more juicy, tender, and flavorful chicken than if you roasted it intact.  

To butterfly or spatchcock your chicken, you remove the backbone and lay the chicken flat in a roasting pan to cook.  This is a fantastic method for new home chefs who have never cooked a whole chicken before.  The chicken is easier to prepare this way.  I find cooking the whole bird intact tends to dry out the meat.  This would be a perfect meal to prepare for a smaller holiday dinner!

How to Butterfly or Spatchcock Your Chicken

While the full recipe instructions are below, here are some tips to help you prepare my lemon and herb butterflied chicken.

• First, you will lay the chicken breast side down.  Feel within the cavity to see where the backbone of the bird is.  Using kitchen shears, cut down one side of the backbone from one end of the bird to the other.  Then, cut down the other side of the backbone to remove it from the bird.
• Next, season the bird with salt and pepper on all sides, including the inside of the cavity of the bird.  You will then spread the olive oil mixture over all sides of the bird as you did with the salt and pepper.
• Finally, flatten the bird, cavity side down into a roasting pan.  It really is that easy to butterfly (spatchcock) your chicken!

I generally find it easiest to arrange my aromatic ingredients such as lemons and onions on the bottom of the roasting pan.  Then, I will season and spread olive oil on the inside of the bird, which is the side that will be on the bottom of the pan.  Finally, I will season and olive oil the top of the bird now that I have it in the roasting pan.

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