CELEBRATE comfort food with lemons ~ FAST COOKING Lemon Chicken!
Spatchcock is ‘TRENDING’ in how to cook chicken today. Fast and easy; cooked to perfection. I always order lemon chicken when we have special Chinese dinner night. Making my own lemon chicken is crispy when you prepare the chicken using this fast cooking method. I never go back to the old method. I want to share this delicious chicken recipe with you. You’ll never have a dry chicken with spatchcocking. This is how chickens should be cooked all the time. I sometimes use a lower temperature for a longer oven time and the chicken falls off the bone. One day, I grabbed a chicken leg and the bone pulled out clean. Nice!!!
THE BENEFITS of spatchcocking sometimes called butterflying a chicken, is that you get an even heat across the chicken. The chicken cooks faster and remains juicy. Cook time is reduced by about 25%. A 3.5 lb chicken should cook in about 35 minutes.
Better With 🧈 BUTTER 🧈
- Start with up to 8 oz. unsalted butter! You decide how much butter your heart can take ?!?
Spatchcock ~Lemon Chicken with Garlic Recipe
INGREDIENTS
▢ 8 ounces softened butter
▢ 1/2 - 1 teaspoon dry/fresh thyme (use fresh if you can get it)
▢ 1/2 - 1 teaspoon dry/fresh rosemary
▢ Kosher salt and pepper
▢ 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
▢ 3 lemons
▢ 3 large cloves garlic, minced [garlic lovers double up on garlic -I do!]
▢ 1 tablespoon soy paste, optional, but it shouldn’t be - and I say ‘paste’ because trying to mix a straight liquid into this mixture will be a bit challenging (TIP: add 1/4 tsp starch or flour and reduce soy liquid to a paste before adding -works like a charm)
▢ 1/4 cup vermouth or white wine [or cognac, brandy, sherry, dessert wine]
▢ 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional,[with a smidge - the flavor is enhanced - you don't taste the heat
▢ One 3-4 pound chicken - spatchcocked
INSTRUCTIONS
▢ Preheat oven to 450F High temp works well for complete cook time – fast and juicy![2nd VERSION: Change temp. to 375F as son as the chicken in the oven, takes about 2 hours cook time for the fall off the bone version]
▢ Put butter, thyme, rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon each salt/pepper, parsley, zest of one lemon, garlic and soy paste in a small bowl and mix well to combine – put about 1/4 of this mixture into another bowl and set aside for later
▢ Cut the ends off the lemons (including the zested one) then cut into 1/2 inch slices and spread out in one layer on the bottom of a large cast iron or oven proof skillet. Give the sliced lemons a bit of a squeeze to start off the flavor process. – pour in the vermouth (or white wine)
▢ Dry chicken with a paper towel (ensures crispiness). Season the inside of the chicken with salt & pepper, then rub chicken with some of the butter mixture, flip over and repeat: salt, pepper, butter mixture then put on top of the ‘pinched’ lemons
▢ Put chicken in the oven and cook until instant read thermometer reads 165F in the breast and about 175F in the thigh (different times for different ovens)
▢ Remove from oven, brush with saved butter mixture, lightly tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes
▢ Remove foil, cut into pieces and enjoy!
Make It …EZ..EASIER!
SLOW COOK YOUR CHICKEN!
I like the slow version for a fall off the bone, juicy chicken. Not always into the crispy skin. And, it depends on my time. The slow cooking is a weekend meal -still crispy but not intensely crispy. Prep time around 2:00 pm into the oven -then you know dinner is done around 4:00 or 5:00 pm. Veggies you can even throw in with the chicken half way done or in the beginning of cooking. I may toss in Japanese sweet potato, turnips, squash, carrots, cauliflower, onions or brussels sprouts. Fresh veggies is best. Now its a ‘one pot’ meal. HOW EASY!!!
SPATCHCOCKING
TODAY, many experts recommend NOT WASHING your chicken before cooking it. Washing the chicken SPREAD GERMS around your kitchen ( up to 9 feet). Paper towel dried chicken inside and out, also kills bacteria. After spatchcocking: you can marinate the chicken overnight or cook immediately. Note: you can spatchcock turkey!
CRISPY CHICKEN
An interesting twist -One New York chef pats dry the chicken and covers it with salt and baking POWDER [excellent substitute salt tip from AOC, (America on coffee): vinegar and lemon or lime juice are great substitutes for salt. ] and lets the spatchcock chicken sit in the fridge overnight. IN THE MORNING, you can see the powder has been absorbed into the chicken. A crispier skin is the outcome. You can do this with turkey to enhance the crispiness. Crispy chicken is one of my favorite parts of the fowl. An overnight brine ensures flavor all the way through the chicken. Overnight marinated chicken breaks up the work flow. You do not have to do the overnight marinade. Although – after cooking, always rest the chicken for 10-15 minutes before you cut into it. This is a key step to make the best juicy and tender chicken.
ACCORDING TO RUMOR
spatchcocked chicken came from the IRISH in the 1800’s. This wacky term from Ireland may be an abbreviation of “Dispatch the cock,” Furthermore, cock is short for cockerel ( a young rooster).
HOW TO ~ Spatchcock A Chicken ~ Picture Perfect Directions
Simply Splendid Food 