Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken with Za’atar and Sumac

Sumac and Za’atar on a spatchcocked chicken. The chicken is flavourful and so tender that it fell apart. No need to carve!

Anyone else hate going to the dentist for cleanings even if you know your teeth are just fine? I brush 3 times a day and floss once a day. Ok, I floss most days but that is still better than a lot of people. I tolerate the scraping and even the perverse pleasure the hygienist takes at talking to you and expecting an answer while you lay there, mouth agape. For me the true torment comes when they polish my teeth. The buzzing and that foul gritty stuff they use in conjunction with that spinning tool that makes that high pitching whirring sound in your ear. I just hate it.

I was dreading my dentist appointment and then I realized that I’m a grown up now and I don’t have to get my teeth polished if I don’t want to. So I put my big girl panties on, before I left the house, and I politely let the hygienist know that I did not want my teeth polished, thank you very much.

Even though I didn’t get my teeth polished, the hygienist still took her sweet time and I was a little worried about the status of this spatchcocked chicken that I had left under the supervision of my husband. When I say supervision, I actually mean that he completely ignored it while he played with Timothy. It is wonderful that he was playing with our sweet boy, but I got home five minutes before we would have been heading into burnt chicken territory.

Instead of being burnt, the chicken turned out absolutely perfectly. It was so tender, flavourful and moist. It fell apart a little as I took it out of the roasting pan and there were some gorgeous bits on the bottom that I turned into the most simple pan sauce imaginable. I put about half a cup of water in, stirred it around and then poured that into a little bowl. I spooned out the excess fat, and voila, delicious jus for the chicken.

I served the chicken with a simple salad and I loosely followed Aimee’s recipe for Buttermilk Dressing on Simple Bites. I didn’t have the recipe called up when I was putting the dressing together so I winged it from what I could remember. It was a delicious change from the usual vinaigrettes I’d been making. Timothy is still on a strict ‘cucumber only’ regimin when it comes to fresh vegetables though. At least he eats something green.

On the left is Sumac, a tangy spice that adds a lemony earthiness to the chicken. The aroma is quite intoxicating while the chicken is roasting. On the right is Za’atar. This blend has oregano, sesame seeds, savoury and sumac. Its flavour is familiar but with twist.

Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken with Za'atar and Sumac

Christina Austin

Spatchcocked chicken seasoned with Za'atar and Sumac and roasted on a bed of lemon and onions. It so simple to prepare and it comes out tender and delicious.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course Main Dish

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 1 3 lb whole chicken
• 1 large onion
• 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp Za'atar spice blend
• 2 tsp Sumac
• 1 tsp Maldon Sea Salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
• Take the whole chicken and lay it on a board with the breast side down. With a good pair of kitchen scissors that can be separated for easy cleaning, start cutting along one side of the spine. Try to cut as close to it as you can. You will crunch through bones. Once you have cut all along one side, cut along the other side. Discard the spine once you have cut it out.
• Cut the onion into eight chunky pieces and arrange it on the bottom of your roasting pan to create a bed for the chicken. Do the same to the lemon but squeeze some of the juice over the chicken before arranging the pieces on the bottom of the pan.
• Place the chicken on the bed of onion and lemon skin side up.
• Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and then sprinkle the sumac and Za'atar evenly over the whole chicken.
• Sprinkle the salt and peper over the chicken as well.
• Place the roasting pan in the oven, uncovered and roast for an hour and a half. The chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
• For a simple pan sauce, add 1/2 cup water, stir to mix the dark bits in with the water. Pour liquid into a bowl and spoon out the excess fat.
• Serve with a large salad or platter of cut up vegetables for a simple dinner.