Tender and Flavorful Spatchcocked Chicken
Baked whole chicken with fresh herbs and lemon is a tender, juicy main course with an impressive presentation. Flavored with garlic and herbs. My inspiration is twofold. Rotisserie chickens from the grocery store are delicious, but I don’t have a rotisserie at home.
The other source of inspiration is hearing a friend talk about making spatchcocked turkey. Today, we’re going to work with a fryer (whole chicken). This method is a great way to get an evenly cooked bird with that rotisserie skin and tender meat. While this might look intimidating, it’s simple to prepare.
What You Need to Make Baked Whole Chicken with Fresh Herbs and Lemon
- A Whole Chicken – The good news is that whole chickens are usually the cheaper per pound option in poultry because there’s no processing work to break them down. Find a nice size roaster.
- Butter and Olive Oil – Fats! Both the key to providing a tasty flavor inside and out. Don’t skimp on these, use good quality.
- Herbs – I like to use fresh herbs for chicken recipes. It’s unbelievable what a difference fresh will make. I also like how using the fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary just feels a little more like what I’d order in a restaurant. Don’t have fresh, no worries, dried herbs will work too!
- Lemons – Zesting and the juice, so good. I love the zip and bright flavor the citrus brings.
- Garlic – Classic ingredient that shows up in so many dishes. I love the bit of bite and the unique flavor you get from garlic. So good. Again, I recommend fresh, but you can use garlic from a jar. Powered garlic would be ok.
- Paprika and Sugar – For the outside skin. Add a bit of sweet and smoke.
- Salt and Pepper – of course! A little sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.
How to Make Baked Whole Chicken with Fresh Herbs and Lemon
Making Baked Whole Chicken with Fresh Herbs and Lemon is a hands-on project. Before making this recipe for the first time, I didn’t have experience breaking down any type of protein. I will admit, I was a little squeamish about the full anatomy that comes with a fryer. Find yourself a large baking sheet, and let’s get started!
It’s a bit different than just stuffing and placing the chicken in the oven or cooking chicken breasts, burgers, or other meat that no longer resembles its previous form. After overcoming the “eww factor”, I felt a sense of appreciation for where my food came and the life it had before. So, don’t be chicken… get in there. This is a hands-on project.
It’s A Wing Thing
Baking and basting the chicken with its own juices will give the outside a beautiful color and amazing flavor. Spatchcocked chicken allows the meat to cook more evenly and quickly by laying the thickest parts flat.
The wings are the most vulnerable to burning. I have two simple options to tackle this wing thing.
Option one, cut small slits in the skin between the leg and breast to make “pockets” where you can tuck in the wing tip. The other option is to simply tuck the wings between the legs and breasts.
Herbed Butter and Spices
What gives this bird so much flavor are the herbs. To make this easy chicken spatchcock with lemons I like to use garlic and the traditional poultry trio: sage, thyme, and rosemary. Fresh herbs and mashed garlic make a huge difference, but if you only have access to dried, go with it.
Adding lemon zest and lemon juice will also add a zip of flavor. I really like lemons, so you’ll see them often in my recipes. If lemons aren’t your thing, you can skip it. Lastly, be sure to rub in the salt, pepper, sugar and paprika on the outside.
Baked Whole Chicken with Fresh Herbs and Lemon is So Beautiful!
Butter and basting are the secret to the juicy, tender meat. The chicken will need to cook for a bit to develop juices and melt the butter, I found it’s around the 30-minute mark. Every oven is a little different, so keep an eye on your bird.
Once there are liquids, start to baste every 10 minutes (spoon the liquids back over the chicken). It’s best to use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature is at 165 degrees F.
Tips, Tricks, & FAQs
- Short Cuts. Cut down on the mealtime cooking by splitting the prep. Cut and stuff the chicken the night before, wrap with foil and refrigerate. Pop it in the oven the next day.
- Make a Broth. Use the remaining bones to make a broth. Place the bones in a large pot, cover with water. Add salt, herbs, lemons and veggies or veggie scraps (onions, carrots, celery) and bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes. Cool and strain the broth. Chicken Broth from Rotisserie Chicken
Baked Whole Chicken with Fresh Herbs and Lemon
Equipment
- butter knife
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- kitchen shears
- measuring spoons
- paper towels
- sheet pan
- zesting tool
Ingredients
- 4 lb fryer chicken
- 1 large lemon (zest and pieces, see below)
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1/4 ounce fresh thyme
- 1/4 ounce fresh sage
- 1/4 ounce fresh rosemary
- 4 tablespoons salted butter (room temp)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Instructions
- Oven: Preheat the oven to 425 °F and place a rack in the middle.
- Prep: Gather all the ingredients and equipment.
- Gizzard: Remove the gizzard bag if it is included.4 lb fryer chicken
Prepare the Chicken
- Spine. Using kitchen shears, remove the spine by cutting from the tail the head on both sides of the backbone, cutting through the ribs. If the ‘tail’ is available, hold that as you cut up each side. If there is extra skin towards the base of the chicken, this can be removed. Gently remove any bits of remaining organ on the inside. Nasty business, I know. But I was proud of myself the first time I prepared a chicken and overcame my fears. I also learned to appreciate where my food comes from and to be grateful because it once had a life too.
- Rinse. Back to cooking! Rinse the cavity and pat it dry with paper towels.
- Flatten. Then, flip the chicken over. Lay it flat on the sheet pan. Press down on the breastbone to flatten the chicken. You may hear a crack, that's fine.
- Legs. If the chicken still needs a little help to lay flat, straighten out the legs.
- Dry. Using paper towels, pat the outside of the chicken dry.
- Wings. Cut small slits in between the abdomen and thigh. This is where you can tuck the in the wing (create little pockets), so the tips don’t burn. Or tuck the wings between the breast and thigh. In my experience, some fryers will need the pocket method, and some will hold the wing without much effort.
Prepare the filling
- Lemon. Using a zesting tool, zest the lemon. You want to get the bright yellow peel, not the white which will be bitter. So just a few swipes of one strip on the lemon from end to stem then rotate the lemon to zest the next strip until you have a ½ teaspoon. Place zest into a bowl.1 large lemon (zest and pieces, see below), 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- Cut. Cut the lemon into wedges. Set wedges aside.
- Garlic. Peel and slice the garlic clove. Then mash with you’re the flat side of your knife. To do this, put the flat side of the knife on the garlic, apply pressure as you drag the knife towards you, then repeat until the garlic is mashed. Add to the zest.1 large garlic clove
- Herbs. Remove sage, thyme, and rosemary leaves from the woody stems. Finely chop the herbs. About 1 tablespoon combined. Add to the zest and garlic.1/4 ounce fresh thyme, 1/4 ounce fresh sage, 1/4 ounce fresh rosemary
- Mix. Mix the herbs, lemon zest, and garlic into the butter. On a cutting board, use a butter knife like a palette knife to blend the garlic into the butter like they do at that famous cold slab ice cream place.4 tablespoons salted butter (room temp)
Butter up the chicken
- Butter. Divide the butter mix into 4 piles to evenly fill the area under the skin on both breast and both thighs with butter.
- Stuff. Looking at the head end of the chicken, there will be an opening between the skin and breast meat. Lift the skin, and if needed, use your fingers to further break the membrane between the meat and skin. Then, push in the butter. Massage the butter and push it all over each breast side.
- Massage. The thighs will also have an opening in the skin (probably near side that is closest to the elbow of the wing). Again, use your finger to break the membrane if needed, all the way to the leg. Push the butter over the thigh and massage down into the leg.
- Lemon and Herbs. Put the lemon wedges and remaining herbs (stems and all, no prep here) under the whole chicken so that it’s laying on a bed of herbs and lemons.
- Dry. Pat the outside of the chicken dry.
- Mix. Mix the salt, pepper, paprika and sugar.1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- Brush. Using your hand or pastry brush, coat the chicken with olive oil.2 teaspoons olive oil
- Outside. Sprinkle the salt/spice mix evenly over the chicken and rub it into the skin.
Bake the chicken
- Bake. Place the chicken in the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes. At the halfway mark, baste (spoon the dripping back over the chicken). Repeat when there are 20 minutes, then 10 minutes left.
- Check the Temp. Cooking is complete when the internal temperature is 165 °F degrees. Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
Carve the chicken
- Carve. Carve the chicken by cutting off the drums and thighs. Carve along the breastbone and across the bottom to remove each breast.
