Directions
- 1Remove the wing tips from the chicken using a knife and cut off the parson's nose.
- 2Turn the chicken onto its breast and cut along both sides of the backbone with kitchen scissors to remove it.
- 3Place the removed backbone and trimmings into a freezer bag for making stock later.
- 4Turn the chicken over, breast-side up, and flatten it by pressing down firmly on the breastbone.
- 5Pour water into a pot and add salt to create a 5% brine, heating it slightly until the salt dissolves, then adding ice and more water to cool it down.
- 6Add lemon, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme to the cooled brine.
- 7Submerge the spatchcocked chicken in the brine and refrigerate overnight or for up to 24 hours.
- 8After brining, remove onions, garlic, herbs, and lemon from the brine and place them in a roasting tray.
- 9Drizzle olive oil over the aromatics in the roasting tray.
- 10Remove the chicken from the brine, pat it dry thoroughly with paper towels, and place it on top of the aromatics in the roasting tray.
- 11Drizzle olive oil over the chicken and rub it in.
- 12Place the chicken in the oven preheated to the highest temperature (around 200°C or 396°F) and cook for 30-35 minutes.
- 13Check the internal temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer; it should be around 67°C (153°F) before resting.
- 14Remove the cooked chicken from the roasting tray and set aside to rest.
- 15For the gravy, remove the lemon pieces from the roasting tray with the drippings.
- 16Sprinkle plain flour (2-3 tablespoons) into the roasting tray with the drippings and cook out for about 5 minutes, stirring to create a roux.
- 17Deglaze the pan with white wine (around 100ml) and cook for another 5 minutes.
- 18Add chicken stock (around 500ml) to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes.
- 19Strain the gravy mixture into a saucepan and reduce it to your desired consistency.
- 20Carve the rested chicken by removing the legs.
- 21Remove the wings from the chicken.
- 22Cut along the side of the breastbone and then along the bottom to release each breast.
- 23Slice baked potatoes in half.
- 24Push the potato flesh through a fine-mesh sieve into a pot.
- 25Toss the leftover potato skins with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt, then bake them into crispy snacks.
- 26Heat the sieved potato and gradually add cold butter (25-50% of the potato's weight) until incorporated.
- 27Slowly add warm milk (40% of the potato's weight) to the mashed potatoes until the desired silky smooth consistency is achieved.
- 28Serve a chicken leg with a portion of the mashed potatoes and generously drizzle with the prepared gravy.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 5 % salt
- water
- ice
- 1 lemon
- bay leaves
- rosemary
- thyme
- 1 onion
- garlic
- olive oil
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 100 ml white wine
- 500 ml chicken stock
- potatoes
- 25 % butter
- 40 % milk
Equipment
boning knifekitchen scissorsfreezer bagpotwooden spoonbaking traypaper towelsovenmeat thermometertongsstrainerpanspatulakitchen scalesknifefork
Tips
- Brine chicken for at least 8 hours, but no more than 24 hours to prevent it from becoming too salty.
- Aim for an internal temperature of 60°C+ (140°F+) in the thickest part of the chicken before resting; it will rise above 70°C after resting.
- Cook chicken at the highest oven temperature for about 30-35 minutes, keeping an eye on it.
- For mashed potatoes, use a dry, fluffy potato variety like Maris Piper.
- Push cooked potatoes through a very fine mesh sieve (like a '30 mesh' sieve) to achieve silky smooth mash without lumps.
- When making mash, add 25-50% of the potato's weight in cold butter and then 40% of the potato's weight in warm milk until desired consistency is reached.
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