Spatchcocked Chicken with Brussels Sprouts

My first encounter with the word “spatchcocked” was in a writing class four years ago. I had to look it up. Since then, the word has crawled all over the internet and into my local organic market and even Trader Joe’s, both of which now sell pre-seasoned spatchcocked chickens.

I’d assumed only chefs spatchcocked chickens, but in fact, spatchcoking is very easy. You place a whole chicken, breast side down, on a cutting board and cut out the backbone with kitchen shears. Then you flip it over and flatten it out. It cooks faster when split and flattened.

Now that I’ve been enlightened, I’ve been spatchcocking lots of chickens. I place the spatchcocked chicken in a roasting pan atop a bed of vegetables, and roast it for 45 minutes. It’s an easy, delicious meal. Juice from the chicken flavors the vegetables as they cook.

Make sure you salt the chicken at least 4 hours before you plan to cook it. Salting the chicken ahead of time makes all the difference in the flavor of the meat.

To make this dish, slice the Brussels sprouts in half vertically, and place them cut side down on the bottom of a Dutch oven. Then place the spatchcocked chicken on top. If you don’t have Brussels sprouts, use cut up raw cauliflower, broccoli, carrots or potatoes, or a combination of any fresh cool-weather vegetables you prefer. Frozen vegetables may work (I have not tried this), but because they’re often parboiled, they may end up overcooked.

I season this dish simply with salt, pepper, garlic powder (or fresh garlic if I have it) and fresh or dried thyme.  I keep fresh thyme on my front porch all summer, and bring the plant inside during the winter and use fresh thyme if the plant is still producing leaves. Otherwise, dried thyme leaves work fine. For more flavor, you can throw in extra garlic (there’s no such thing as too much fresh garlic), but don’t add extra thyme, which can overwhelm the dish.

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Spatchcocked Chicken with Brussels Sprouts

By Springhouse Turtle – Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 30 minutes – Cooking Time: 45 minutes – Total Time: 75 minutes

This one-dish meal of spatchcocked chicken with Brussels sprouts is simple to make. Spatchcocking flattens the chicken so it cooks faster. Juices from the chicken flavor the vegetables as they cook.

Ingredients

• 1 4 pound chicken
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon fresh)
• 1-2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts (see NOTE)

Instructions

1

Wash and pat dry the chicken.

2

Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with salt (about 1 tablespoon).

3

Cover and refrigerate the chicken for at least 4 hours or overnight.

4

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

5

Remove the chicken from the fridge, and place it, breast-side down, on a baking sheet.

6

Using kitchen shears, cut along each side of the backbone, and remove the backbone.

7

Flip the chicken over, and press down to flatten it. Set aside.

8

Slice the Brussels sprouts in half vertically.

9

Place the Brussels sprouts face-down in the bottom of a Dutch oven large enough to hold the chicken.

10

Sprinkle the Brussels sprouts with 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and garlic powder (or fresh garlic).

11

Place the spatchcocked chicken over the brussels sprouts.

12

Place the chicken, uncovered, in the oven, and bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes.

13

Cover the chicken, turn the heat down to 350 degrees F, and cook for another 30 minutes (cook it longer if your chicken is larger than 4 pounds).

Notes

You may substitute any fresh, cool-weather or root vegetables you have in your fridge. Summer squash and tomatoes are too soft for this recipe, but broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, turnips, parsnips and winter squash will work well.

Spatchcocking a chicken is simple. Start by placing a raw chicken, breast-side down, on a baking sheet.

Using kitchen shears, cut along one side of the backbone.

Cut along the other side of the backbone, and remove it. Save the backbone for use in making chicken broth.

Flip the chicken over and flatten with your hands. This is a plump, 5-pound chicken so it’s still lumpy when flattened.

Slice the Brussels sprouts in half vertically.

Place the Brussels sprouts cut side down on the bottom of a Dutch oven or lidded pan large enough to hold the chicken. Sprinkle them with seasonings.

Place the spatchcocked chicken atop the Brussels sprouts, and sprinkle seasonings over it.

Roast for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F to brown the top of the chicken. Cover, reduce heat to 350 degrees F, and bake for an additional 30 minutes for a 4 pound chicken.

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