butterflied chicken
This recipe for oven roasted chicken is almost as easy as Easy Charcoal Grilled, and just as good to eat. It makes a quick way to roast a 4-5 pound chicken in just under an hour. It requires a little easy cutting of the chicken beforehand.
1 whole roasting chicken, 3 ½ to 5 lbs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4-6 Tbs melted butter
1. Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water and pat dry with a clean tea towel. Place it breast-side down on your work surface.
2. With kitchen shears or a heavy cleaver cut along both sides of the backbone, about ¾ inch from the spine, from the vent opening at one end all the way to the neck opening at the other end. You should end up with a chunk of chicken around 1-1 ½ inches wide containing the backbone with the cut ribs sticking off each side. Wrap this in a plastic freezer bag and save it in the freezer for making stock some other time.
3. Tuck the tips of the wings back around themselves, “akimbo” as Julia Child would say. With the cleaver or a heavy kitchen knife cut off the knobby ends of the drumsticks. With the breast-side still down, inside of the breastbone up, make a nick with a sharp knife down the middle, or keel, of the breastbone and then press down on both sides of the chicken to basically spit the keel bone and lay the chicken out flat.
4. Brush the chicken liberally all over both sides with the melted butter. Place the chicken breast-side down in a roasting pan or 9x13 cake pan.
5. Brown it under the broiler for about 10 minutes, 4-6 inches from the broiler element.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Sprinkle kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on the side of the chicken facing up, then turn the bird over and do the same to the (now up-ward facing) breast-side.
7. Return the pan to the oven with the breast-side up and continue roasting in the center position of the oven for approximately another 40 minutes. The bird is done when a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (not touching the bone) reads 180 degrees.
8. Transfer chicken to a warm plate and let rest, covered by a tent of foil, for 5-10 minutes before cutting/carving as you like.
Variations:
1. Substitute a heavy coat of your favorite spice rub for the salt and pepper, applying it to both sides of the chicken after Step 5 above.
2. Remove all but 2 Tbs of fat from the pan juices and sauté finely minced shallot and garlic over medium heat in the pan on the stovetop. Sauté just until the shallots wilt and become slightly translucent. Add a small amount of White wine, chicken stock, or warm water to the pan and deglaze by scraping up and dissolving all the bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the liquid over high heat until a sauce-like consistency is achieved, swirl in a Tbs or two of butter and pour over the cut-up chicken pieces—or serve as a sauce on the side.
1 whole roasting chicken, 3 ½ to 5 lbs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4-6 Tbs melted butter
1. Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water and pat dry with a clean tea towel. Place it breast-side down on your work surface.
2. With kitchen shears or a heavy cleaver cut along both sides of the backbone, about ¾ inch from the spine, from the vent opening at one end all the way to the neck opening at the other end. You should end up with a chunk of chicken around 1-1 ½ inches wide containing the backbone with the cut ribs sticking off each side. Wrap this in a plastic freezer bag and save it in the freezer for making stock some other time.
3. Tuck the tips of the wings back around themselves, “akimbo” as Julia Child would say. With the cleaver or a heavy kitchen knife cut off the knobby ends of the drumsticks. With the breast-side still down, inside of the breastbone up, make a nick with a sharp knife down the middle, or keel, of the breastbone and then press down on both sides of the chicken to basically spit the keel bone and lay the chicken out flat.
4. Brush the chicken liberally all over both sides with the melted butter. Place the chicken breast-side down in a roasting pan or 9x13 cake pan.
5. Brown it under the broiler for about 10 minutes, 4-6 inches from the broiler element.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Sprinkle kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on the side of the chicken facing up, then turn the bird over and do the same to the (now up-ward facing) breast-side.
7. Return the pan to the oven with the breast-side up and continue roasting in the center position of the oven for approximately another 40 minutes. The bird is done when a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (not touching the bone) reads 180 degrees.
8. Transfer chicken to a warm plate and let rest, covered by a tent of foil, for 5-10 minutes before cutting/carving as you like.
Variations:
1. Substitute a heavy coat of your favorite spice rub for the salt and pepper, applying it to both sides of the chicken after Step 5 above.
2. Remove all but 2 Tbs of fat from the pan juices and sauté finely minced shallot and garlic over medium heat in the pan on the stovetop. Sauté just until the shallots wilt and become slightly translucent. Add a small amount of White wine, chicken stock, or warm water to the pan and deglaze by scraping up and dissolving all the bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the liquid over high heat until a sauce-like consistency is achieved, swirl in a Tbs or two of butter and pour over the cut-up chicken pieces—or serve as a sauce on the side.