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This is the only way to make a roast a chicken! & perfect for a Valentine’s dinner in!
I didn’t know how great this method was until I tried it out for the first time this week.
Basically, we remove the backbone from the chicken and lay it out flat on a pan to roast, instead of upright like normal. I found that the cooking is much more even and the chicken is wayyyyyy juicier! (#winning)
Ingredients
- 1 Whole chicken
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1-2 tbsp favorite spice rub
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Pat your whole chicken dry and place on a cutting board breast side down.
- Use a very sharp knife or kitchen scissors, and cut along both sides of the backbone until you can remove it.
- Flip the chicken over and press it down flat (pushing to break the wishbone with your palms).
- Transfer the chicken to a lined baking sheet/dish.
- Melt 3 tbsp of butter, juice 1 lemon, and mix in 1-2 tbsp of your favorite spice rub (I used @acadian_kitchens chicken seasoning and it was a total home run).
- Mix together, pour over the chicken, and rub it down well until it’s fully coated (bonus points for getting the rub up under the skin).
- Bake the chicken at 400F for 40-45 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165F. I highly recommend investing in a kitchen thermometer! I love mine and use it all the time.
- ***Pro tip: At the half way point of cooking, brush the skin of the chicken with the juices in the pan. Don’t be shy and take your time! I spent like 5 minutes basting mine because it makes such a difference in the flavor & crisp I was of the skin. Worth ordering a $5 kitchen brush off Amazon!
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