Quick-Roasted Chicken With Mustard and Garlic, Jacques Style

Submitted by French Terrine

"Spatchcocking a whole chicken is the process of removing the backbone and flattening it. It reduces roasting time and produces an evenly roasted bird. Weighting it down with a brick covered with foil is supposed to be a great way to grill a whole chicken, but I have never done this. In this recipe by Jacques Pepin, he spatchcocks the chicken, then partially cuts through leg and thigh to reduce cooking time even further. This very easy recipe involves 2 steps in cooking, first on top of the stove over high heat, followed by roasting in the oven. Although I followed the recipe this time by cutting through the joints, I find I still get excellent results by simply removing the backbone, foregoing cutting through the joints until serving. WONDERFUL FLAVORS! Chef Jacques suggests serving with mashed potatoes. I found his recipe on the Food & Wine web site, and it is from his book, FAST FOOD MY WAY. With a beautiful organic chicken on hand and limited time, this is a fave."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 (4 lb) whole chickens, giblets and liver reserved for another use
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 teaspoon herbes de provence
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt

directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Rinse chicken beneath cold running water and blot dry. Using poultry shears, cut along each side of the backbone and remove it. (Save backbone with the giblets for making stock.) Jacques suggests cutting partway through both sides of the joint between the thighs and the drumsticks and also cutting the joint between the wings and the breast.
2. Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Turn the chicken breast side down and slather it with half of the mixture. Place chicken in a large oven-safe skillet, skin side up and slather with the remaining mixture.
3. Set the skillet over high heat and cook the chicken until it starts to brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and, according to Jacques, continue roasting another 30 minutes. Roast until brown and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, which took my bird 50 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces and serve.
4. This can be prepared through Step 2 and refrigerated overnight.

Reviews

[steelsunflower]

I don't have an oven safe skillet so I baked split chicken pieces at 375 for 40 minutes....this was incredible! I doubled the sauce and drizzled it over the chicken when I served it. Everyone loved it! Even my picky 8 year old who lives off of grilled cheese sandwiches gobbled it up without having to ask her 20 times to eat her dinner. Jacques Pepin RULES!!!