This easy recipe will show you how to spatchcock chicken so it’s perfectly juicy with golden, crispy skin! Plus, my delicious Mediterranean seasoning blend and fresh veggies to roast alongside.
If you’ve been here a while, you know I’m all about simple, delicious meals that don’t require cheffy techniques. That’s why you can trust me when I say: spatchcocking a chicken is worth the extra step!
While I love the look of a whole roasted chicken, if I’m cooking for myself or my family I’m almost always spatchcocking it first. The meat cooks quicker and more evenly, and you get that perfectly golden skin. I’m even known to spatchcock my grilled chicken!
For this simple spatchcock roast chicken recipe, I season the meat with a fragrant blend of allspice, nutmeg, paprika, and garlic, which brings bold Middle Eastern-style vibe. I know you’ll be making this on repeat!
Table of Contents
What is Spatchocking?
Sometimes called “butterflying,” spatchcocking is simply removing the chicken’s backbone so it lays flat. Starting with the whole bird is great because it’s often cheaper by the pound than the broken-down pieces. Plus, you get to enjoy both the light and dark meat. Here’s why I love spatchcocking before roasting:
- The chicken cooks faster.
- The meat cooks evenly, so you dry chicken breasts is a thing of the past.
- It’s extra crispy! The flat surface means can sear the skin in a pan before roasting.
Ingredients for this Spatchcocked Chicken Recipe
You don’t need any fancy ingredients or equipment to make spatchcock chicken. Here’s what I used:
- Whole chicken: Look for about a 4 pound chicken. You can often ask your butcher to spatchcock it for you, but it’s easy enough to do it yourself.
- Spices: I used a warming, savory blend of allspice, garlic powder, sweet paprika, ground nutmeg, salt and pepper. Chicken is a pretty neutral base, free to experiment with the spices you love–Italian seasoning, Greek oregano, ras el hanout, baharat, the list goes on!
- Olive oil: Use a high quality extra virgin variety for the best flavor.
- Veggies (optional): I love tomatoes, onion, and green olives along with the chicken, but feel free to skip this or swap with other quick-cooking vegetables like mushrooms and carrots.
How to Cook Spatchcocked Chicken
Spatchcocked chicken takes about 50 to 65 minutes to cook in a 425°F oven, but I like to crisp the skin first. Here are the steps:
Spatchcock the Chicken
- Cut out the backbone. Place a 4-ish pound chicken on a cutting board with its backbone facing you. Using a pair of sturdy kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the spine.
- Remove the backbone: Don’t throw it away! Save for chicken stock, in your freezer if you don’t plan to make it right away.
- Flatten the chicken. Flip the chicken over and push down on the breast with your palms to flatten. You may or may not hear a crack. Congratulations, you have now spatchcocked–also known as butterflied–a chicken!
Season and Sear the Chicken
- Salt the chicken (if you have time, do this the night before). Generously season the chicken all over with salt and pepper, then place in a shallow roasting dish with the breast side up. If you have the time, refrigerate uncovered overnight to dry out the skin. One hour before you plan to roast the chicken, pull the chicken out of the fridge and set at room temperature.
- Get ready to roast. Set one oven rack near the middle of your oven and one near the bottom. Preheat to 425°F.
- Season the chicken. Mix 1 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg in a small bowl, then rub all over the chicken. Pull the skin up and apply some of the spice mix underneath as well.
- Sear the chicken. Coat the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron skillet in a thin layer of olive oil and set over medium-high heat. As soon as the oil is shimmering, add the chicken with the breast side down. Allow to brown undisturbed for 6-8 minutes, then flip and brown on the other side, another 5 minutes or so.
Roast the Chicken
- Roast the chicken. Transfer the cast iron skillet to the middle rack of the hot oven. Slide it all way to the back of the oven.
- Rotate the chicken. Roast for 20 minutes, carefully turn the skillet 180 degrees (so the handle points the opposite direction). Push to the back of the oven again. Roast until the chicken is cooked through, another 30 to 45 minutes. The chicken should be brown all over, with the thickest part near the leg bone reading 165°F.
- Meanwhile, roast the vegetables (optional). About 20 minutes or so before you pull the chicken out of the oven, add 8 Campari tomatoes tomatoes and 1 quartered onion to a small roasting dish. Toss with olive oil and salt. Place on the lower rack of the oven to roast.
- Rest and serve. Let the chicken rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before carving. Add a handful of green olives to the roasted veggies. Enjoy!
What to Serve with this Spatchcock Chicken Recipe
This spatchcock chicken is a versatile protein to serve with all sorts of sides and salads, but these go particularly well with the warming Middle Eastern-style seasonings:
- Salad: Tabouli or Fattoush.
- Grains and rice: Smoky freekeh or golden Persian rice.
- Sides: Batata Harra (Spicy Potatoes) or Roasted Carrots with Dukkah and Mint.
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Ingredients
- 1 (4 pound) whole chicken
- Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Extra virgin olive oil
To Roast Alongside (Optional)
- 8 Campari tomatoes
- 1 large sweet onion, peeled and quartered
- Handful of pitted green olives
Instructions
- Spatchcock (butterfly) the chicken. Place the chicken on a cutting board with its backbone facing you. Using a pair of sturdy kitchen shears, cut out the backbone by cutting along both sides of the spine. Remove the backbone (save for stock). Flip the chicken over and push down on the breast with your palms to flatten.
- Salt the chicken (if you have time, do this the night before). Generously season the chicken all over with salt and pepper, then place in a shallow roasting dish with the breast side up. If you have the time, refrigerate uncovered overnight to dry out the skin. One hour before you plan to roast the chicken, pull the chicken out of the fridge and set at room temperature.
- Get ready to roast. Set one oven rack near the middle of your oven and one near the bottom. Preheat to 425°F.
- Season the chicken. Mix the spices in a small bowl, then rub all over the chicken. Pull the skin up and apply some of the spice mix underneath as well.
- Sear the chicken. Coat the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron skillet in a thin layer of olive oil and set over medium-high heat. As soon as the oil is shimmering, add the chicken with the breast side down. Allow to brown undisturbed for 6-8 minutes, then flip and brown on the other side, another 5 minutes or so.
- Roast the chicken. Transfer the cast iron skillet to the middle rack of the hot oven. Slide it all way to the back of the oven. Roast for 20 minutes, then use oven mitts to carefully turn the skillet 180 degrees (the handle is now pointing the opposite direction). Push to the back of the oven again. Roast until the chicken is cooked through, another 30 to 45 minutes. The chicken should be brown all over, with the thickest part near the leg bone reading 165°F.
- Meanwhile, roast the vegetables (optional). About 20 minutes or so before you pull the chicken out of the oven, add the tomato and onion to a small roasting dish. Toss with olive oil and salt. Place on the lower rack of the oven to roast. When done, add a handful of green olives to the roasted veggies and return to the oven for a few minutes to warm.
- Rest and serve. Let the chicken rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before carving. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
- When to salt the chicken. If you don’t have time to salt the chicken and refrigerate overnight, do this as early as possible the day of (even 2 hours or so before cooking will help).
Nutrition
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We just had this for an early dinner. WOW! This is a great recipe. Very easy to make and so delicious. My chicken came out juicy, and crispy with the lovely taste of the spices.
Thank you for a recipe I will make many more times.
Wonderful!! Thanks, EJ!
I buy a Tuscan or Greek seasoned spatchcocked chicken which saves time. This recipe is excellent and easy. It comes out perfectly every time.
Thanks, Sue!
Yummy! Loved the flavor addition of allspice, nutmeg in the seasoning. SO delicious.
Made this for Christmas Eve dinner (just the two of us, due to Covid). Had this with roasted potatoes and balsamic glazed brussel sprouts. WOW!!! Will be making this again and again, I use 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt – will cut down to 1 teaspoon next time. I’ve made Thomas Keller’s spatchcocked roasted chiken several times before, and it was nice to add the Mediterranean twist. Searing it in a cast iron skillet that then went into the oven was great – heat retention plus! Paired this with Tattinger champage (why not? – tis the season!) and it was quite the magical meal. Thank you and Happy Holidays, Suzy!
PS: Roasted chicken leave a lot of residue in the oven – does anyone have a solution?
Thank you, Ana! I’m so glad this was a hit for you! Your Christmas dinner sounded wonderful!!!
Wow. This was delicious. Thank you!
So glad, Gaby! Thanks for sharing
This chicken comes out amazing. It became one of the meal I make on regular basis and the family just loves it. Thank you!
This was perfect! I followed your directions exactly re: refrigerating the salted bird without cover overnight. The spice rub was wonderful, and the crispy skin was a huge hit! This recipe is a keeper!
Awesome! Thanks, Carole!
Wonderful flavors. We usually make Thomas Keller’s version of spatchcocked chicken – it’s nice to have your recipe to add to the mix. It’s just as tender, with the added benefit of the flavorful spices. We had some leftover of the spice mix, which we used to pan fry some chicken tenders with the following week – SCORE! Nice to be able to use the spices for another delicious meal. LOVE your recipes – thank you!
That’s great! Thank you, Ana!
I didn’t make this particular recipe, I watched your video on how to spatchcock the chicken and used your lemon chicken recipe as a marinade. We cooked the chicken on the gas grill and it was AMAZING. The color was beautiful, the flavor was awesome. I’ve made your lemon chicken recipe many times but with boneless thighs. I make triple batches of the seasoning so I always have it on hand. Thanks for so many great recipes.
Thank you so much, Cherie!
I love spatchcock chicken, it makes it so much easier to roast a chicken!
This platter is surely a feast. Looks too delicious and mouth melting and flavorful.
Great timing to have stumbled upon this recipe. I’ve been thinking about spatchcoked turkey this year for thanksgiving, but wanted to “practice” a bit first. Not only does this chicken sound so tasty, but it’s also going to be the ideal practice situation. Thank you!!!
Enjoy! Thanks for sharing
What a beautiful dish and such a helpful tip to roast a chicken! Thank you for making busy dinner times a bit easier!
Wonderful! So glad to hear it.
Wow is a perfect fall dinner! The chicken is so crispy and flavorful!!
So glad, Noelle! Thanks for giving it a try
Love how crispy this chicken turns out!
So delicious! This is my new favorite way to cook chicken. Crispy skin all over and still so juicy. Thanks!
Awesome, Sara!