This recipe elevates the humble chicken to a gourmet experience. By spatchcocking the bird, we optimize cooking time and ensure even heat distribution, resulting in a juicy, crispy-skinned masterpiece. The Middle Eastern spice blend, paired with the sweetness of dried fruits and the tang of olives, creates a symphony of flavours. This dish is a testament to the power of simple ingredients and skillful preparation.
Middle Eastern Spiced Spatchcock Chicken
This recipe elevates the humble chicken to a gourmet experience. By spatchcocking the bird, we optimize cooking time and ensure even heat distribution, resulting in a juicy, crispy-skinned masterpiece. The Middle Eastern spice blend, paired with the sweetness of dried fruits and the tang of olives, creates a symphony of flavours. This dish is a testament to the power of simple ingredients and skillful preparation.
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Maple Hill Farms Chicken
- 1 Whole lemons
- 5 Cloves girlic
- 5 small to medium shallots
- 1/2 Cup prunes
- 1/2 Cup green olives pitted
- 1 Tsp baharat spice
- 1 Tsp sumac spice
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 drizzle honey
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F.
- To spatchcock the chicken, place the chicken breast-side down, with the legs towards you. Using sturdy scissors or poultry shears, cut up along each side of the parson’s nose and backbone to remove it, cutting through the rib bones as you go.
- Open the chicken out and turn over. Flatten the breastbone with the heel of your hand so that the meat is all one thickness.
- You can at this point use two skewers to secure the legs and keep the bird flat, by running the skewers diagonally through the breast and thigh meat, or just leave it as-is.
- In a small bowl, combine the baharat and sumac.Place the chicken in a baking dish and rub the skin on both sides with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and the spice mix, and place the chicken so that it’s breast-side up.
- Evenly disperse the garlic, shallots, prunes, apricots, olives, and lemon slices around the bird, making sure to place some of the lemon slices on the chicken breasts themselves. Feel free here to sprinkle these perimeter ingredients with some extra salt, pepper, baharat, and sumac, and even a little bit more olive oil.
- Drizzle everything with honey, place in the oven, and roast for about 30-40 minutes until the bird is cooked through, but still juicy and tender.
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Ingredients
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 400F.
- To spatchcock the chicken, place the chicken breast-side down, with the legs towards you. Using sturdy scissors or poultry shears, cut up along each side of the parson’s nose and backbone to remove it, cutting through the rib bones as you go.
- Open the chicken out and turn over. Flatten the breastbone with the heel of your hand so that the meat is all one thickness.
- You can at this point use two skewers to secure the legs and keep the bird flat, by running the skewers diagonally through the breast and thigh meat, or just leave it as-is.
- In a small bowl, combine the baharat and sumac.Place the chicken in a baking dish and rub the skin on both sides with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and the spice mix, and place the chicken so that it’s breast-side up.
- Evenly disperse the garlic, shallots, prunes, apricots, olives, and lemon slices around the bird, making sure to place some of the lemon slices on the chicken breasts themselves. Feel free here to sprinkle these perimeter ingredients with some extra salt, pepper, baharat, and sumac, and even a little bit more olive oil.
- Drizzle everything with honey, place in the oven, and roast for about 30-40 minutes until the bird is cooked through, but still juicy and tender.
