Split Chicken with Herb Salsa (Butcher Does the Wrestling)
Garlic, lemon and saffron split chicken with a fresh herb salsa. More spoons as written, with butcher and jarred-garlic shortcuts to cut the effort.
Equipment
- Roasting tin
- Blender
- Food Processor
- Chopping Board
- Sharp Knife
- Kitchen tongs
- Clean food thermometer
- Strong kitchen shears, only if butterflying the chicken yourself
- Foil
- Baking paper
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 whole chicken butterflied (1.8–2.2 kg)
- 8 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp lemon juice (60 ml)
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 pinch saffron threads (about 20)
- 80 ml ghee (about ⅓ cup, melted), or a good quality animal fat
- ¼ tsp Celtic sea salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
Herb salsa
- 3 tbsp fresh tarragon leaves (or 1½ tbsp dried)
- 3 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 3 tbsp fresh dill
- 250 ml olive oil (about 1 cup)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp Celtic sea salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
Instructions
Before you start
- Heat the oven to 200°C fan-forced.
- If you're butterflying the chicken yourself, do it now, before you make the marinade (steps are in the post FAQ).
- After handling raw chicken, wash your hands with soap and water.
- Wash the chopping board, shears and benchtop with hot, soapy water before you make the salsa.
Make the marinade
- Put the garlic, lemon juice, cayenne, cumin, saffron, ghee, ¼ tsp salt and a pinch of pepper in the blender.
- Blend until it's a smooth paste.
- Taste, and add a little more salt only if you want it.
Marinate the chicken
- Pat the chicken dry all over with paper towel.
- Spread the marinade over the whole chicken.
- Cover the chicken and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Overnight gives a stronger flavour.
- Don't leave the raw chicken to marinate on the bench.
Roast the chicken
- Line the roasting tin with baking paper or foil.
- Put the chicken in the tin, skin-side up.
- Pour over any marinade that ran off while it marinated.
- Roast for 25 minutes, basting at the 10 minute mark and again at the 20 minute mark.
- Loosely cover the tin with foil.
- Roast for another 15–20 minutes, until the thickest part of the thigh reads at least 75°C on a clean thermometer, with the probe not touching bone. Check the breast too if the chicken is large.
- Rest the chicken for 5 minutes, loosely covered to keep it warm.
- Carve it or pull it apart.
Make the herb salsa
- Put the tarragon, parsley, dill, olive oil and lemon juice in the food processor.
- Pulse 3 to 5 times, until it's a chunky sauce.
- Stir in ¼ tsp salt and a pinch of pepper, then taste.
Serve
- Spoon some salsa over the chicken.
- Put the rest of the salsa on the table.
- Serve with a veg or salad you can manage today.
Notes
Keep the chicken and salsa in separate sealed containers for up to 3 days. The cooked chicken freezes well. Make the salsa fresh. Reheat only what you'll eat, until steaming hot. Easiest shortcut: ask the butcher to butterfly the chicken.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serve | Calories: 2814kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 73g | Fat: 40g