Flat Roasted Chicken With Tiny Potatoes
- One 3-to-3½-pound (1⅓-to-1½-kg) chicken
- Table salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ pounds (680 grams) tiny yellow potatoes, peeled
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) melted butter or olive oil, for potatoes
- 1 lemon, to finish
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves, to finish
Instructions:
If you take out the backbone from a chicken—spatchcocking, it’s delightfully called— you could have roasted chicken with the maximum amount of crispy skin in a minimum of time.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Using a pair of sharp kitchen shears, remove the backbone of the chicken and discard it (or freeze and save it for making stock). Season the cavity generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Lay the chicken, breast side up, in a roasting pan (I adore my 12-inch cast-iron skillet for this; it works best with 3-pound birds), and gently pat the breast skin dry with a paper towel. Generously season the top of the bird with more salt and freshly ground black pepper. Nestle the potatoes around the chicken, and drizzle them lightly with butter or olive oil. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and pepper.
- Roast the chicken for 30 to 45 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees. Toss the potatoes after about 20 minutes, so that they cook evenly. When the chicken has finished cooking, transfer potatoes to a large serving platter. Remove the legs, thighs, wings, and breasts from the spatchcocked chicken, and arrange them with potatoes. Squeeze juice of entire lemon over dish, then sprinkle with thyme. Serve with simply cooked vegetables. Eat at once.