Spatchcock Roasted Chicken With Garlic, Lemon, and Oregano Recipe
Perfectly roasted spatchcock chicken with crispy skin and juicy chicken prepared Greek-style with garlic, lemon and oregano will become your new Sunday night dinner family meal.
A simple whole roasted chicken is one of those comforting meals every home cook should be able to master. Not only does it make for a delicious meal (or meals), you can control your ingredients like salt to ensure you are not consuming too much sodium.
You can also use the carcass to make your own chicken bone broth, so it’s an incredibly economical way to use up a whole chicken.
Be sure to take advantage of the hot sale on Signature Farms Whole Chicken to make a delicious roasted chicken for dinner this week. For around $5, you can have an entire meal to feed the family and have leftovers for lunch.
When it comes to roasting the bird whole, achieving perfection can be tricky.
One of the common problems people run into with whole roasted chicken is that the chicken breasts dry out before the legs come up to the appropriate temperature. One way to resolve this issue is to spatchcock the chicken before roasting.
What is Spatchcock Chicken?
Spatchcock chicken means to basically split or butterfly a chicken so that it is flattened, and you do so by removing the backbone.
Being able to lay the chicken flat, allows it to roast in the oven more evenly. Plus, you get beautifully crispy skin.
Spatchcocking is great for roasting chicken in a high-heated oven. It’s also ideal for grilling, by laying chicken flat on the grill, it easily chars and absorbs the smoke and grilling flavors, while remaining nice and juicy!
You can ask your local butcher to do the spatchcocking for you, but it really is easy enough to do in your own kitchen.
How to Spatchcock a Chicken
To spatchcock a chicken, you need a sturdy pair of kitchen shears. Place the chicken, breast-side-down, on a cutting board.
Remove the neck part and gizzards from the cavity of the bird.
Starting from the tail of the chicken, cut along the right side of the backbone from the tail to the neck. Then do the same on the left side of the backbone.
Once the backbone piece is removed, flip the bird over then using your hands, push down on the breasts to flatten the bird. So simple!
Cooking a Spatchcock Chicken
Place the spatchcocked chicken in a cast-iron skillet breast side up and drizzle with olive oil to guarantee crispy skin. I like to place lemon slices underneath the chicken to give additional lemon flavor and create a bed for roasting the chicken.
Generously season the chicken on both sides with the spices and herbs and top with a few lemon slices and place in a 400-degree oven for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Spices to use for Roasted Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Oregano
- salt
- pepper
- 5 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- dried oregano
- lemon
- paprika
- onion powder
Use a meat thermometer to determine when the chicken is ready; its internal temperature should register 165 degrees F.
Spatchcock Roasted Chicken With Garlic, Lemon and Oregano
Ingredients
- 1 whole bone-in chicken
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 fresh lemon, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Place the spatchcocked chicken in a cast-iron skillet breast side up and drizzle with olive oil to guarantee crispy skin. I like to place lemon slices underneath the chicken to give additional lemon flavor and create a bed for roasting the chicken.
- Generously season the chicken on both sides with the spices and herbs and top with a few lemon slices and place in a 400-degree oven for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Use a meat thermometer to determine when the chicken is ready; its internal temperature should register 165 degrees F.
This meal is perfect for a Sunday night dinner or any night of the week if you can prep the chicken early enough to place in the oven for an hour plus, in time for when your family eats dinner. I served with roasted tomatoes and baby potatoes that I simply quartered, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano, and tossed in olive oil.
I roasted the potatoes and on a baking sheet at 400 degrees at the same time that the chicken was roasting. The family loved it and said it was better than the deli roasted chicken!
We had 2 meals out of the homemade roasted chicken. The first night we ate roasted chicken, the second night I used the meat and made a chicken tortilla soup with homemade chicken broth.
What to Serve with Roasted Chicken
Avgolemono Greek Egg Lemon Soup
Oven Roasted Potatoes – Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes
Orange and Fennel Salad With Avocados
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad
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