A good roast chicken is a busy/tired/smart cook’s best friend. It’s a simple, satisfying dish that can feed a small family for days. If I make one on Sunday, Jason and I will eat what we can for dinner that night and then I’ll throw the leftovers in salads throughout the week. Rookie may get a few small bites, too.
When it comes to preparing the bird, you can keep things simple – seasoning it with salt and a few grinds of black pepper – or take it up a notch and make this spatchcocked buffalo chicken. It’s not that much more work. The sauce comes together in 10 minutes and you only need to baste the bird once before it goes into the oven and a second time when it comes out. Spatchcocking – splitting and then flattening the chicken – helps speed up the cooking process and ensure even browning.
With six tablespoons of butter in the sauce, it’s not the healthiest recipe. But after you take a bite, you won’t care about the extra calories. The chicken is incredibly juicy – even the white meat is moist and tender thanks to the buttery dressing.
Pair this buffalo chicken with a side of rosemary oven fries for a complete meal. Bake them while your bird is roasting, and you can have everything on the table in about an hour.
Recipe adapted from Donal Skehan.
- 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 9 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ + ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1½ pounds red, gold and purple potatoes, cut into ¼"-thick matchsticks
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Adjust oven racks to middle and lower position and preheat to 400 degrees.
- In a small sauce pan, combine the butter, pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Place chicken, breast side down, on a work surface. Starting at thigh end, cut along one side of the backbone with kitchen shears. Then cut along the other side. Discard backbone or save for stock. Open the chicken and flip it over. Press firmly on breastbone to flatten.
- Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and brush with half of the buffalo sauce.
- Place baking sheet on middle rack and roast chicken until cooked through, 50-60 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board and brush with remaining buffalo sauce. Let rest 10 minutes and then cut into pieces. Serve with oven fries.
- While the chicken is roasting, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
- Drizzle vegetable oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Place on lower rack in oven to preheat for about 5 minutes.
- Carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven and add potatoes. Sprinkle on rosemary leaves and season generously with salt and pepper. Toss potatoes in oil and spread in a single layer.
- Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and stir gently. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through, golden brown and crispy.
Oh my god this roasted chicken and those fries looks delicious… my mouth is just watering looking at your images! Great recipe Alison and I bet your kitchen smelt amazing when this was in the oven!
Thanks so much, Thalia! Buttery buffalo sauce, potatoes … what’s not to love?