Around here, we cook a whole chicken about once per week. Sometimes in the instant pot like this, sometimes cut up and grilled/fried and sometimes we just bake the whole thing in the oven. A different variation of baking a chicken is to cut out the backbone (save it for bone broth!) and open it up so that it cooks a little faster and you get more even browning of the skin. This is called spatchcock chicken. It’s one of my favorite ways to bake a whole chicken.

For this recipe you will need:

• 1 whole chicken
• seasining of choice
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • pink salt
  • pepper
• Oil or butter (today I used avocado oil)

Method:

• Cut out the backbone. For me, it’s easier to use kitchen sheers for this. It’s a little hard when you get the the hip bone, but I don’t usually have a problem.

• Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towel. Drying the chicken before baking helps the skin to crisp up.
• Open the bird up and lay it open side down on a large oven safe pan. I use my large skillet or a stainless steel baking sheet. I have this baking sheet set from Amazon. It comes with 3 sizes and stainless steel racks.
• Tuck the wings behind the breasts to keep the tips from burning.

• Press down on the breast bone to flatten the bird a little more to allow for more even cooking.
• Coat with oil and seasonings of choice. My go-to’s are garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Experiment with whichever seasonings you have on hand. Fresh or dry. Rosemary, thyme, and italian seasonings are a few examples.

• Bake uncovered at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. My 4 pound bird took 55 minutes.

Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing. Pairs well with any vegetables. My boys like sweet potatoes with it, but mashed white potatoes would be great too!

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Spatchcock Chicken

An alternative way to bake a whole chicken with even browning and a quicker cook time.

Course Main Course

Keyword Homemade, Pasture raised, simple ingredients

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Author MommaDarlin

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• seasining of choice I used garlic, onion, salt and pepper
• Oil or butter I used avocado oil

Instructions

1. cut out the backbone using kitchen sheers

2. rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towel

3. open bird up and lay open side down on a large oven safe pan

4. tuck the wings behind the breasts

5. press down on the breast bone to flatten the bird more

6. coat with oil and seasonings of choice
7. bake uncovered at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing

Recipe Notes

Don’t forget to save the backbone for chicken bone broth. I keep a bag of bones in my freezer until I have enough to make bone broth.