SHEET PAN SPATCHCOCK CHICKEN DINNER

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Chicken|Gluten-free

Ingredients

Compound herb butter:

1 stick butter, softened

2 tablespoon rosemary leaves, stemmed and chopped

1 tablespoon thyme leaves, stemmed

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Chicken:

1, 4-4 ½ pound chicken

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon black pepper

2 lemons, cut into ¼ – ½” thick rounds

Veggies:

2 ½ pounds red bliss potatoes, cut into 2” chunks

3 pounds carrots, cut into 2” chunks

¼ cup olive oil

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon black pepper

1 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed and stalks cut into 4-5” pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Make the herb butter by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl and cream together with the back of a spoon until everything is well incorporated and herbs are even throughout.

Remove the giblets package from the chicken and rinse out the cavity. Completely dry the chicken all over with paper towels and place, breast side down, on a cutting board with the cavity facing you. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut out the backbone, by cutting through the ribs on either side (check out my video on YouTube if you want to see this whole process being done). Save or freeze the backbone to make soup stock!! Then press the chicken ‘open’ with your hands. Using a knife cut through the sternum (right in the center) to pop the breast bone and crack the chicken open to make it flat. Season all over liberally with 1 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Flip the chicken over and press again to flatten. Using your fingers, make a pocket between the skin and meat on each breast and thigh.

Divide about ⅔ of the herb butter between each ‘pocket”. Press the top of the skin, over the butter under the skin and ‘push it’ with your fingers to distribute evenly over the meat. This will baste your meat, keep it moist, and add incredible flavor while it cooks. Evenly spread the remaining butter over the top of the skin on the chicken. It doesn’t have to perfect as it will melt and baste the skin to turn it golden brown while cooking. Place the chicken on a large, foil-lined baking sheet and season the top with the remaining 1 teaspoon (if your chicken is small, use a little less) each salt and pepper.

Spread the potatoes and carrots evenly around the chicken on the baking sheet. Season with 1-1 ½ teaspoons of the salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss veggies with your fingers to coat. Place the sheet pan in the oven and cook for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and add the asparagus to the veggies around the chicken and lightly toss them to coat with drippings and to flip carrots and potatoes to evenly cook. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and season with a little more salt and pepper.

Cook for an additional 15-30 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken) until everything is golden and crispy. The chicken should be 155-165 degrees in the thickest part of the breast.