Sweet and Sambal Spatchcock Chicken

10 mins Prep Time

40 mins Cook Time

Written By

Maddy Goldberg

I usually buy whole chickens and keep them in my freezer for a night when I don’t have the time to focus on dinner. Roasting a whole chicken may feel a little 1950’s -- but with some heavy-handed seasoning and a proper technique, you will have chicken juices running down your chin before you know it. Spatchcock chicken is entirely underrated, and you may have never even heard of it. Spatchcock refers to the way it’s butchered -- where the backbone is removed, allowing the bird to lay flat on the roasting pan so the skin can evenly crisp, and it’s easy to baste. Brush your chicken with the sweet and sambal glaze to add heat balanced by sweet maple syrup and sour lime juice. This dish will leave you with sticky hands and tingling lips... consider toning down the sambal if you can’t handle the heat.

If you give this recipe a shot, make sure to post up your creation on Instagram and tag @tastetoronto and @maddygoldberg!

Ingredients

Sweet and Sambal Spatchcock Chicken

1 whole chicken
4 tablespoons sambal (substitute with Sriracha)
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 ½ tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon white sugar

Directions

Sweet and Sambal Spatchcock Chicken

3 Steps

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk together Sambal, Dijon mustard, lime juice, maple syrup, soy sauce and white sugar for the sauce. Set aside with a brush.
Step 2

Place chicken breast-side down with legs closer to you. Using kitchen scissors, cut through the ribs on either side of the backbone so that it can be removed. Open chicken and flip over so that you can flatten breastbone, legs should lay flat next to the breast. You can always ask your butcher to spatchcock the chicken.
Step 3

In a roasting pan, lay chicken flat and season generously with salt. Brush a thin layer of sauce onto chicken and put in oven. Cook chicken for 10 minutes then remove and brush with more sauce. Brush chicken every 10 minutes with sauce, more generously each time, until chicken is cooked. This should take about 40 minutes. It is cooked when juices are running clear or your thermometer reads 160.