Recipe: Split Savory Chicken

Jan 03

During these cold, dark days of winter I crave savory foods like stews and roasts. I find them warming, satisfying and delicious. There are times when I want to make it for dinner buy don’t have 3 to 4 hours needed for that slow, low, whole roasted chicken. This method, of splitting the chicken, cuts down on cook time and yields a juicy chicken with crisp and crunchy skin.

Be sure to use a pasture raised chicken if you want to eat the skin. The use of fresh savory adds a bright flavor to the dish. Most grocery stores carry small packages of fresh herbs even during the winter months. If you had an herb garden this year and grew savory and dried it, by all means, use that.

You might want to take the time and planning to brine the chicken before cooking, that will also add to the juiciness and flavor, especially if the chicken is pasture raised. These free running chickens tend to be a little tougher as they build muscle running around (like a chicken should).

Split Savory Chicken

Ingredients

One 4 – 5 pound chicken (pastured if possible)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks of scallion
Salt to taste
Several sprigs of fresh savory
Fat to coat the chicken with — schmaltz from a previous chicken, bacon fat, butter or ghee

Equipment

Poultry shears (where to buy)
Large baking or roasting dish (where to buy)
Large knife

Instructions

Clean the chicken under running water and pat dry or if it was brined, rinse it.
Place on a large flat platter or board (or in the kitchen sink), breast down
Using the poultry shears, cut the back bone out (freeze this in a ziplock for soup stock)
Spread the chicken open and with the knife, make a cut through the middle of the breast bone
Flatten the breast bone and then rinse off any innards that may have been left and then pat dry
Place the scallion, garlic and sprigs of savory at the bottom of the roasting pan
Turn the bird over and place in the roasting pan on top of the vegetables and the savory
Salt the bird
Turn the hips in as shown in the photo
Coat the bird with the fat
Roast on 425 degrees F for 50 – 60 minutes depending upon the size
The hip should register at least 175 degrees and the breast 160 degrees
Let rest for 15 minutes and then slice and serve
Use the juices from the roasting pan as gravy or make this gravy
Save the bones for making bone broth