My new, favorite-ever dinner

 

I know some time ago I wrote about spatchcocked chicken—that method whereby you open a chicken and lay it flat so that it cooks evenly and much more quickly. And I’ve mentioned sheet pan chicken here, though I don’t know that I’ve actually written about how to do it. But combining the two is now my favorite dinner. It’s simple and simply delicious. Here’s a breakdown of what I did:

Spatchcocked sheet pan chicken

Vegetables

Choose vegetables that can stand up to prolonged, high temperature cooking—things like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots. To me, the best addition to the vegetable lineup is a sweet onion. So delicious when cooked in the chicken drippings.

Beets would be good except that they would bleed all over everything else. If you like turnips, throw them in. Fresh green beans are a medium addition—good but not great. Do not use things like broccoli or asparagus that you normally cook quickly.

For each person, use at least one medium potato. Peel and cut into chunks. Do the same with carrots (or use baby carrots). Peel the onion and cut into chunks. I tend to get carried away with the vegetables and end up with more than will comfortably fit in my pan. You want them to be in a loose single layer, not crowded in.

Choose a sheet pan or roasting pan with a good, high rim because this produces a lot of juice, and things could get messy. Line the pan with parchment paper; lay your vegetables out on the paper. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.  You could also sprinkle the chicken with a bit of dried thyme or other herb of your choice. To me, just cooking in the drippings gives them wonderful flavor, and they don’t need more.

Chicken

Spatchcock it: using heavy kitchen scissor, cut along the backbone until the opens up into one large, flat piece. Flip iy over and press firmly on the breast bone. You’ll hear it crack. Want to watch a video about spatchcocking, go here: spatchcocking a chicken - Bing video

A good view of what your spatchcocked chicken should look like

Season the chicken by carefully pulling the skin back and putting salt and pepper directly on the meat. Kind of rub it in with your fingers if you need to. Then gently pull the skin back into place. Pat dry paper towels over all the chicken to dry it and ensure crispy skin. Place the chicken, breast side up, directly on the vegetables.

Bake at 450^o for 40-55 minutes. Test by pricking the fat part of a thigh with a fork or skewer. Juices should run clear.

This makes great leftovers. I sometimes lunch on just the vegetables.