As I was preparing for Thanksgiving this year, I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to prepare a turkey or not. No one in family likes it – Jamaican-Italian – no. Then this year we were reduced to three and one only wants pasta, and the only part of the tradition he consumes is the cornbread and the stuffing. However, he was the only want who wanted the stuffing. My mother called me for a Jamaican recipe that she remembered was in one of the vintage (1963, vintage, right?) cookbooks in my collection. So, I pulled out A Merry Go Round of Recipes from Jamaica by Leila Brandon looking for a curry flavored chicken. What exactly did she mean by curry flavored? I came across a recipe for “curry flavoured baked chicken”. I assume since curry is usually a stew the idea that baked chicken was with curry was why the stem “flavoured” was used. I decided that I would do a chicken, but not a cutup chicken but a whole chicken, and my new favorite way of cooking it these days – spatchcocked. The original recipe called for the addition of paprika, but I prefer Allspice and a pinch of dry ginger was enough and I love flavor so the addition of thyme and bay leaf, not to mention onions, garlic and scallion were absolutely necessary, as were the hot peppers. Actually, it was one of the most delicious recipes that I have ever made. So now it will definitely be a part of my repertoire, with or without the curry. I think what I liked was the lack of sauces being used and you could use olive oil or another oil rather than butter, but the butter seemed decadent to me who basically use butter for desserts. I think this year I will be looking a lot at my old cookbooks. It will be a fun way of looking at ingredients and playing with them and seeing what I can get away with. But you know me, flavor, flavor, flavor. Salt and pepper could never be enough. Hope you enjoy this recipe. Let me know.
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Curry Spatchcock Roast Chicken
Preparation: 15 – 30 minutes; Season and marinade in refrigerator for up to 48 hours
Cooking: 1 hour
1 4 -5 lb. Chicken – spatchcock
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp Allspice
2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger, or 1 Tbsp powdered ginger
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
4 scallions (spring onions), diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
Sprigs of fresh thyme
4 bay leaf
Zest of 1 lemon – lemon can then be used for washing chicken
2- 3 whole hot peppers if desired
4 oz unsalted butter, melted just before going in the oven
1. First clean carefully the chicken by cutting away as much fat as possible. If chicken is whole, remove the backbone. This can be saved for making gravy if desired or for chicken stock. Then clip the very top of the breastbone. I find this makes it easier to flatten the chicken. Wash thoroughly the chicken with vinegar then rinse with hot water. Then rub down the chicken with the lemon. Use more than one if desired. Dry carefully and place flat, meat side up, in a flat recipient that can go in the refrigerator.
2. Combine all dry ingredients including herbs. Lift carefully the chicken skin on all parts of the chicken. Make sure it is dry. Using your hands, preferably with disposable rubber gloves as the curry stains, rub the mixture including all over the chicken, under the skin and all possible crevices. Place chicken in refrigerator covered if for two days. After the first day, uncover in the refrigerator until ready to roast. This will result in crisper skin.
3. Remove chicken from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature about 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). The skin of the chicken should be dry. At this point brush the skin with the melted butter and place in the middle of the oven. Do not turn and bake for 60 minutes. The chicken will be moist and the skin crispy. Let sit for about 5 minutes before cutting up into 8 pieces. I like to slice the breast.
Note: As a Jamaican I am rigid about cleaning, and about disinfecting the work area after I am done. Also, if you are worried about the chicken being overcooked, that has never been an issue for me. As a matter of fact, I cook whole chickens for 90 minutes, but because it is spatchcock I only cook it for 60 minutes. I suspect that we are worried about bacteria and raw flesh as we are from a tropical climate. However, my way of cooking has always resulted in moist and juicy chicken. Enjoy.
