Roast Spatchcock Chicken and Gravy with New Potatoes Cooked in Chicken Stock

Jump to Recipe

It may not be the most exciting name, but I promise you that Roast Spatchcock Chicken and Gravy with New Potatoes Cooked in Chicken Stock is a speedy, easy and incredibly delicious way to prepare a roast chicken. It really is a ‘winner, winner chicken dinner’!

This recipe is my ‘go-to’ mid season roast chicken meal. Although it works all year round, we particularly enjoy it at this time of year when the weather starts to cool and we are craving deliciously hot comfort food without spending much time in the kitchen. The potatoes are beautifully soft and wonderfully flavoured from the stock, which is then used to make the gravy. With a crispy thyme flavoured, skin, the chicken is tender and melt in the mouth. 

Serve with your greens of choice and you will have a roast meal ready and on the table in around an hour. Even better, most of this time is hands off!

• 

• 

What is spatchcock chicken?

A spatchcock chicken is a whole chicken which has had its back bone removed, so that you can open it up and lay it out flat. Sometimes it is referred to as a butterflied chicken. Preparing a chicken in this way, reduces the cooking time by almost half and allows for a greater variety of cooking methods, such as frying, grilling and barbecuing as well as traditional roasting.

The meat is still cooked on the bone, so you are not losing any delicious flavours. The speedier cooking, is not only convenient, it ensures your chicken does not lose moisture during cooking and is always tender and juicy.

Your butcher will more than likely do this for you if you ask them, but if you are buying your chicken in a supermarket, a spatchcock chicken may cost you more than a standard whole chicken. It is so ridiculously easy to do at home and takes only a few minutes. For details on how to spatchcock a chicken, see here.

How to make Roast Spatchcock Chicken and Gravy with New Potatoes Cooked in Chicken Stock

Collect all your ingredients together:

Chicken –

• medium sized chicken around 1.9kg, at room temperature
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced into 8 wedges
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• grinding of sea salt
• grinding of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Potatoes –

• 25g unsalted butter to grease the baking dish
• 800g new potatoes
• 500ml good quality chicken stock, either homemade or shop bought
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme

Plus, for the gravy –

• 2 tablespoons plain flour

How to make this wonderful and quick roast chicken dinner:

Spatchcock the chicken if necessary, for more detailed information, see here.

1. Place the chicken, breast side down, and remove the back bone.
2. Flatten out the chicken and then turn it over. Place your hand on the chicken breasts and press down to flatten. Remove wingtips.
3. Your chicken is now ready.
4. NB If your butcher is doing this for you, ask for the backbone and wing tips – I add these to the roasting pan to enhance the flavour of the gravy.

• 

• 

• 

Prepare the chicken for roasting –

1. Peel the onions and slice into 8 wedges. Place in the centre of the roasting tray and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to thoroughly combine.
2. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper.
3. Place the spatchcocked chicken on top of the onion, making sure most of the onion is under the chicken. Pour over 2 tablespoons of olive oil and rub it into the chicken flesh thoroughly, with your hands.
4. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and then sprinkle over the dried thyme.
5. Drizzle over one more tablespoon olive oil.
6. Put the backbone and wingtips removed from the chicken, (if you have them) into the roasting tin next to the chicken. These will add extra flavour to the gravy.
7. Roast in a pre-heated oven for 50 – 60 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
8. Remove the chicken from the oven and set aside to rest for around 15 minutes.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

As soon as you put the chicken in the oven, prepare the potatoes.

1. Grease the baking dish with the butter.
2. Cut each potato into wedges of equal size and tip into the baking dish. Add the salt pepper and dried thyme.
3. Heat the stock and pour over the potatoes.
4. Give everything a good stir, cover with foil and cook in the oven for 40 minutes, alongside the chicken.
5. Remove the foil and continue to cook until the potatoes are soft and you can see some caramelised edges on the potatoes.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Now you can make the gravy –

1. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside to rest. Pour off the majority of the oil, leaving the onions, sticky bits and around 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan. Add the flour.
2. Use a balloon whisk to thoroughly combine the flour into the oil.
3. Strain the stock from the potatoes into the pan and whisk well into the flour mix.
4. Cook, whisking or stirring continuously, for 4 – 5 minutes or until cooked and thickened.
5. Strain into a serving jug.
6. Serve – the potatoes, chicken and gravy with your choice of sides. I served mine very simply with some rocket but steamed or boiled green vegetables would be delicious as well.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Why should meat be cooked at room temperature?

When you cook any meat, the muscles will contract and tighten when heated. The colder the muscles the more they will contact and this means it is harder for the heat to distribute evenly when cooking. By letting the meat come to room temperature before you cook it, your meat will cook more evenly and you will end up with juicier meat. It can take between 30 – 60 minutes for your fridge cold meat to reach room temperature depending on its size and the room temperature.

You also need time to rest the meat after cooking:

As the muscles of the meat contract and tighten when cooked, the juices are forced toward the surface of the meat and some will evaporate. (Which is why overcooked meat is dry.) Allowing the meat to rest after you have removed the heat source, means the muscles will relax and the juices can re-distribute throughout the meat. If you cut it immediately, you are in danger of losing some of these juices and your chicken may be dry and also lose the flavour from those gorgeous juices.

How can I check that the chicken is cooked?

Pull the leg away from the bird slightly and skewer into breast flesh behind the leg. Any juices coming out of the bird should be clear and the meat should be opaque. If you see any pinkness or blood, cook for a further 5 – 10 minutes and check again. If you use a meat thermometer, the internal temperature of the meat should read 165°F or 75°C.

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.