Have you ever roasted a whole chicken and been left with dried out chicken breast? I’ve got the solution. Butterflied chicken is the secret to perfectly cooked dark meat, juicy white meat and crispy skin. Let me show you how to do it.
How to Butterfly a Whole Chicken
Butterflying a chicken means to remove the backbone of the chicken so that the whole chicken can lay flat on a baking sheet or rack while it roasts. This helps the chicken roast evenly and since all of the chicken skin is facing up, it browns and crisps up nicely. Butterflied chicken is also really easy to serve. Using sharp kitchen shears, remove backbone from the chicken. Then flatten the chicken by placing it skin-side up on a cutting board and pushing down towards the breastbone. Flip the chicken so the bones are facing up and season with herbs, salt, pepper, and a little oil. Then place skin-side up on a baking sheet and season with more herbs, salt, pepper and oil. Arrange lots of vegetables — we love carrots, potato wedges, and onion — around the chicken. Throw 2 lemons that have been halved onto the sheet then bake until the chicken is cooked through and the skin browned. Since we roast the lemons at the same time as the chicken and vegetables, they caramelize and the juices become less tart. When the chicken is done, we squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl, add pan juices left on the baking sheet and whisk with a tiny bit of mustard and olive oil — making a roasted lemon vinaigrette. It’s divine and perfect to spoon over the chicken and vegetables. Recipe updated, originally posted March 2013. Since posting this in 2013, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne By butterflying the chicken, it will cook slightly faster, but more importantly, it will cook more evenly than if we were to roast it normally. Also, we love that all the skin browns nicely since it’s all facing up. If you would prefer, skip butterflying the chicken and roast normally — it will just take a little longer. Extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried Salt and fresh ground black pepper 2 small onions, peeled and quartered 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks 2 lemons, halved 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2Position the chicken so that the back is facing up and the drumsticks are pointing towards you. Using poultry or sharp kitchen scissors cut down one side of the backbone. Then, cut down the other side of the backbone, removing it completely. (You can reserve the backbone for stock later). Flip the chicken so the skin is facing up and press it down towards the work surface so it flattens slightly. 3Rub the chicken on both sides with a little olive oil then season both sides with salt, pepper, and about 1 tablespoon of rosemary. Place the chicken breast-side up onto the baking sheet and tuck the tips of the wings under the chicken. 2Once roasted, transfer chicken to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil then let rest about 10 minutes. 3Use tongs to squeeze juice from roasted lemons into a small bowl. Pour any juices left on the baking sheet into the bowl. Add mustard then whisk. Taste then add a little oil, salt, and pepper as needed. (We usually add about a tablespoon of olive oil to tone down the tart lemon. 4Slice chicken or cut into quarters. Serve alongside roasted vegetables drizzled with the roasted lemon vinaigrette.
