SPATCHCOCKED LEMON/CHIVE CHICKEN
1 Oven stuffer roaster
1 lemon
1 big handful chives
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine or butter, at room temperature
miniscule amounts of salt.
Cut your chicken open along the backbone with a good, sturdy pair of kitchen shears, like this:
Sprinkle the inside with just a wee bit of salt - remember, you don't want to ruin your kidneys, and I promise you'll never miss it with the flavor this baby packs. If you're roasting in a pan, sprinkle generous amounts of chopped chives in the bottom of the pan (obviously you can't if you're grilling your chicken), and plop it in the pan, inside down. In a small bowl, mash the margarine with a fork. Add the pulp and juices from the lemon (take off the zest and save it for something else) and the chopped chives, and mash them all together well. Stick your fingers gently under the chicken skin and loosen it. Take small clumps of the margarine/chive/lemon mix, and stuff them under the skin. Pat back in place, and roast at 325F for as long as you need based on your chicken size, or cook it on your grill however you might do it.
You can use butter, but I was feeling "healthy" and decided that margarine would be the "low fat" choice for this. The truth is that the flavor is fine either way, and I was quite happy using the alternative that costs 1/4 as much.
The other truth is that I cooked 2 chickens for one dinner, as is my custom with a house full of people, but felt you'd all like this recipe so much better if I cut it down to "normal family" size! Enjoy!
15 comments:
Oh that's a beauty!! You know, I've never roasted my spatchcocked chicken! There is no reason I should stop having it at the end of grilling season, is there?!
Yum... I'm not much on yardbird, but that's tempting, very tempting.
Herbed "butters" or a herby olive oil mix under the breast skin is so glorious for a chicken to be roasted. I've found it can be spread under the skin even towards the thighs - my fav part of a "chook", whether it be baked/roasted or barbequed. Your Oven Roaster chooks are huge!
I followed your fine example and bought myself some Chicken Shears last Xmas.
{For the singletons - cut down either side of the backbone (freeze backbone for making light chook stock), then cut down the middle of the chickens chest. This way you can freeze each half to roast/bake/grill when suits. Freeze the bones and ignoble bits after cooking and eating for making a stronger chookie stock}
Your dear ones get such good food when home!
so you're where I heard about spatchcocking. And I did try it, though not with picturesque results.
So - how much chicken do you have left over (if any) and what do you do with the leftovers. That's what I want to know. Also - do you make your own chicken stock?
roasted chicken is always a 3 day process in my house, chicken one night, then making stock, then chicken soup. I'm pretty tired of it by the time it's done. Maybe I should have had more kids . . . .
What a beautiful chicken! mmmm...
I love doing spatchcocked chicken and I love lemon chicken, never though of doing the two together! Great idea. Diane
Grumble. Ben won't eat dark meat. Grumble.
And I like my bacon real crispy. Ben eats his burned.
God knows what's going to happen when we have kids and have to incorporate their pickiniess!
I really need to try spatchcocking my chicken. Great use of all your chives.
Since I learned to do this from Pam last summer, it's the only way to go! Grilled or roasted it come out so beautiful and so moist!
I'm making comments that are not getting posted...
I need to spatchcock-it is all the rage.
Looks good :)
This is my all-time favourite way to grill a chicken! Chicken Under a Brick from Mario Batalli is the recipe that introduced me to it.
Looks good...I'm going to have to try this on my next bird........I like the sound that spatchcocked does when it rolls off the tongue ;)
You just reminded me that I wanted to give Spatchcocked Chicken a try. It sure looks good. I'll be saving this recipe in my special someday recipe folder for sure!
Thanks for sharing, Marjie...It sure is a beauty!!!
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