While roasting, a spatchcock chicken rests atop a straightforward soup made of carrots, onions, and lemon. The result is a wonderful gravy.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 25 mins |
| Servings: | 5 |
| Yield: | 1 5-pound chicken |
Ingredients
- 1 (5 pound) whole chicken
- salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, thickly sliced
- 1 cup light beer
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth, or more as needed
- 6 carrots, cut into long pieces
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Cut backbone from chicken using kitchen shears and save backbone for another use. Flip chicken, breast-side up, and forcefully press chicken down to flatten; season generously with salt.
- Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe cast iron skillet over medium-high heat; pan-fry chicken, skin-side down, until golden, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, skin-side up.
- Cook and stir onion in oil in the same skillet until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add beer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Continue cooking until most of the beer is reduced, 2 to 4 minutes more. Stir chicken broth, carrots, lemon, rosemary, and thyme into beer mixture. Arrange chicken, skin-side up, over vegetables.
- Roast in the preheated oven until chicken is golden brown and crispy, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Transfer chicken and vegetables to a large platter and let rest, uncovered.
- Bring remaining broth and juices in the skillet to a boil and cook until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. Season sauce with salt.
- Slice chicken and serve with sauce.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 736 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 14 g |
| Cholesterol | 275 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 70 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Sodium | 584 mg |
| Sugars | 5 g |
| Fat | 43 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Very basic recipe for new cooks. Nothing splendid about. Just basic everyday cooking. Not decrying it, if that is what you want and have a ‘picky’ family. I would never serve this to a Dinner Party, not worthy of my guests. It if good and basic family, beginner cooking.
So good and so easy. I used 2 whole lemons- the sauce was delicious! Served with fresh baked rolls to mop it all up.
Great recipe, super moist. Added more lemon and didn’t make the gravy.. worked great for me
Yum! This was a delicious recipe & loved by the whole family, which is no easy feat! I had a 5 lb chicken & the cooking time was spot on. The reduced sauce topped the whole meal off. I made a side of mashed potatoes & the sauce coupled as a delcious gravy for the potatoes. Trust me, you won’t regret making this recipe!
Served this with crusty bread at the firehouse and everyone loved it. They were taking the sauce and putting it on the bread like French onion soup. Great recipe. I will take a pic and update this the next time I make it.
Single pan magic! I was given a 10 out of 10 from my family. Absolutely delicious! I used a couple of cast iron skillets for 10 bone in thighs. Next time I plan to cook it slower and lower in the oven for a bit more tenderness to the meat but this is a definite keeper. You will not be disappointed.
Love this recipe! Very easy! Came out amazing and everyone should try it. Next to the best whole chicken I’ve ever made…
I added garlic, lemon zest, seasoning salt and pepper. I also sauteed mushrooms and added them to the platter. Note: The chicken needed more time to cook. Even the carrots weren’t done in an hour. It isn’t worth spatchcocking the chicken. Next time I will cut the chicken into quarters. That way it will brown better and cook more evenly.
Followed it to the letter and it came out superb. The sauce was really reduced, a slight oversight but it went well with the brown rice. A nice bottle of Prosecco and a meal fit for royals.
Recipe is perfect as written! If you make changes, keep negative reviews to yourself. This is now a requested meal in my home!
really good will be making it again
I used about twice as many carrots and also 4-5 redskin potatoes. This dish has been dinner in our house for two nights with leftovers for lunch today. It is delicious and very easy to make.
I made it per the recipe with a minor change – more carrots because I love my veggies. It was superb! And so easy!! I’ve added this to my collection of entertaining meals and it will become a regular in this house.
This was delicious! I use the lemon zest and juice and do not leave the rind as it tends to get bitter. Otherwise, perfection!
A definite keeper! Moist, flavorful meat with wonderful flavor. Carrots were a bit too hard for our preference when the chicken was finished, as I only needed to roast the chicken for about 40 minutes to reach temperature. Easily remedied on the cooktop while the bird was tented and resting and the sauce reduced. Thanks for a great recipe.
Great recipe. Served with mushroom risotto and green beans.I might try it with a dry hard cider sometime too. Will make again!
No changes
Added potatoes. Next time I would add turnip and make mashed potatoes as side.
Very good and easy. My 4lb bird was at 165 degrees much sooner than 50 minutes.
I’ve made this twice. The first time was sublime, but the second time I used an IPA and forgot to chop the veggies into strips rather than chunks. Don’t do that. Potatoes are good though. Brussels sprouts, not as much.
Nice chicken recipe. I didn’t use beer because I didn’t have any. I added white wine instead. Because I grow fresh herbs I used fresh herbs instead of dried. And 5-6 whole garlic cloves. I will say it’s a nice way to cook chicken but removing the back bone almost makes me nauseous.