Schmaltzy Roast Spatchcock Chicken
This easy-to-make Schmaltzy Roast Spatchcock Chicken dish offers you all the trimmings. Featuring tender chicken and decadently layered potatoes smothered in broth, melted butter, and sour cream – along with delectable herbs – it’s an absolute feast!
This recipe probably isn’t the kind of meal you’d typically serve up on an average weekday Monday evening – although you could!
One of the hallmarks of celebratory food is a wealth of richness and flavour. And, in this sumptuous dish, you’re getting exactly that, in abundance.
For Easter, or any special occasion, it also pairs really well with these mouth-watering Roasted Carrots with Sticky Tahini Yoghurt.
Truly Schmaltzy Roast Spatchcock Chicken
Although this recipe doesn’t actually feature traditional Schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), it loses nothing in translation. If ‘schmaltzy’ is a synonym for over-the-top indulgence and outrageously tasty, finger-licking flavour, this feast ticks all the boxes. With many other recipes, the goal is to preserve the unique individuality of each food element for contrast – but not here. Instead, we’re allowing the best characteristics of the chicken, potatoes, and sauces to mingle together. The result? An impossibly delicious symphony of rich, irresistible flavours.
Best of Both
A well-made potato bake is a treat on its own. So is roast chicken, no matter how you prefer it. But put them together, and they cooperate rather than compete. Here, we’re cooking and roasting each in turn – and then together, so they can each absorb the very best flavours and textures. Amazingly, this doesn’t cause any confusion, because some foods, like complementary colours, just pair incredibly well.
Balance the Flavours of Schmaltzy Spatchcock Chicken
At first glance, this dish can seem impossibly rich and fatty – but it’s actually very cleverly proportioned. Using chicken stock or vegetable stock instead of actual rendered fat means you’re getting a more nutritious alternative while retaining fantastic flavour. It also juxtaposes the richness of the roast chicken and the potato bake with agreeable sharp notes brought about as a result of introducing the chives, garlic, and sour cream.
Together, these produce an almost smoky blend of flavours within the creamy sauce that so wonderfully envelops the potato bake and the basted chicken.
Food That Brings People Together
Nothing creates special memories like great cooking. And whether you’re celebrating Easter or simply treating family and friends to a special occasion, this is one of those recipes. It’s a dish that encourages exuberance, is very obviously festive, and deeply satisfying. It also – dare we say it – makes second helpings almost obligatory.
The true wonder of this recipe, though, is this: there are no wildly exotic ingredients. And yet, the way it’s prepared results in a distinctive taste that is likely to become a seasonal must-have.
Watch the spatchcock chicken recipe video .
Tell It Like It Is
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And you can check out the recipe video too!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best potatoes to use for this recipe?
For a potato bake like this, use Russet or Idaho potatoes (or equivalent) if you can. These potatoes are relatively low in moisture and high in starch – so they typically bake up fluffy on the inside and crisp on the outside.
And, because we’re baking them in our Schmaltz-inspired cook-in stock, they’ll absorb those juices and fats for an absolutely incredible flavour.
What is wild garlic?
Wild garlic isn’t technically ‘garlic’, but actually a member of the Amaryllis family of wild plants. It has a bulb similar to garlic, but with a taste that is somewhat less sharp. It’s also a very popular ‘forage food’ that carries surprising health benefits – and is often used in traditional medicines to treat high cholesterol and rheumatism.
Can I substitute a whole chicken with chicken portions?
If you prefer a particular cut (like prepacked drums, thighs, or breasts), then you can*. Bear in mind that it can be a little more finicky and challenging to baste smaller individual chicken portions. Also, you’ll need pieces with decent skin coverage to hold the basting butter while cooking.
Should I wash the chicken before cooking?
In a word: no. Washing raw poultry can cause the accidental spread of microscopic particles onto adjacent surfaces or nearby foods and cause contamination.
Rest assured, the heat of your oven will ensure that any naturally occurring bacteria are destroyed through cooking. If you absolutely have to remove excess blood or other unwanted specks from uncooked chicken, simply use a paper kitchen towel to dab or wipe it away.
Needless to say, ensure the towel or napkin is properly disposed of – and thoroughly wash your hands after handling raw poultry.
Schmaltzy Roast Spatchcock Chicken
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This easy-to-make Schmaltzy Roast Spatchcock Chicken dish offers you all the trimmings. Featuring tender chicken and decadently layered potatoes smothered in broth, melted butter, and cream – along with delectable herbs – it’s an absolute feast!
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken (Spatchcock)
- 2kg Potatoes
- 1 Onion
Herby Butter
- 80g Butter
- 15g Chives, thinly sliced (only use half of the chives for this butter mix)
- 2 Cloves of Garlic
- 10g Wild Garlic*
*Optional (if you can’t source wild garlic, simply add more chives to substitute)
Schmaltz-Inspired Stock
- 350ml Chicken or Veg Stock
- 1 Clove grated garlic
- 70g Sour Cream
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 190C with the fan setting on.
- Make the herby butter by combining the butter, half the chives, garlic, and wild garlic (if you’re using it) in a food processor. Blitz until the herbs, garlic and butter are well combined and the butter is bright green.
- Next, spatchcock your chicken (or ask your butcher to do this) by removing the backbone that runs from the tail to the wings with a sharp pair of kitchen scissors, or a knife.
- Prep the potatoes, using a knife or mandolin to slice them into flat medallions about 1mm thick.
- Add a little of the herby green butter to a shallow casserole or baking dish big enough to fit your spatchcock chicken. Butter the inside of the dish, then layer in the potatoes. Place two layers of potatoes into the dish, slightly overlapping, until the base is covered. Then, scatter over a little onion and generous pinch of chopped chives, before adding another layer of potatoes. Repeat the layers, alternating between layers of sliced potato and a scattering of sliced onions and chives, until the potatoes are used up. Your final layer should consist of sliced potatoes.
- Now, the stock: Combine the stock, sour cream and grated garlic in a jug and mix well. Pour the stock over the scalloped potatoes, then cover and pop into the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid is hot and bubbling and the potatoes are beginning to soften.
- While the potatoes cook, place the chicken on a board, breast meat up and splayed open. Press the softened herby butter under the skin of the chicken, lifting the skin with your fingers to work the butter around the thighs, legs, breast, and neck area.
- Now, remove the potatoes from the oven, and place the spatchcock chicken, breast side up, on top of the potatoes. Return the dish uncovered to the oven. Roast for 50-55 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, with an internal temperature around the leg joint of 65C.
- Remove the chicken from the potatoes, and set aside to rest for 15 minutes in a warm spot.
- Increase the heat to 200C on fan and return the potatoes to the oven. Cook for around 10-15 minutes longer, until the potatoes are crisped and cooked through in the middle.
- Carve the chicken into pieces, pour the residual juices over the potatoes – and serve! This Schmaltzy Roast Spatchcock Chicken dish – with decadent potatoes – is rich, bursting with flavour, and a masterful centrepiece of any celebration feast. Enjoy!
Notes
If you’re using pre-packed chicken portions (like drums, thighs, or breasts), try to pick out portions that are conspicuously fatty. Individual portions are sometimes cleaned more rigorously and are leaner, but for this recipe, you want those natural fats to blend with the schmaltzy sauce for optimum flavour and richness.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 90 min
- Category: Mains
- Method: Bake
Nutrition
- Calories: 711.37kcal
- Sugar: 4.31g
- Sodium: 223.68mg
- Fat: 39.05g
- Saturated Fat: 15.55g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.74g
- Trans Fat: 0.09g
- Carbohydrates: 52.02g
- Fiber: 6.06g
- Protein: 38.65g
- Cholesterol: 163.11mg
2 Responses
I have been doing a spatchcock chicken on Sundays for a while now, and came across this recipe.It is so good and everything comes out great! Such a great technique- baking the potatoes first, etc. I even purchased my self a good quality boning knife and I don’t think I will roast a chicken any other way ever again.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! So happy to make it into your Sunday recipe rotation