This oven roasted spatchcock chicken is an easy way to enjoy a classic roast chicken dinner, any day of the week! All you need is a cast iron skillet, simple pantry spices, and one hour. This roasted spatchcock chicken is perfect for weeknights and special occasions alike!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Full of flavor: This oven roasted chicken recipe elevates a classic dish with bites of flavor. The flavorful seasoning rub cooks into the chicken skin and meat making every bite equally as delicious.
One pan recipe: Cast iron skillets have the right amount of surface area to cook and crisp the chicken while still holding all of the juices close to the chicken. No roasting rack is needed here! Cast iron skillets retain heat very well, which helps speed up the cooking process.
Crispy skin every time: The combination of olive oil and the spice rub makes for super crispy and flavorful skin each and every time with no effort!
Ingredient Notes
- Whole chicken: The size of the chicken you opt for depends on how many people you will be feeding. An average 4 lb chicken serves 4 people perfectly. If you use a larger chicken, you can portion the breasts into pieces to serve more people.
- Olive oil: Many roast chicken recipes use butter for the fat element, but I find that olive oil works better. Butter will melt and pool in the bottom of the skillet as the chicken cooks, making the chicken overly greasy.
- Vidalia onions, lemon & garlic: The onions, lemons, and garlic go into the skillet with the chicken and soften as the chicken roasts. They add extra flavor to the chicken and also become soft and sweet enough to eat. You do not need to peel the aromatics.
- Spice rub: For the homemade chicken spice rub, you will need garlic and onion powder, brown sugar, smoked paprika, and mustard powder.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
Substitutions
- Whole chicken: Instead of a whole chicken, feel free to use a split chicken, chicken legs, or bone-in skin-on chicken breasts.
- Olive oil: You can use softened, salted butter instead of olive oil.
- Brown sugar: Substitute with maple syrup or honey.
- Smoked paprika: Regular paprika or hot paprika can be used instead of smoked paprika.
- Mustard powder: Add a spoonful of Dijon mustard instead of mustard powder. Also, refer to this guide on the perfect substitutes for mustard.
- Vidalia onion: Substitute with regular yellow onions, or any other sweet onions.
Variations
- Spicy: Use a spoonful of Calabrian chili paste in the spice rub to add some extra spice to the chicken.
- Barbecue: Add a touch of storebought or homemade barbecue sauce to the chicken rub for an extra smokey, tangy flavor.
- Peri peri: Use the same Nando's peri peri chicken marinade for this spatchcock chicken instead.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all ingredients: This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Pat the chicken dry: Pat the surface of the chicken skin dry with paper towels.
Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Mix the Spice Rub
Add the spice rub ingredients into a small mixing bowl. Mix until all the spices are combined.
Spatchcock the Chicken
Using kitchen shears, cut two slits along the backbone of the chicken, to remove it.
Once removed, flip the chicken over and press firmly on the breastbone to flatten the chicken.
Refer to the video in the recipe card for a visual of this step.
Season the Chicken
Transfer the spatchcocked chicken to a cast iron skillet.
Drizzle the chicken with the olive oil, and season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.
Sprinkle the spice rub onto the chicken skin, and rub into the olive oil until the skin is completely coated with the seasoning rub.
Roast the Chicken
Arrange the lemon, onion, garlic, and thyme springs into the skillet with the seasoned chicken.
Roast the chicken for approximately 1 hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F on a meat thermometer.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the oven and cover with foil. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving it.
Expert Tips
Tuck the wings: To prevent the wing tips from burning, tuck the ends of the wings under the body.
Crispy skin: If the chicken skin is getting dark too quickly, you can loosely cover the chicken with foil until the chicken is almost cooked, then finish the chicken uncooked.
Checking for doneness: A meat thermometer is always the best way to check if your chicken is cooked. You can also cut a small slit between the chicken leg and breast and see if the juices run clear. Pink juices mean the chicken is still undercooked.
Baste occasionally: You can spoon the juices from the pan over the chicken skin occasionally to keep the skin moist and to keep the spices from burning too quickly.
Make Ahead & Storage
- The chicken spice rub can be premixed and stored in a jar for up to 3 months.
- It is best to roast the chicken on the day that you are planning to serve it.
- Leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Reheat the refrigerated chicken in the oven or the air fryer. You can wrap the chicken in foil to prevent it from drying out.
Serving Suggestions
- Potatoes: Roast chicken and potatoes are a match made in heaven. Some of my recommendations include garlic butter potatoes, The Keg twice-baked potatoes, cheesy scalloped potatoes, or Joeys mashed potato spring rolls.
- Vegetables: Pair this juicy roasted chicken with skillet green bean casserole, Longhorn steakhouse brussel sprouts, or Cactus Club's fresh avocado kale salad.
More Chicken Recipes
Oven Roasted Spatchcock Chicken (Skillet Recipe)
Ingredients
- 3 lb Whole chicken
- ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 heads Garlic - halved
- 2 Vidalia onions - quartered
- 2 Lemons - quartered
- 4 springs Fresh thyme
Spice Rub
- 1 tablespoon Garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Onion powder
- 1 tablespoon Brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon Ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Pat the chicken skin dry with a paper towel.
- Add the spice rub ingredients into a small mixing bowl. Mix until all the spices are combined.1 tablespoon Garlic powder, 1 tablespoon Onion powder, 1 tablespoon Brown sugar, 2 teaspoon Smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon Ground mustard, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- Using kitchen shears, cut two slits along the backbone of the chicken, to remove it. Once removed, flip the chicken over and press firmly on the breastbone to flatten the chicken.3 lb Whole chicken
- Transfer the spatchcocked chicken to a cast iron skillet.
- Drizzle the chicken with the olive oil, and season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Sprinkle the spice rub onto the chicken skin, and rub into the olive oil until the skin is completely coated with the seasoning rub.¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
- Arrange the lemon, onion, garlic, and thyme springs into the skillet with the seasoned chicken. Roast the chicken for approximately 1 hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F on a meat thermometer.2 heads Garlic, 2 Vidalia onions, 2 Lemons, 4 springs Fresh thyme
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the oven and cover with foil. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving it.
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