Yes, I say it all the time…but this recipe is SO easy. It takes a few minutes to assemble the ingredients and then the oven does all of the work. A spatchcocked chicken is the way to go here, you can buy them already butterflied or you can ask the butcher at your grocery store to remove the backbone for you. I do it myself, you can use kitchen shears or a good sharp knife and cut along the backbone to remove it and then flatten out the bird. This allows everything to cook more evenly and quickly. Surrounding the chicken with mushrooms to soak up all yummy chicken juices might be my new favorite way to make mushrooms. SO GOOD!
What you need:
One whole chicken, spatchcocked
16oz of mushrooms, any variety. I used a combination of shiitake, hen of the woods, oyster, and cremini
1 large shallot, roughly chopped
2 tbsp salted butter
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 450°. Add cleaned mushrooms and chopped shallot to to a roasting pan and drizzle about 2 tbsp olive oil over the top and then sprinkle some salt and pepper on them. Add the rosemary and parsley. Stir to combine the olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper and then move them to the outer edges of the dish. Meanwhile pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and cut the butter into 4 equal pieces (1/2 tbsp each). Gently separate the skin of the chicken and tuck the butter between the skin and breasts. Drizzle one tbsp olive oil on top and one tbsp Dijon mustard. Rub the olive oil and mustard all over the skin of the chicken and then add some salt and pepper. Add a pinch of dried rosemary. Lay the chicken skin side up on the pan and surround with the mushrooms. Roast for about 45-50 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 160° It will continue to reach 165° to 170° while resting. Stir the mushrooms half way through and rotate the pan if it is browning unevenly. Let rest for about 10 minutes before carving the chicken. Enjoy!
We served with caramelized parsnip purée but would be great with potatoes or risotto too.