Spatchcock Roasted Chicken with Lemon, Garlic, and Ginger Marinade

One fine summer day, I asked my butcher for a whole chicken.  "Do you want it spatchcocked?" he asked.  Before I knew what spatchcocked meant, I said "Yes."  Then, I watched him deftly remove the  backbone, and splay it out, flat-- "See, I like to call it "roadkill chicken," he said with a sly grin.  I bought it.  And I think he may come to regret ever showing me this option.  I love to cook whole chickens-- but it takes time, and it's a little tricky to do on the barbecue in the summer (although I have tried and enjoyed the classic beer can chicken.)  We started buying spatchcocked chicken every week, and now that the weather is warming up, I have gotten two at a time for the last couple weeks, since they make such great leftovers.  I'll link to a video on how to remove the backbone of your chicken, for those of you without a friendly butcher nearby.

 This is what we ate after a long, beautiful day touring the Wimpole Estate and kitchen gardens.



What You'll Need:
1 Spatchcocked Chicken (how-to video)
1 Recipe Marinade

Garlic, Lemon and Ginger Marinade
(makes about 1/3 cup)
1 small bunch of thyme
4 cloves garlic
1 inch of fresh ginger root, sliced
1 T sea salt
juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
3 T olive oil
pepper to taste
a dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
Put all ingredients into a small food processor and blend until everything is chopped fine and blended like a salad dressing.
Here's an extra little tip-- if garlic is sometimes hard for you to digest, take out the little green stalk that may be growing in the middle-- this bit is full of a substance designed to protect it from being eaten in its most tender stage.

What to Do:
1.  Make the marinade.
2.  Put the chicken in a wide glass dish (like a pie pan) pour the marinade over it. Turn it over so both sides get covered.  I often make two chickens at a time, laying one on top of the other, marinated, with the insides facing each other. Reserve a little marinade to brush the chicken with as it cooks.

3. Cover with wax paper or a lid and put the chicken back in the fridge overnight or for at least an hour.  Honestly, the marinade is so flavorful that I have had great results with little rest time.  But if you have the option, longer is better.
4. Heat your oven to 450º F or 235º C.
5.  Put your chicken skin-side-down on an oven rack (with a pan beneath to catch the drips) and roast for 25 minutes, or until the meat is turnining a delicious golden-brown color. 
5.  Turn the chicken over.  This is kind of tricky-- you may need to employ the use of two pairs of tongs, or tongs and spatula.  The trick is to move quickly.  You'll get better with practice, I promise.  Once it's skin-side-up, apply the reserved marinade, and continue roasting until the skin is getting crispy and brown-- about 25 minutes.  Since the chicken is flat, it cooks much more quickly, and somehow (magically?) retains lots of moisture.
Ooh, la la!

6.  When your chicken is ready, take it tenderly out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes (you can cover it with tented foil if you don't want to lose too much heat) so the juices don't run out when you cut it up.

(Optional-- have your kid(s) set up a nice table in the middle of your back yard, which is probably the optimal place to enjoy a meal like this.)

Eat it with your fingers.  OK, you don't have to.  But it's SO good that you will probably want to. The skin is crispy, garlicky and salty with just the right little tang.   I like to squeeze some fresh lemon over ours, and we also like having it with some homemade saurkraut on the side.

As I mentioned before, this chicken is great for leftovers, and wonderful for picnics!  We made this every week all summer, and as soon as the sun came out, it was the first thing I started craving.  An important note-- this is awesome grilled on the barbeque!  The skin will get more charred, but I like that, too!

Enjoy!

This post was shared at: Mostly Homemade Mondays, Homestead Barn Hop, Family Table, Fat Tuesday, Scratch Cookin' Tuesday, Tip Tuesday, Well Fed Wednesday, Tasty Traditions, Thank Your Body Thusday, Pennywise Platter, Old-Fashioned Friday. 
PAID ENDORSEMENT DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog.