This spatchcock chicken recipe makes roasting faster, easier, and more flavorful. This butterfly technique ensures even cooking, juicy meat, and perfectly crispy skin!
You can also use this technique to spatchcock a turkey for holiday feasts.
Jessica’s Recipe Science
- Flattening the chicken by spatchcocking evens out its thickness, promoting uniform cooking of both white and dark meat.
- Removing the backbone and laying the bird flat increases surface area, which helps the skin brown and crisp more effectively.
- Spatchcocking reduces overall cooking time because the thinner profile allows heat to penetrate the meat more quickly.
Featured Comment 4
“Thanks for posting! I’ve been wanting to try this…it makes SO much sense to even the cooking temps with little trouble.” —JJ
Why It Works
Learning how to spatchcock chicken is a simple technique that can completely change the way you roast poultry. By removing the backbone and flattening the bird, you increase surface area and create a more uniform thickness, which helps the chicken cook faster and more evenly than a whole chicken. The term “spatchcock,” also known as “butterflying,” comes from the bird’s wing-like shape once it’s opened up.
There are three big advantages to this method over traditional roasting: more even cooking, crispier skin, and shorter cook time. When the bird lays flat, both the breast and thighs are exposed to similar levels of heat, which helps prevent the white meat from drying out before the dark meat is done. Flattening the bird also maximizes the amount of skin exposed to the oven’s heat, encouraging deeper browning and that golden, crispy finish of a roast chicken we all love. Plus, since the meat is spread out in a thinner layer, it cooks in nearly half the time!
Jump To a Section
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken: Choose a whole chicken weighing 4 to 5 pounds for more even heat distribution when spatchcocked. If you’re working with a smaller bird, it will cook more quickly—so reduce the roasting time and monitor doneness using an instant-read thermometer.
- Salt: Season the chicken with about 2 teaspoons kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. For an even more flavorful and juicy chicken, try my dry brined spatchcock chicken recipe!
- Oil: Rubbing olive oil on the skin enhances browning and helps it crisp up by promoting even heat conduction and encouraging moisture evaporation during roasting.
See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).
Ingredient Substitutions
- Salt Swaps: Use other types of salt, like sea salt or table salt. If you’re using finer table salt instead of coarse kosher salt, reduce the amount to 1 ½ teaspoons.
- Herbs: Add dried rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, or Italian seasoning for a blend of herbs.
- Spices: Add paprika for color, cumin, coriander, chipotle or cayenne, garlic powder, or onion powder. Try my Cajun seasoning for a savory and spicy flavor!
- Oil Options: Instead of olive oil, try other high smoke point oil like avocado oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil, or ghee. Melted butter can also be used, but keep an eye on the browning of the skin.
How to Spatchcock a Chicken
Step 1: Remove the Backbone
Dry the chicken with paper towels. Use sharp heavy-duty kitchen shears or poultry shears to cut along the side of the backbone of the chicken. Cut a straight line down from the neck to tail.
Repeat on the other side of the spine. Removing the backbone allows the poultry to be opened up and flattened for cooking.
Expert Tip: After cutting alongside the spine of the chicken, you can discard the bones or save the backbone to use for chicken stock.
Step 2: Flatten the Chicken
Flatten the chicken by placing the skin side up on a cutting board and applying firm pressure with the heel of your hand to the breastbone. The goal is to allow the legs and wings to open up so that they cook on the same plane as the breast meat for even cooking time.
Step 3: Season the Chicken
Brush about 1 tablespoon of olive oil evenly over the entire surface of the chicken. This helps fat-soluble flavor compounds in your seasonings adhere better and promotes even browning. Generously sprinkle kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, or your preferred spice blend.
Step 4: Place on Pan
Instead of cooking the poultry on a roasting rack, it is set on a large sheet pan on top of a wire rack. This allows the bird to be fully opened up, with hot air circulating beneath for fast and even cooking. Place the chicken breast-side up. Grab the bone of each drumstick and gently rotate the legs inward, so the thicker thigh meat faces up. This helps the chicken lay flat and ensures the dark meat cooks evenly alongside the breast.
Step 5: Roast
Set the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 400°F (204°C). Roast the chicken for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Pro Tip: Use a meat thermometer to test when the thickest part of the breast reaches 160 to 165°F (71 to 74°C) and the thighs reach 165 to 170°F (74 to 77°C). This ensures the meat is fully cooked while remaining juicy.
Step 6: To a Serve
Let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, keeping it moist and flavorful. It’s delicious served with a refreshing salad, roasted carrots, mashed potatoes, or a squeeze of lemon juice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Preheat your grill to 375 to 400ºF (191 to 204ºC) and set up for two-zone cooking. Place the spatchcocked chicken breast side down over direct heat for 5 to 10 minutes to sear and develop color. Flip and move to indirect heat, cover, and cook for 35 to 45 minutes more. Total grilling time is 45 to 55 minutes for a 4 to 5-pound bird, or until the internal temperature in the breast reaches 160 to 165ºF (71 to 74ºC) and the thighs hit 165 to 170ºF (74 to 77ºC).
There are several delicious ways to season a spatchcocked chicken. For a dry-brined version, generously season with ¼ cup of kosher salt and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, then rinse. For bold flavor, try my Peruvian chicken, marinated in a blend of lime juice, olive oil, vinegar, ají amarillo pepper paste, paprika, cumin, garlic, salt, black pepper, and oregano. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes or overnight, then roast or grill. Serve with my creamy and spicy Aji Verde sauce.
Serve This With
If you tried this method for Spatchcock Chicken Recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Spatchcock Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 pound chicken
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Remove the Backbone – Use paper towels to dry the surface of the chicken. Place the chicken on a cutting board, breast-side down. Using sharp kitchen shears or poultry shears, remove the backbone, cutting along the spine from the neck down to the tail. Discard the backbone or use for another recipe.
- Flatten the Chicken – Place the chicken breast-side up. Rotate the legs outward so they splay to the sides. Place both hands on top of the breastbone and press down firmly until you hear a crack, this helps the chicken lay flat.
- Season the Chicken – Brush the olive oil over the entire chicken. Evenly season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Place on Pan – Transfer the chicken to a wire rack set over a baking sheet lined with foil, positioning it so the breasts are centered and the legs are near the edges. Grab each drumstick by the bone and gently rotate the legs inward, positioning the thicker thigh meat facing up.
- Roast the Chicken – Set oven rack to middle position and heat to 400°F (204ºC). Cook until the thickest part of the breast reaches 160 to 165°F (71 to 74°C) and thighs reaches 165 to 170°F (74 to 77°C), about 1 hour.
- To Serve – Rest the chicken for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Storing: Refrigerate the chicken in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
mary says
what temperature oven do you suggest?
approximate cooking time?
thanks!
Jessica Gavin says
For a 5 pound chicken cook at 400°F until the internal temperature reaches 150-165°F for the breasts, and 165-170°F for the thighs, about 45 to 60 minutes.
JJ says
Thanks for posting! I’ve been wanting to try this…it makes SO much sense to even the cooking temps with little trouble.
I’ve been taking my turkeys & chicken from the oven before temps read 165. Allowing to rest before eating has always shown that the internal temps continue to rise, to the prescribed 165. But the juices are intact and it makes for juicy pieces of chicken.
ill L says
This is not quite spatchcock chicken. I mean, the word spatchcock does refer to a technique in which you remove the spine, but without fully flattening it out you get almost none of the benefits. You need to cut the cartilage right at the top of the breast bone from the inside of the chicken (after removing the spine of course), and then you can open the two halves slowly to expose the breast bone. When done properly, the legs will be closer to the middle of the bird than the thighs.