Butterflied Chicken With Cracked Spices

By Pete Wells

Total Time: About 1 hour
Rating: 5(265)
Notes: Read community notes

Somewhere in “The Zuni Cafe Cookbook” is a recipe for a standing rib roast of pork with variations. I’m sure of that. I’m less sure, because I can’t find it online, that the book gives a variation that calls for rubbing the meat with fennel and coriander seeds, among other spices. I wanted to try some version of that on a chicken and came up with the idea of grafting those seasonings, as I remembered them, onto a classic Marcella Hazan recipe for chicken alla diavola. Hazan has you butterfly the chicken and rub it with cracked black pepper before grilling or broiling it. Just by faking and misremembering, I stumbled on a weeknight dinner that’s faster than roast chicken and fragrant with mysteriously harmonious spices. It may not be the devil’s chicken, but it could be the work of one of his minor demons.

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Ingredients

Yield:3 to 4 servings

1chicken, around 3 pounds
2tablespoons olive oil
2teaspoons fennel seed
1teaspoon coriander seed
½teaspoon black peppercorns
¼teaspoon cumin seed
2teaspoons coarse sea salt
½teaspoon hot paprika or pimentón
Lemon halves or fat wedges

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Light a grill or set your broiler on high and give it a 15-minute head start.
Step 2
Butterfly (or spatchcock) the chicken: Cut out the chicken’s backbone with poultry shears, a cleaver or a sharp, heavy chef’s knife (or ask a butcher to do this). If you think you will make stock at some point, by all means tightly wrap the backbone in plastic and put it in the freezer. Place the chicken skin side up in a roasting pan and press firmly on the breast with the heels of your hands until it cracks and flattens. Position the legs so they lie flat and the drumsticks point out. Tuck the wingtips over the tops of the wings to hold them in place, or cut them off. Rub the bird with the oil. (Don’t worry about any extra oil that may fall onto the pan.) Now wash your hands.
Step 3
Coarsely grind the fennel, coriander, peppercorns and cumin with a mortar and pestle or with 8 or 9 pulses in a spice grinder. Mix in the salt and paprika or pimentón and sprinkle this rub on both sides of the bird, with the emphasis on the skin.
Step 4
Set the chicken skin side down on a grill or skin side up on a broiler rack positioned so the highest point of the bird is about 10 inches from the flame. When the skin begins to brown after 6 or 7 minutes, flip the chicken over. (The easiest way is to grab the knobby ends of both drumsticks with several layers of paper towels if you are in the kitchen, or with clean oven mitts if you are grilling.)
Step 5
After about 10 minutes, when the bony side is browned, lower the heat to medium-high (400 if you're using an oven), flip the chicken again and cook another 10 minutes, or until the skin is very crisp and brown and the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees when checked with a meat thermometer. Let it rest about 5 minutes before carving. (If you are grilling, set it on a platter.)
Step 6
Spoon any juices that have collected in the broiler pan or the platter over the chicken. Serve with lemon. In springtime, try to serve this with tender young bitter greens — like arugula, watercress or baby dandelions — tossed in a sharp vinaigrette.

Ratings

5 out of 5

265 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Renee6 years ago

Using the broiler inevitably sets off the smoke alarm at my house, so I roasted the chicken instead. Came out great, and we loved the spice mix.

Judith6 years ago

How long and at what temp did you roast them?

bryan chitwood6 years ago

Recipe recommended a 3-lb. chicken. At 5-lbs., you're getting into a roaster-sized bird, bred for huge breasts and relatively small legs. That may account for your cooking problems.

Katherine6 years ago

Lacking a mortar and pestle and a spice grinder, I put my spices in a small but robust plastic bag and then rolled them, pressing down hard, with a rolling pin. It worked beautifully.

James8 months ago

Total keeper. Easy, great flavor. The cooking directions aren’t really adequate for charcoal. I used a 2-zone fire, browned it pretty quickly on both sides and then moved it off the coals and covered to roast. Delicious.

Barrie M11 months ago

one of our favorites

LSR11 months ago

I toasted the cumin, coriander, fennel, and peppercorn before grinding and combining with other spices. I know it all gets roasted anyway but love that approach to using whole spices.

Emily1 year ago

For anyone reading this & wondering if it will work on a Traeger or other pellet grill: I did a 3lb chicken prepared according to the recipe, used 475 temp for 1st part of grilling directions, then turned it down to 400 for the final segment & went for 20 minutes. Bird was cooked, incredibly juicy, perfect.

Eehee1 year ago

Pete, I’m a huge fan since that glowing Peter Luger’s review:). There is one addition to this delicious recipe that might be helpful. For truly crispy skin, try letting the chicken sit uncovered in the fridge for 24 hrs to dry. Exceptionally good, thx

Keith1 year ago

Excellent. Did the first part on a gas grill. Then finished it in the oven. So good. Next time I’ll remove the wishbone before cooking. Just makes the cutting up easier and neater.

janis1 year ago

Roasted 3 pound chicken at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Perfect, juicy, and my favorite presentation. Easy and elegant!! Spicing is delicious.

Julie L.1 year ago

Absolutely fantastic! I made extra spice mix and put it all over a 4.5 lb. chicken. Then I roasted it in my Ninja grill for an hour at 350 for an hour and it was perfection! No basting, no flipping, no nothing! A real keeper, so simple! Adding it to the rotation.

LCJ1 year ago

Made this for Christmas Eve dinner with poussins (1.10-1.3 pounds) @ 375 degrees for about an hour on a big sheet pan. Airdryed overnight to dry out skin and so they were ready to go. A big hit, everyone loved them and the tiny birds made it special

Colin1 year ago

Loved the spice mixture.

judys1 year ago

This is fab! Love the spice mix. I spatchcocked and seasoned a few hours ahead and put in frig uncovered. Brought to room temp, added a few carrots, and roasted at @415 for a little over an hour. Served with Mark Bittman’s baked celeriac (instead of baked potato), which was also delish (who knew?), and a tossed green salad. Wonderful meal. Thank you NYT!

Chefsaresty2 years ago

Made this with hubby grilling. Excellent spice rub. Not fussy. Put it through the smoothie maker. Moist and not fried out. Hubby used thermometer 145 at thigh.

Vixcancook2 years ago

I followed the recipe (well my bird was 4.5 lbs) and used my Weber gas grill and a thermometer and my bird was amazing! I love this recipe. I pulled it off at 145 degrees and it was juicy and fully cooked. The seasoning was amazing!!!

gary2 years ago

Very easy recipe (after my husband split the chicken). Simple spice rub, on the grill, nice crispy skin. Juicy flavorful meat.

Josette2 years ago

I loved the spice combination. I couldn't get my hands on any cumin seed so I used ground cumin and used a bit less than the 1/4 teaspoon. I had a 5 pound bird on the grill so it took longer what the recipe called for, but I expected that. Next time, and there will definitely be a next time, I will try chicken parts in the oven. I can easily imaging a whole platter of drumsticks or wings.

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