This recipe is a fun and flavorful way to roast your next pasture raised whole chicken. Spatchcocking ensures even roasting and cuts down on cooking time making this an excellent weeknight dinner, but impressive enough for a dinner party! It's rubbed with a delicious spice mixture packed with garlic, cumin, smoked paprika and bright lemon zest and juice and roasted until perfectly crispy and beautifully tinted thanks to the paprika. The creamy, tangy green sauce will quickly become a regular condiment in your house – fresh cilantro, punchy lime, and a little heat from jalapeños...it doesn't get better than this! Let's get cooking.

INGREDIENTS

For the Chicken –

• 1915 Farm Pasture Raised Whole Chicken (thighs, leg quarters, or drumsticks work too!)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt
• 2 small lemons, zested and juiced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

For the Sauce –

• 1 cup / large handful of cilantro (stems and all)
• 1-2 jalapeños, trimmed of stems and roughly chopped
• 2 garlic clove
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Juice of 2-3 limes
• Pinch of kosher salt (about 1/2 tsp)
• 1/2 cup sour cream (mayo works well too, sometimes I'll do 1/4 C sour cream and 1/4 C mayo)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°

Remove chicken from packaging and dry completely. Using sharp kitchen shears or boning knife, spatchcock the chicken (this is a good how-to if needed). Make sure to reserve backbone for making stock. 

In a small bowl, add the garlic, cumin, paprika, pepper, oregano, salt, lemon zest, olive oil, and lemon juice. Stir to combine.

Place chicken in a large skillet or roasting pan and rub with the spice mixture to completely coat, taking care to get under the thighs and wings. Roast for 50-60 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°

In the meantime, make the sauce – pureé all ingredients until smooth and well combined. Adjust seasoning if needed, adding a pinch more salt or another squeeze of lime if preferred. Transfer to a small bowl and chill until ready to eat.

When chicken is done roasting, transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest 15 minutes. Carve into pieces and serve alongside rice pilaf, or a refreshing cucumber & avocado salad – and don't forget plenty of tangy green sauce!

We hope you enjoy this recipe! If you’d like to share your delicious dish on Instagram, don’t forget to tag us @1915_Farm

P.S. If you love our pasture raised whole chickens – consider subscribing to the new Grassroots Meat Club (ships free in TX, reduced in other states). Each box includes a variety of hand-selected grassfed and pasture raised meats, such as chicken breasts, chicken tenders, leg quarters, wings, thighs, drumsticks, whole chicken, ground beef, kabobs, stew meat, stir fry, cutlets, London broil (top round), beef roasts, beef ossobuco, short ribs, various sausages, pork roasts, pork chops, bacon, ground pork, fajita meat, country style ribs, spare ribs, and bacon!

Recipe adapted from Epicurious