SLOW ROASTED SPATCHCOCK CHICKEN RECIPES

Steps:

• Use fingers to loosen skin under chicken breasts and legs. Rub meat beneath skin evenly with salt. Pat skin completely dry. Place chicken, skin side up, in a 13- x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Place dish, uncovered, on bottom shelf of refrigerator; chill 8 hours or overnight. Remove chicken dish from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Preheat oven to 200°F. Place dish in oven; roast chicken, skin side up, 2 hours and 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 155°F in meatiest part of breast and at least 165°F in meatiest part of thigh. Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add oil to pan. Add chicken to pan, skin side down; cook 3 minutes or until skin is browned and crispy. Remove from pan; let stand 30 minutes before carving. THE STEPS: 1. Spatchcock the Bird: With the chicken breast-side down, use kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone, and remove it. Flip the chicken breast-side up, and then press down on the breasts until bones crack and the bird lays flat. 2. Salt & Air-chill: Rub salt evenly into the meat under the skin. The salt penetrates deeply into the meat and seasons the chicken over several hours, as with a wet brine. The advantage here: The chicken isn't underwater, so the skin dries as it chills, making it easier to brown and crisp in a pan later. 3. Roast Low & Slow: Roasting at 200°F keeps the meat from seizing up and squeezing out lots of juice, a risk you run with high oven temps. The chicken's temperature rises slowly, so you're less likely to overcook it. And roasting it skin-side up dries the skin even more before the pan-browning. 4. Brown & Crisp: Unlike with whole chickens, it's easy to sear the skin on a spatchcocked bird. Just a few minutes sizzling in a hot pan will yield crunchy, golden skin without overcooking the meat.  

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Rinse chicken, and pat dry. Place chicken, breast side down, on a cutting board. Using poultry shears, cut along both sides of backbone, and remove backbone. (Discard or reserve for stock.) Turn chicken breast side up, and open the underside of chicken like a book. Using the heel of your hand, press firmly against breastbone until it cracks. Place chicken in a large rimmed baking pan. Tuck wing tips under chicken so they don't burn.
• Combine garlic and salt on a cutting board. Using the flat edge of a knife, mash into a paste. Combine garlic paste, butter, thyme, zest, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the garlic mixture. Rub remaining garlic mixture under skin of chicken breasts and thighs.
• Bake chicken in preheated oven 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Reduce heat to 400°F. Arrange potatoes and carrots around chicken; return to oven, and bake 20 minutes. Arrange Brussels sprouts around chicken, and spread remaining 2 tablespoons garlic mixture on breasts; return to oven, and bake until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 165°F, about 20 minutes. Drizzle with lemon juice, and let stand 10 minutes. Carve chicken, and serve with pan juices.