Roasted Spatchcock Chicken (Holiday Chicken)

Your holiday table deserves the best. Roasted Spatchcock Chicken with Citrus Marinade comes out delicious, tender, and juicy every time. Pair it with a bottle of St. Francis Chardonnay for an easy but elegant meal.

What is Spatchcock Chicken?

To spatchcock a chicken is to cut out the backbone, allowing it to be completely flattened and opened out. This results in a faster, more evenly cooked chicken with crispy skin. It is easy to prepare and is made with ingredients found in your pantry.

Why should you spatchcock a chicken?

The method of cutting the backbone out (AKA "spatchcock") with a knife or kitchen scissors makes the chicken cook much quicker, as heat is able to penetrate the bird quickly without drying it out. Unlike other chicken recipes, this method creates a dish that is elegant enough to serve at a fancy dinner party as it is for casual weeknight meal for the family.

Ingredients:

• 1 WHOLE CHICKEN
• FRESH ORANGE JUICE (1 cup)
• GARLIC CLOVES (6)
• ONION: 1, quartered
• BUTTER: 4 tablespoons, softened
• OLIVE OIL: ½ cup
• FRESH THYME: 2 sprigs
• FRESH ROSEMARY: 2 sprigs
• CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER: 2 teaspoons
• KOSHER SALT: 2 tablespoons

How to make this recipe:

1. Start by cutting the backbone out of the chicken. To do this, turn chicken breast side down on cutting board. Find center and make two long cuts, ½" on both sides of back bone. Using kitchen shears, cut down both knife cuts making sure to cut through all the bones.
2. Remove bone and place chicken in shallow baking pan.
3. To make Citrus Marinade: combine orange juice, olive oil, spices, crushed garlic and salt and pepper into a small mixing bowl.
4. Pour over chicken and cover and allow to marinate for a few hours or overnight.
5. When ready to cook chicken, remove the chicken from marinade and place bone side down. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel.
6. Remove the herbs and garlic from the marinade and chop them. Set aside.
7. Rub the butter all over the skin of the chicken and salt and pepper to taste. 
8. Place quartered onion on a rimmed baking sheet (sheet pan) with chicken and then rub reserved garlic and herbs over chicken.
9. Place in preheated 400° oven for 15 minutes.
10. Reduce heat to 350° and cover with foil. Roast approximately for 1 hour (or until internal temperature reaches 165°).
11. When chicken is done, remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
12. Cut chicken into pieces and serve with oranges, pomegranate, herbs and your favorite garnishes.

When our friends at St. Francis Winery asked us to create a holiday pairing for their bright and balanced Chardonnay, we new this Spatchcock Chicken recipe would be just perfect. The crisp and tropical flavors of the chardonnay pair perfectly with the citrus chicken marinade. And you could also use the wine in place of the orange juice or even mix the two as the wine would provide the same tenderizing features as the juice to help keep this juicy all through the chicken.

What to serve with Spatchcock Roast Chicken:

• Perfect Mashed Potatoes
• Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Balsamic Roasted Carrots
• String Beans with Crispy Proscuitto
• St. Francis Chardonnay

This post is sponsored by our friends at St. Francis Winery. All opinions are our own.

Print