We’re not much into Turkey in my family. I understand the historical significance of turkey at the Thanksgiving table, but personally I find it pretty much “bleh”. That said, many people are left wanting without poultry at the Thanksgiving feast so we usually bake up a big fat ham and roast a large chicken for those die hard traditionalists. This is one of those chickens.
My old self, the one who had a bit more time, a bit more sleep, perhaps a bit more motivation, was big into vegetable chopping. I made meals where I’d easily spend an hour just chopping all the veggies often with no meat in sight. In truth, I found raw meat repulsive to all of my senses. Fast forward to when I grew the F up and started cutting the backbones out of chickens and making bone broths from gnarly knuckles, shins and feet. Oh how things have changed!!
While I still love my Brined Thyme Roast Chicken recipe, it requires more planning ahead to brine that bird than I can often muster these days. I spend so much time grabbing a toddler as she ceaselessly tests the laws of gravity! This spatchcock chicken is quick to prepare and leaves you with very little raw chicken-y mess, if ya know what I mean. Time to put on your big kid pants and cut out that backbone!
Crispy, golden, savory miso skin with no fuss and few dishes. What’s not to love?
- 1 whole chicken patted dry, approx. 5-5½ lbs
- 3 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 3 Tablespoons white miso
- 1 teaspoon smashed garlic (~ 3 cloves)
- 1 Tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 pint brussel sprouts, cleaned and halved
- drizzle olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Place whole chicken breast side down. Using strong kitchen shears, cut alongside one side of the backbone. Rotate the bird to cut along the other side of the backbone. I freeze the backbone to use in bone broth later.
- Spread the chicken rib cage open breast down and cut a deep notch in the sternum cartilage to allow it to open easily. Now flip the bird breast side up and it should lie flat and look like a... you guessed it, butterfly. Easy Peasy!
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Smash together butter, miso and garlic. I salt the chicken in addition to the saltiness of the miso, but it may be a good idea to taste your mixture as miso can vary greatly and you may not want additional salt. Butter the pan you'll be using with this mixture, then place chicken breast side up in pan and rub half of the butter mixture under the skin and the other half on top of the skin.
- In a bowl, toss brussel sprouts with a drizzle of olive oil and scatter around the bird.
- Sprinkle the chicken and brussel sprouts with thyme, salt and pepper.
- Roast uncovered at 400 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes or so for a chicken this size. Cook time will vary greatly depending on the size of your bird, so roast until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh or breast. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
- Plate the veggies from the pan then bring the remaining juices to a simmer, scraping any little bits of deliciousness off the pan to deglaze it and removing any chunks of skin etc. Simmer for a couple of minutes and pour juices over carved meat.
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