If I can roast a chicken, you can roast a chicken!
Cooking meat has always been intimidating for me. It’s so easy to overcook or undercook, there are so many different cuts, and it’s expensive! That being said, I made it my New Year’s resolution to get better at cooking meat. Roasting a chicken seemed like a good place to start.
In my research, I decided that spatchcocking could be the way to go. This is a process that involves removing the spine and breaking the breastbone so that the chicken lays flat, helping it cook evenly and achieve maximum crispy skin!
Happy cooking
xx Isabelle
Easy Roasted Chicken
Course: Main, dinner4
servingsKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
3-4 lbs 3-4 chicken
3-4 tsp 3-4 salt
3-4 tbs 3-4 soft butter
1 tsp 1 paprika
1 tbsp 1 brown sugar
1/4 tsp 1/4 harissa powder (optional for spice)
4-6 medium-small 4-6 onions
Directions
- Spatchcock the chicken. I have linked a video tutorial in the notes
- Dry brine the chicken. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and sprinkle it with salt (1 tsp per pound). Place the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet and leave it in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 6 hours, but ideally overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the fridge and preheat the oven to 450°F. Pat the chicken with a paper towel again to ensure it is fully dry. Loosen the skin from the meat by sliding your fingers between the layers. Then smear the softened butter under all the skin. Really get in there! Next, coat the chicken all over with your spice rub of paprika, brown sugar, and harissa.
- While the chicken is coming to room temperature and the oven is preheating, cut the onions into quarters and remove the skins. Transfer the onions to a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Place a wire rack over this baking sheet and set the chicken on top of the rack.
- Roast the chicken at 450°F for about 35-40 minutes, until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 160°F. Remove from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.
Recipe Video
@isabelleheikens I’m in my roast chicken era
♬ original sound – Isabelle Heikens
Notes
- Spatchcock chicken tutorial (also a really good beginners guide to roasting a chicken, I just found this too salty even after removing the dry brine) https://basicswithbabish.co/basicsepisodes/2017/10/23/sauces-9w5tm-2njph-5ahwj-hsl7s
- You probably could just add the spice blend at the same time as the salt for the dry brine, I just have not tried it! Let me know if you do 🙂
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