Roasted Garlic Basil Lemon Spatchcock Chicken

Filled and rubbed with yum-delicious seasonings, this roasted garlic basil lemon spatchcock chicken is just as super tasty as it is tender. When you prep it before you go to bed, all you have to do for dinner the next evening is pop the bird in the oven for about 1 hour. Yep and oh sooo easy yay…

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Roasted Garlic Basil Lemon Spatchcock Chicken is a Thing Now, Y’all…

It’s slap stupid hot down in south Louisiana right now, y’all. Exactly 97.7 degrees Fahrenheit at this moment under our back patio right, right now. And since it’s 5 p.m., it’s actually cooled down some from earlier today. The humidity isn’t so bad either, but still way over 50 percent.

I’m sitting in my ice cold living room, thanking God for the air conditioning vent that is right over my desk. And also for my oven. Yep.

All summer, I’ve been finding myself wanting to bake and broil our dinner a whole lot more than I did in years past. In fact, I used to only use my oven in the winter and early spring. From late spring to early winter, Mark usually grills most of our main dishes. But both of us are having an ‘I’m sooo over the south Louisiana heat’ kind of summer, so we don’t want to sit outside and roast ourselves while he grills our food. Nope.

So, we stay inside in the AC as much as we can, and let the oven take care of most of the dinner work for us. Surprisingly, this is really, really working out. When I bake or broil, I only have to check on whatever it is I’m making a few times at the most. When I cook on the stove, I have to stand over hot, steamy pots and pans that need almost constant attention throughout each cooking process.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of baking and broiling all summer long before!! Yep. But, I do now…Our (I mean Mark’s) basil plants are flowering now, bringing forth seed for next year’s basil harvest. The few good basil leaves that remain are drying up, and I’m sad to see them go again like I’m always sad to see them go.

So, I picked half a handful of basil leaves that were still green and well, alive. And I paired them with a whole handful of my other favorite things. Lemon, garlic, hot sauce, olive, oil, butter, and some of my other food loves later, my roasted garlic basil lemon spatchchock chicken is a thing now, y’all…

The Oven Does Most of the Work For You for This Roasted Garlic Basil Lemon Spatchcock Chicken

I’m not going to lie. The spatchcock process is a whole lot easier than you think it is if you’ve never done it. It only takes like 5 minutes at the most.

Then, the wet rub for my roasted garlic basil lemon spatchcock chicken takes about 15 minutes to make. Or like 5 minutes if you use jarred minced garlic. Yep.

So, all you have to do is rub the spatchcock chicken all over the top of the skin. And also rub it where you can get it under the skin without breaking it. After an overnight refrigerator trip, you let it shake off its chill for about 20 minutes. Then, you pop it into the oven for about an hour.

A quick salad and side later, you’re munching down on this super tender roasted garlic basil lemon spatchcock chicken like a champ. Sooo easy, so not-so-kitchen-hot, and soooo good that it just might become a thing at your house, too. Yep. Share with someone you love and treasure. And see y’all on the yum side…

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Roasted Garlic Basil Lemon Spatchcock Chicken

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Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Southern

Prep Time: 1 day

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 day 1 hour

Servings: 4

Author: A Sprinkling of Cayenne

Ingredients

• 1 5- pound whole chicken giblets and neck removed
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter or ghee
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco
• 2 small heads garlic
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• salt pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
• 1 sliced whole lemon
• 6 to 10 garlic cloves
• 5 to 8 fresh whole basil leaves

Instructions

• Use poultry shears to remove the backbone from the chicken. Cut alongside one of the backbone, then cut the other side to remove the whole backbone from the bird. Discard the backbone, or use it to make a stock.
• Position the chicken breast side up. Intertwine your hands, and use moderate pressure to flatten the breastbone.
• Use your hands to apply the wet rub all over the top of the skin. Pull back the skin gently, and place as much rub under the chicken skin as you can.
• Refrigerate overnight.
• Remove, and let rest for at least 20 minutes
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Position top oven rack at least 8 inches from the top of the oven.
• Line the bottom of a roasting rack with aluminum foil.
• Lightly grease the top rack. Place the sliced lemon, garlic cloves, and basil leaves along the middle of the rack.
• Place the spatchcock chicken over the aromatics.
• Roast for 50 to 65 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the breast reads 175 degrees F.

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