Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken

Spatchcocking, or butterflying. allows all parts of the bird to get equal exposure to the heat in the oven.  This helps ensure that the breast meat stays moist even as the dark, leg and thigh meat cooks through.  Don't let butter flying intimidate you - it's easy and quick.  This technique works the same for small roasters (3-4 pounds) as for the larger "oven stuffers" (5-7 pounds), just extend the final cooking time, at 350 degrees, for the larger birds.

1 whole broiling or roasting chicken
Olive oil
lemon pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Rub down the bird with olive oil and sprinkle generously with the lemon pepper.  Place the bird, skin side up, on the bottom of a roasting pan that has been coated with cooking spray.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and roast for an hour to an hour and a half until the internal temperature in the breast reaches 150 degrees. 

Return the temperature to 450 and continue to roast until the skin is deep golden brown and crispy -- about 15 to 30 minutes.