There are times when nothing but the crispy skin and succulent texture of a roast chicken will satisfy me. No, it’s not a traditional Mexican specialty (many traditional kitchens don’t have an oven to roast a chicken in), unless you consider the thousands of places around Mexico that do amazing rotisserie chickens (my favorites are the ones that are wood-fired) or spatchcocked or halved chickens cooked slowly over roadside grills fashioned from 55-gallon drums and heaped with glowing hardwood charcoal. Simple oven-roasting with aromatics comes more from European tradition, but the narrow range of European aromatics can be easily expanded to include chile and lime.
Spatchcocking (aka butterflying) a chicken ensures that it cooks more quickly and evenly, without losing any of the roast chicken texture we all love so much. It also makes carving easier and the overnight salting (dry brining) have a more uniform effect, I find.
INGREDIENTS
- A 4 pound roasting chicken (you’ll have the best flavor with a free-range bird)
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- The finely grated zest of a large lime, plus another lime cut in wedges for serving
- 4 árbol chiles stemmed and finely chopped --OR-- about 2 teaspoons chile flakes
- 1 tablespoon table salt (that’s equivalent to 2 tablespoons of the Diamond Crystal salt I use), plus more for seasoning the brothy sauce
- About 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- About 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups best-quality chicken broth
- 2 to 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
INSTRUCTIONS
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Spatchcock the chicken. Using a pair of kitchen shears or a large sharp knife, cut down on both sides of the backbone–through the thigh joint and rib bones, all the way through the neck. (At first this may seem like a daunting task, but with shears, it’s really pretty straightforward.) Open the chicken out, cavity-side down and press with all your weight to break free the sternum so the bird lies flat. (At this point—just for ease in carving later—you can flip the bird over and pull out the dark-red sternum bone and the white cartilage that tapers down from it. You may have to use a knife and your fingers to further free the sternum bone and cartilage.)
Make seasoning mix, stuff chicken and dry brine. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix together the chopped garlic, lime zest and chile. Starting at the top of the breast, run your hand between the skin and flesh of the chicken on both sides, freeing the skin all the way down to the tapered end of the breast. Starting on the lower thigh sides, do the same for the skin of the thigh and leg. Set aside a tablespoon of the seasoning mixture to use in the sauce, then, with your hand, rub a portion of the seasoning between skin and flesh on each side of the breast and each leg-thigh quarter.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a rack over it. Sprinkle the front of the chicken evenly with half of the salt, then flip it over and sprinkle the back with the remainder. Set the chicken on the rack, skin-side up and refrigerate overnight uncovered.
Roast the chicken, make the brothy sauce. Heat the oven to 450 degrees and adjust a shelf to the middle. Drizzle the oil over the chicken, then rub evenly into the skin with your hands. Sprinkle generously with pepper.
Slide the chicken into the oven and set a timer for 45 minutes. Pour the chicken broth into a saucepan, set it over high heat and add the reserved flavoring mixture. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to keep it at a brisk simmer. Simmer until reduced by half, 20 to 30 minutes. Whisk in the butter and Worcestershire, then taste and season with salt, about ½ teaspoon if you’ve started with lightly seasoned broth.
When the chicken has been in the oven for 45 minutes, remove it and test with an instant-read thermometer: we are looking for right at 150 degrees for the thickest part of the breast (thick part of the thigh should be around 170). If it’s not quite there, return to the oven for more roasting.
Rest and carve the chicken, serve. When the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes (it can hold for up to 20 minutes if you lightly tent it with foil). To carve the chicken, I use a large, sharp knife to cut off the leg/thigh portion, then I cut the leg from the thigh and cut the thigh in half along the bone. I cut the breast in half right down the center (you’ll need a cleaver to do this easily unless you’ve removed the sternum), then I cut off the wing, leaving a bit of breast and cut the remainder in half. Serve portions of the chicken with the warm brothy sauce ladled over. Serve lime wedges on the side for everyone to squeeze on al gusto.
