This Spatchcock Chicken with Potatoes Recipe has an herby, crispy skin with juicy meat on the inside, with perfectly seasoned potatoes and carrots.
It’s a complete meal all on it’s own, but we also love to serve it with Sweet Cornbread or Garlic Parmesan Rice.
Spatchcock Chicken and Potatoes
This method of preparing chicken is quicker and just as delicious as a traditional roasted whole chicken. It includes a few aromatic herbs like rosemary, thyme and parsley for the perfect blend of poultry spices, along with perfectly seasoned roasted vegetables on the side.
What Is Spatchcock Chicken?
“Spatchcock” refers to a specific variation of how to butterfly a chicken, which is then grilled, roasted, baked, or broiled.
While butterflying simply means splitting the chicken almost in two and laying it flat, to spatchcock the chicken means to specifically cut the backbone away and remove it completely, leaving the front of the chicken uncut, then spreading the chicken out like a book to lay flat on the cooking surface.
The flattened chicken makes it easier to roast evenly, resulting in the most delicious juicy roasted chicken!
Ingredients Needed
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make Spatchcock Chicken. As always, the full printable recipe is in the recipe card below.
- Whole Chicken – approximately 3 to 5 pounds
- Salt & Pepper
- Butter
- Parsley – fresh
- Rosemary – fresh
- Thyme – fresh
- Lemon
- Garlic – fresh minced and powdered
- Paprika
- Potatoes – baby
- Olive Oil
- Crushed Red Pepper
How To Make Spatchcock Chicken
It’s really very easy to cook a whole chicken, especially with the spatchcock cooking method. I’ll walk you through the process step by step! Get your kitchen shears ready; you’ll need them.
Prepare The Chicken
Pat the whole chicken dry with paper towels and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Remove anything from the cavity of the bird and discard, or save for another use. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick spray. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Spatchcock the Chicken
Turn the chicken breast side down on a cutting surface and use sharp kitchen scissors to cut down both sides of the spine to remove it completely from the chicken.
Flip the chicken breast side up on the cutting surface and use two hands to press firmly down between the two breasts, flattening out the chicken. (You may hear the breast bone cracking. This is fine. )
Season both sides of the chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
Make The Compound Butter
Combine the softened butter, parsley, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and paprika in a small dish. Mix until a soft butter paste is formed.
Spread half of the mixture under the skin of the chicken, and the remaining half on top of the chicken. Place the chicken, breast side up on the prepared baking sheet.
Season The Vegetables
For the Potatoes and Carrots, toss the halved potatoes and thick-cut carrots in 1 Tablespoon olive oil, until evenly coated. Season with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, parsley, and crushed red pepper.
Arrange potatoes and carrots around the chicken on the baking sheet, trying not to overlap as much as possible.
Roast The Chicken
Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the breast and thighs have reached 165 degrees F.
Halfway through cooking, open the oven and gently stir the potatoes s and carrots, rotating them around to allow for a more even roasting on all sides.
Let It Rest
Remove the chicken, potatoes, and carrots from the oven and rest, covered lightly under the foil, for at least 5 minutes to allow juices in chicken to redistribute evenly.
Slice chicken into pieces and serve with the potatoes and carrots enjoy!
PRO TIP: Resting the chicken (or any meat!) lightly covered in tinfoil after cooking will result in juicier meat every time!
What Is The Benefit of Spatchcocking Chicken?
One of the biggest benefits of spatchcocking is that the meat stays nice and juicy. This is because the chicken is more flat, and almost all of the skin is facing up, causing a more even heat exposure and browning during the cooking process.
It also allows the whole chicken to be cooked in a much quicker time.
Can You Use a Knife To Spatchcock?
Yes, you can. This recipe uses sharp kitchen scissors because it it easier, but a large, sharp knife will work as well.
It’s done by placing the tip of the knife over to one side of the backbone in the middle of the chicken, pressing it down, then firmly bringing the knife down along one side of the spine in one movement until it is cut all the way through, then repeating on the other side of the backbone.
Make Ahead and Storage
Can you make this chicken ahead of time?
Yes, you can prepare the raw chicken and vegetables a day in advance, then remove and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven preheats, and bake as directed in the recipe.
How do I store leftovers?
To refrigerate, cut away the meat and any leftover veggies and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
More Roasted Chicken Dinners
If you enjoy chicken as much as we do, here are a few more easy dinners using chicken for you to try….
- Lemon Garlic Baked Chicken Dinner
- Fire-Roasted Chicken Enchiladas
- Curry Roasted Chicken and Brussel Sprouts
- Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings
I know you’ll love this amazing Spatchcock Chicken as much as we do! Let me know how you like it!
Spatchcock Chicken with Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
For The Chicken
- 5 lb whole chicken
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 1 tbsp parsley, freshly chopped
- 1 tsp rosemary, freshly chopped
- 1 tsp thyme, freshly chopped
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- ½ tsp paprika
For The Potatoes and Carrots
- 1 lb baby potatoes, halved
- 2 cups carrots, cut into thick chunks
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp parsley, dried or 2 tsp fresh
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Pat the whole chicken dry with paper towels and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Remove anything from the cavity of the bird and discard, or save for another use. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick spray.Pre heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Turn the chicken breast-side down on a cutting surface and use sharp kitchen scissors to cut down both sides of the spine to remove it completely from the chicken. Turn the chicken breast-side up on the cutting surface and use two hands to press firmly down between the two breasts, flattening out the chicken. (you may hear the breast bone cracking).
- Season both sides of the chicken with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper.
- In a small dish, combine the softened butter, parsley, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and paprika. Mix until a soft butter paste is formed. Spread half of the mixture under the skin of the chicken, and the remaining half on the top of the chicken. Place the chicken, breast-side up, on the prepared baking sheet.
For The Potatoes and Carrots
- Toss the halved potatoes and thick cut carrots in 1 tbsp olive oil, until evenly coated. Season with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, parsley and crushed red pepper.
- Arrange potatoes and carrots around the chicken on the baking sheet, trying not to overlap as much as possible.
- Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the breast and thighs have reached 165 degrees F. *Halfway through cooking, open oven and gently stir the potatoes and carrots, rotating them around to allow for a more even roasting on all sides.Remove the chicken, potatoes and carrots from the oven and let rest, covered lightly under foil, for at least 5 minutes to allow juices in chicken to redistribute evenly.
- Slice chicken into pieces and serve with the potatoes and carrots. Enjoy!
Great tasty recipe! I’ll admit I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of spatchcocking a chicken but your directions were easy to follow for a newbie and great! The chicken was tasted great and looked awesome, roasted vegetables were divine.
Do you think this could put in a smoker?