I love chicken / So I made a dinner / It was finger lickin’ / Not a scrap left for winter
– Andrew, Live-in Boyfriend, Scientist and Poet
Am I the first person to say dry-brining is an easy way to make a crispy, juicy chicken? That removing the backbone will speed up and even out the bird’s cooking? That those pan drippings are liquid gold?
No. But its all true and its worth repeating.
Do you need another person to tell you another way to roast chicken?
Also no – but this Spanish-y, Middle Eastern-ish bird is delicious, forgiving and creates some insane, high-octane drippings to roast some croutons or vegetables. You can ask someone behind the meat counter to spatchcock the chicken if you don’t want to do it yourself (AND you can say “can you please cut the backbone out?” if the term ‘spatchcock’ makes you blush).
Plus, this chicken is so good it tastes celebratory, even if you’re just prepping for the week or trying to make dinner happen. So yeah, you do need another roasted chicken recipe.
Don’t be intimidated by the amount of rest time on this bird, its rest time. If you’re prepping other food for a meal or the week, do this first and leave it out on the counter. If not, put the brine on in the morning before work (keep it in the fridge) and roast after or brine at night and roast the next morning. Or brine it on a weekend morning, stick it in the fridge and run some errands and roast whenever you get back. Other than trying not to brine it more than 12ish hours (it will get a scooch too salty) none of this is a huge deal.
This recipe calls for Israeli paprika, which is kind of like that regular paprika you get in the spice aisle except the larger flecks are darker, earthier and have notes of ancho chile. My parents have returned from the holy land twice with baggies squirreled away for me and its one of my favorite things. If you don’t have family en route to a middle eastern spice souk you can use regular paprika. OR –
If you live in Houston, Phoenicia should have some!
If you want to add some vegetables or bread for croutons to the pan add them after you drop the oven temperature, toss in the drippings and keep everything cooking. Bread may cook faster so keep an eye on it because it may come out before the chicken depending.
If you don’t roast anything else in the drippings, make sure to save them until you want something to taste amazing – they stay in the freezer until you feel weird about how long they’ve been in there (or a couple weeks in the fridge).
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 1 1/2 hours |
| Passive Time | 2-12 hours |
| Servings |
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- 1 ts Israeli paprika or regular
- 1 ts ground cumin
- 1 ts ground turmeric
- 1 ts sumac
- 2 ts Spanish smoked paprika
- pepper to taste
- 3 T kosher salt
- 4 T unsalted butter softened
- 2 ts anchovy paste
- 1 T brine
- 2 ts honey
- 2-3 cloves garlic grated
- 1 lemon thinly sliced, seeds removed
- 3-4 lb whole chicken backbone removed
Ingredients
Brine
Butter
All The Rest
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- Cut the backbone out of your chicken with some kitchen shears (or ask someone behind the meat counter to do it) and lay the bird skin side up on a large, rimmed sheet pan. Pat the bird dry and set aside.
- Combine the first six ingredients in the brine and mix. Reserve a tablespoon of the mixture (without salt) to the side for your butter later. Add the salt.
- Gently use your fingers to separate the chicken skin from the breast. Don't rip it! - but also don't be scared, its stronger than you think. Rub the brine all over the chicken skin and underneath the breast skin. Let it sit out at room temperature for 2 hours in the brine OR 4-12 hours in the fridge (just cover lightly in plastic wrap and pull out 30 min to an hour before cooking).
- Add butter, anchovy paste, reserved brine mix, honey and garlic and stir until evenly combined. Set aside.
- Once your chicken is almost done brining, set your oven to 425F. Slather butter all over the chicken and under the skin (you can add any fallen brine back now - it will stick!). Add a layer of lemon slices under the breast skin, about 3 on each side.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the skin starts getting nice and golden brown. Drop the temperature down to 375F and cook for 40-60 minutes, until the deepest part of the breast registers at least 160F.
- Let the chicken rest for 30 minutes before digging in.
I cannot wait to try this. There is nothing like chicken with that Crisp, brown skin. You make it sound easy. I like the way you explain the cut of chicken. I’ll be asking the meat guy at the store to prep it!
Wow! I finally made this recipe tonight! This is now my favorite roasted chicken recipe (sorry Emeril). I went to Phoenicia for the Israeli paprika. The seasonings were perfect without being too spicy (yes, I’m a wimp). I added potatoes, carrots, onion & garlic cloves to the drippings at the temperature change. Bread is also a necessity to get every last bit of the drippings out of the pan!