- Ingredients and Substitutions
- How to make spatchcock chicken
- The best seasoning for spatchcock chicken
- The Sheet Pan I L❤️VE!
- How long to cook a spatchcock chicken
- Oops! What did I do wrong?
- FAQs
- Spatchcock Chicken Recipe with Garlic Herb Butter
- What to serve with spatchcock chicken
- More chicken dinner recipes
The garlic herb butter is the whole reason I keep making this one
The first time I ever had a spatchcock chicken recipe was at one of my good friend’s house.
After watching as she prepared, roasted, and then served up this gorgeous bird, I had to try it for myself! And just as I had hoped, it was so super easy to do.
But the best part? Since you open the chicken up and flatten it out, it cooks up in almost half the time that a normal roasted chicken recipe would.
The seasoning is where I’ve changed the most since then. Softened butter gets mixed with garlic, fresh rosemary and thyme, and lemon zest, then half of it goes under the skin and half gets brushed over the top.
The half underneath is what keeps the breast meat juicy, and the half on top is what turns golden and crisp. (If you want the backbone part broken down photo by photo, I walk through all of it in How to Spatchcock Chicken.)
Thanks to a good bit of butter, garlic, and fresh herbs, this main dish is not only quick to make, but also makes an absolutely delicious addition to your weekly dinner rotation! (Or you could even try it for a fancy dinner party!)
Ingredients and Substitutions
For the exact measurements and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card below.
- Whole chicken: Try to stick with one between 3½ and 4 pounds. Any bigger and the skin starts to burn before the middle is cooked through.
- Butter: Softened, not melted, so it stays put when you push it under the skin. A dairy-free butter works if you need it to.
- Oil: Avocado or olive oil both work here, and it’s what keeps the butter spreadable instead of stiff.
- Garlic: Finely minced garlic is what you want, since bigger pieces can scorch under the skin.
- Fresh rosemary and thyme: These are the ones that make it taste like a Sunday chicken, and they’re worth buying fresh. Chop them before you measure, and if you only have dried, use it knowing the result won’t be quite the same.
- Lemon: You’ll use both the juice and the zest, and the zest is doing most of the work.
- Paprika: Just enough to help the skin roast to a deeper golden color.
- Dietary swaps: The recipe below is gluten-free as written. For dairy-free, use a dairy-free butter or all oil, and for Whole30, skip the butter completely and season with oil, garlic, and herbs.
How to make spatchcock chicken
Please see the recipe card below for the full ingredient amounts and instructions.
Remove the backbone.
Set the chicken on a large cutting board with the breast facing down and the spine facing up. Use sturdy kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone, staying as close to it as you can so you don’t cut into the ribs.
Pro Tip: Save the backbone. Toss it in a freezer bag and pull it out the next time you make stock, since it’s the best part of the bird for it.
Flatten the bird.
Score the breastbone with a sharp knife, then flip the chicken over. Press down hard with the heels of your hands until you hear the ribs crack and the bird lies flat.
Pro Tip: Push harder than feels polite. You’re listening for a pop, and until you hear it the chicken will keep springing back up on you.
Season it, under the skin and over the top.
Whisk the softened butter together with the oil, lemon juice and zest, paprika, garlic, herbs, and part of the salt. Slide half of it under the skin over the breasts, then melt the rest and brush it across the top.
Pro Tip: Loosen the skin first. Work your fingers in at the neck end and separate the whole breast area before any butter goes in, and it slides right where you want it instead of tearing.
Roast at 425°F.
Set the chicken breast side up on a wire rack inside a foil-lined baking sheet, then sprinkle the rest of the salt and the black pepper over the top. Roast for 40 to 50 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F in the thickest part of the breast.
Pro Tip: The rack matters more than the pan. Lifting the bird up off the sheet lets hot air move underneath it, so the bottom crisps instead of sitting in the drippings and steaming.
The Sheet Pan I L❤️VE!
Your veggies will end up steaming instead of roasting if you overcrowd the pan. So my tip… use the largest sheet pan you have and spread everything out!
Rest, then carve.
Let the chicken rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before you cut into it, and leave it uncovered so the skin stays crisp. Take the legs and thighs off first, then the wings, then slice the breast off the bone.
Pro Tip: Don’t tent it with foil. Foil traps steam right against the skin you just spent 45 minutes crisping, and 10 minutes under it will undo the whole thing.
Oops! What did I do wrong?
The skin came out pale instead of crispy. Either the chicken went into the oven wet, or it roasted flat on the pan instead of up on a rack. Pat it dry with paper towels before the butter goes on, and set it on a wire rack next time.
My shears wouldn’t cut through the bone. Kitchen shears work and poultry shears work better, but a dull pair of either will fight you the entire way. Stay right up against the backbone where the bone is thinnest instead of drifting out toward the ribs.
The breast was dry but the thighs were underdone. The bird probably wasn’t pressed flat enough, so the thighs sat higher than the breast and cooked slower. Push down until you hear the ribs crack so everything is on one level.
The butter slid off instead of staying under the skin. It was melted rather than softened. Let it sit out on the counter until it’s spreadable but still holding its shape.
The drippings burned onto the pan. That usually means the pan was too close to the bottom of the oven. Keep it on the middle rack, and pour a splash of water onto the sheet if things start to smoke.
FAQs
Spatchcocking just means cutting out the backbone so the chicken lies flat. (It’s also called butterflying, which honestly sounds a lot less alarming.)
Flattening the bird puts the thighs and the breasts on the same level, so they finish cooking at about the same time instead of one drying out while the other catches up.
That’s really the whole trick. More skin faces the heat, so more of it turns golden and crisp, and a 3½ pound chicken is done in 40 to 50 minutes instead of well over an hour.
Uncovered, the entire time. Covering it traps steam against the skin, and steam is what keeps skin from crisping. The same goes while it rests, so leave it uncovered on the cutting board too.
Nope. The whole point of flattening the bird is that everything already faces the heat, so it roasts breast side up from start to finish.
Around 60 to 75 minutes for a 3½ to 4 pound bird, compared to 40 to 50 minutes at 425°F. The lower heat is gentler on the meat, but you give up some of the crispy skin.
It rhymes with catch, so SPATCH-cock. Butterflied means the same thing if you would rather say that instead.
Sometimes, and most butchers will do it for you if you ask. It costs a little more than doing it yourself, and doing it yourself takes about two minutes once you have a good pair of shears.
Pull the meat off the bones and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. About 10 minutes in a 350°F oven brings the skin back closest to crisp. The microwave is faster and totally fine, the skin just goes soft.
To freeze, take the meat off the bones and freeze it in a freezer-safe bag for up to 4 months. It comes back a little drier than fresh and the crispy skin doesn’t survive at all, so I save frozen leftovers for soups, tacos, and enchiladas.
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Spatchcock Chicken Recipe with Garlic Herb Butter
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Ingredients
- 3 ½ pounds whole chicken whole
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Garlic Herb Butter:
- 5 tablespoons butter softened
- 2 tablespoons oil olive or avocado
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 2 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 teaspoon thyme and rosemary fresh, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Place the chicken on a cutting board with the breasts facing downwards and the spine upwards.3 ½ pounds whole chicken
- Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the spine across the length of the bird. Try to stay as close as possible to the spine to avoid cutting too much into the ribs and meat.
- Score the breast bone with a knife and then flip the chicken over. Press down with the heels of your hands to crack the ribs and flatten the bird. Place the chicken on a wire rack that is on top of an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the butter, oil, lemon juice and zest, paprika, garlic, herbs, and ¾ teaspoon of salt. Place half of it under the skin next to the breasts. Melt the remaining half and use a pastry brush to spread it over the skin.5 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, ¼ teaspoon paprika, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon thyme and rosemary
- Sprinkle the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper over the entire chicken.½ teaspoon black pepper
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, depending on size, until an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F in the thickest part of the breast. The thigh will read closer to 175°F.
- Let the chicken rest uncovered on a cutting board for 10 minutes before carving. Leaving it uncovered keeps the skin crisp, and the temperature will climb about 5 more degrees as it rests.
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Video
Notes
- Chicken size: Stick with a 3½ to 4 pound bird. Bigger than that and the skin browns before the middle is cooked through.
- Doneness: Pull the chicken at 165°F in the thickest part of the breast. The thigh will read closer to 175°F, and the temperature climbs about 5 more degrees while it rests.
- Prep ahead: Spatchcock and season the chicken up to one day early. Keep it wrapped in the fridge until you are ready to roast.
- Storage: Pull the meat off the bones and refrigerate in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
- Reheating: About 10 minutes in a 350°F oven brings the skin back closest to crisp. The microwave works too, the skin just goes soft.
- Freezing: Freeze the meat off the bone for up to 4 months. It comes back a little drier and the crispy skin does not survive, so save it for soups, tacos, and enchiladas.
- Dairy-free: Swap the butter for a dairy-free version or use all oil.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What to serve with spatchcock chicken
This is a Sunday-dinner kind of plate, so I lean toward sides that feel like they belong next to a whole roasted bird.
Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes are the pairing I make most, partly because the lemon in them echoes what’s in the butter. Crispy Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes do the same job if you want something a little sweeter on the plate.
For something green that never touches the oven, Sautéed Green Beans come together on the stovetop in about the time the chicken is resting. Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes are the other hands-off pick, since they cook completely off to the side.
And if there are drippings left in the pan, absolutely use them for gravy. If there aren’t enough, Gravy without Drippings covers you either way.
More chicken dinner recipes
A whole bird is great, but most weeknights I’m reaching for something faster. These are the chicken dinners that stay in the rotation around here.
Fiesta Lime Chicken
40 mins
Olive Garden Chicken Marsala
30 mins
Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe
50 mins
Baked Honey Mustard Chicken
55 mins
