Adapted from “Crispiest Spatchcocked Chicken” in Salt Fat Acid Heat, p 316, plus the recipe in spiritual ancestor post America: Too Stupid To Cook.
Equipment
- kitchen shears
- cutting board
- quarter sheet pan
- 12” cast iron skillet
- large tongs
- oven mitts
Ingredients
Staples
- salt
- EVOO
To Buy
- 4 pound whole chicken
Prep
the night before or the morning of
- Use the kitchen shears to spatchcock the chicken
- Flatten the bird, breaking the keel bone, in the quarter sheet
- Generously salt both sides of the bird
- Refrigerate, breast side up, until ~2 hours before you want to eat
when ready to eat
- One hour prior to cooking, move chicken from fridge to counter top
- Preheat oven to 425°F
- Add enough EVOO to coat bottom of skillet
Cook
- Heat skillet over medium-high heat
- Once skillet and oil are warm, place bird in skillet breast-side down and cook for 6-8 minutes or until skin is golden brown - it’s fine if the chicken is not completely flat as long as the breast is touching hot metal
- Using long tongs, flip chicken over to be breast-side up
- Using oven mitts, transfer pan and chicken to oven
- Place at the very back of the oven with the pan handle pointing to the left
- After 20 minutes, turn the skillet 180° so the handle points to the right, and return to the back of the oven
- Continue to cook the chicken until a temp probe inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads at least 170°F
- Remove and let chicken rest for ~10 minutes