If you’re looking for an easy and delicious dinner that the whole family will enjoy, look no further! This Garlic & Rosemary Spatchcock Chicken is one of my new favorite things. This chicken is so tender, juicy, and full of flavor. It’s also (shockingly) on your table in an hour or less. I like to chop up some potatoes and veggies and throw them on the baking sheet with the chicken and voila! You’ve got a whole meal on one baking sheet.
One of the things that my family can all get behind is a roasted chicken for dinner. I mean, who doesn’t love a roasted chicken? It’s so yummy and homey. Does that even make sense? It screams comfort food and it’s not a total calorie bomb. PLUS a whole chicken is waaaay cheaper than buying chicken breasts for dinner. I can find a whole chicken for around $5-$8 depending on size, brand, and whether or not it’s organic. And with a whole chicken, you can probably squeeze at least 2, maybe 3, meals out of it. And then you can also make some wickedly delicious homemade broth from the carcass.
But let’s get back to THIS Garlic & Rosemary Spatchcock Chicken dinner recipe…
If you’ve never heard of a spatchcocked chicken before, it’s basically just a butterflied chicken. You simply remove the backbone so that it lays flat. With the chicken laying flat, the skin crisps up oh so evenly and the cooking time is reduced by about half. It’s super easy to do. I’ve got instructions and pictures below on how to spatchcock a chicken. If you already know how to spatchcock a chicken, just skip over that and head right to the recipe. You’re gonna love this chicken!
Let me show you how I made this Garlic & Rosemary Spatchcock Chicken 👇🏻
First, let’s talk about the (spatchcock) prepping of your chicken…
If you have spatchcocked a chicken before, go ahead and skip this part of the instructions. If you’ve never spatchcocked a chicken before… have no fear, it’s super easy and here are the steps and some pictures to assist you.
Make sure that the neck and gizzards are removed. Lay out your chicken on a cutting board. You want the breast side down, backbone side up. Take a pair of sharp kitchen shears and cut along one side of the spine from the tail to the neck.
Cut along the other side as well. Remove the backbone (you may need to cut across the neck to connect your cuts).
You should be able to open up your chicken now. It might take a little finagling.
Flip the chicken over so that the breast side is up. Press down hard in the middle until you hear a pop and your chicken lays flat. That’s it, your down. You’ve officially spatchcocked a chicken. Pretty easy, right?
Now that you’re chicken has been spatchcocked….
So now that you’re chicken is prepped, time to move on. We’re going to be making a delicious butter spread to coat the chicken.
Combine 1/2 cup softened, unsalted butter along with 3 sprigs of finely diced up rosemary, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp lemon zest, juice of half of a lemon, and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Mash it all up to make a “paste”.
OPTIONAL: Don’t cook this chicken alone! Spread some potatoes and carrots all along your baking sheet. Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil over the potatoes and carrots and then season with salt and pepper. Feel free to change up the potatoes and carrots for whatever you like or have on hand. Parsnips, fennel, sweet potatoes. Whatever your heart desires.
Slice up the unused half of your lemon and place the lemon slices onto the baking sheet as well. Place your prepped chicken onto the middle of the baking sheet. Pat it dry with a paper towel and then spread the butter all over the chicken. Gently loosen the skin at the neck and place some of the butter in between the skin.
Garnish with a few extra rosemary sprigs. Now the chicken is ready for the oven. Place into a preheated oven at 425 degrees.
Cook the chicken for about 45 minutes or until the chicken temperature reaches 160-165 degrees (temp will rise slightly when you take it out).
To temp your chicken, stick a meat thermometer (into the thickest part of the meat) between the leg and the thigh. For an accurate reading, make sure that the thermometer is not touching bone.
Let the chicken rest, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes.
After this Garlic & Rosemary Spatchcock Chicken has rested, carve that beautiful bird up and serve it with some of those lovely roasted potatoes and carrots.
Enjoy!!
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Garlic & Rosemary Spatchcock Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 4 Lbs Whole Chicken, (neck and gizzards removed) spatchcocked ** For instructions on how to spatchcock a chicken, see above **
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
- 3 Rosemary Sprigs, diced
- 1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
- 1 Tsp Paprika
- 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
- 1/2 Lemon, juiced
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Other (optional)
- Red Potatoes, cut into 1” chunks
- Carrots, sliced into 1/2” slices (or substitute with baby carrots)
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- Extra Rosemary Sprigs, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat you oven to 425 degrees. (Optional) If cooking your chicken with potatoes and veggies, spread them across the baking sheet. Toss them in a tablespoon or two of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, diced rosemary, minced garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Place your spatchcocked chicken onto the center of the baking sheet. Pat dry with a paper towel. Rub the butter mixture generously all over the chicken. Gently loosen the skin around the neck and place some of the butter between the skin and the meat. Use all of the butter.
- Slice up the unused half of your lemon and place the extra lemon slices and a few extra rosemary sprigs onto the baking sheet as well. Place into your preheated oven.
- Cook for about 45 minutes or until the chicken registers an internal temperature between 160 and 165 degrees. You’ll want to measure for the temperature in the thigh, making sure to avoid bones (to get an accurate temp). If your chicken starts to brown too much while baking, loosely cover with foil or lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees for the remainder of the cooking time.
- When the chicken is done, remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes before removing to a cutting board. Slice up the chicken and serve it with the roasted potatoes and veggies. Enjoy!
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Welcome to Cupcakes and Sarcasm! My name is Maggie and I am the creator of C & S. I am a wife and mom of two beautiful kiddos. I grew up in Columbus, Ohio and now live in Northeast Ohio with my family. I have been cooking and baking since I was a kid. I decided in 2017 that I wanted to share my passion (and recipes) with all of you! On this site, you’ll find easy and delicious recipes- both savory and sweet. I’ll also sprinkle in some stories of parenting and our adventures along the way.
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