Spatchcocked Roasted Chicken with Lemons
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 3-4lb chicken, cleaned with backbone removed and flattened
  • 4 medium lemons, sliced
  • butter
  • Sprigs of rosemary, thyme, tarragon and sage, minced
  • 2 tsp. Garlic powder
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 8-10 small shallots, minced
  • olive oil
Method
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. You want to roast the bird at a high temperature to get a crisp on the skin and then reduce the heat to cook the chicken through.
  2. Slice four lemons leaving the seeds in and on a well oiled sheet pan, place the lemons in a small layer and lay the prepared chicken directly on top of them.
  3. Carefully pulled back the skin on the chicken and slide several lemon slices into each piece.
  4. Rub the entire skin of the chicken with butter. Salt and pepper the bird liberally and add some minced rosemary, thyme, tarragon and sage. For an extra kick, add some garlic powder to the skin.
  5. From here the chicken goes into the hot oven to roast for 20 minutes. While this is happening peel and slice 8-10 small shallots in half and toss with a tablespoon of olive oil.
  6. At the twenty minute mark, reduce the heat to 400 degrees F, place the shallots all around and on top of the chicken and roast for another 30 minutes or until the thickest part of the breast reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
  7. Once the chicken reaches the correct temperature, remove it from the oven, but let it rest on the pan for ten minutes. Cut the chicken up into 8 or 10 pieces (depending on if you want to split the breasts) and arrange on a serving platter.
  8. The very best part of the entire dish is all the crispy shallots and the pan drippings on the sheet pan. Arrange some of the roasted lemons around the platter and scoop up as much of the pan drippings as you can to drizzle over the top of each piece.
  9. Serve with roasted potatoes or rice and a simple vegetable (broccoli or asparagus) and you will have a quick and healthy mid-week meal.
Recipe by Kitchen Conundrum at http://kitchenconundrum.com/2013/01/spatchcocked-roasted-chicken-with-lemons/