Salsa Verde Roast Chicken
What goes with salsa verde you ask? Let’s just say you asked. Of course, it’s my spatchcocked roast chicken recipe! I promise my technique of combining a hot fan forced oven with a butterflied whole chicken will result in a perfect roast chicken every time. And covering it straight out of the oven with salsa verde will take your roast bird from delicious to brilliant! Call it spatchcocking or butterflying, either way it is the only way to roast a whole chicken in my opinion. Flattening out the chicken allows even cooking and, as it’s thinner, it will cook faster. Using a hot oven gets you super crispy skin and much juicier meat. It’s even easier to portion. Honestly, I just chop it up after pulling off the Maryland joint (legs and thighs).
Equipment
- Food processor
- Salad spinner
- 500ml plastic or glass jar with lid
- Poultry shears
- Roasting pan
- Instant thermometer (optional)
Ingredients
Roast Chicken:
- 1.5 kg whole chicken
- Salt and black pepper
Salsa Verde:
- 100 g fresh basil (6 cups loosely packed leaves)
- 100 g continental parsley (6 cups loosely packed leaves)
- 4 small garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons capers (drained)
- 4 anchovies
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 – 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 200 – 300ml extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Roast Chicken:
- Preheat oven 250°C fan forced (use middle rack).
- Remove chicken from the fridge 1-2 hours before cook time.
- Spatchcock/butterfly chicken (see video).
- Dry inside of chicken with paper towels.
- Line a shallow roasting tray with baking paper.
- Place chicken in tray, breast side up, tuck in wing tips, and turn legs towards the middle of the bird.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- While the chicken is roasting prepare the salsa verde sauce.
- Roast for 40 – 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the dark meat is 74°C and the breast meat 65°C. Alternatively, tug at the leg and if the leg/thigh joint comes away easily the chicken is done, if it resists it needs a few more minutes.
- As soon as the chicken is out of the oven, baste generously with salsa verde sauce.
- Let rest at least 15 minutes before serving.
Salsa Verde:
- Wash the parsley and basil in cold water. Spin dry and roll up between paper towels to absorb any extra water. Alternative, dry between multiple layers of paper towels or a clean tea towel.
- Pick basil and parsley leaves, discarding the large stems (small stems are fine) and refrigerate until required.
- Peel garlic cloves and crush them into the bowl of the food processor.
- Press anchovy fillets between paper towels lightly to remove excess oil.
- Add the capers, anchovies, mustard, and 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and pulse until chopped finely. Scrape down the bowl several times to ensure even chopping.
- Add parsley, pulse a couple of times and scrape down the bowl. Then add the basil and pulse until herbs are finely chopped (not too fine you don’t want a puree).
- If using for a marinade remove two tablespoons of the herb mix for the marinade at this stage.
- Whisk in remaining vinegar and olive oil (you may not need it all – taste as you go – I like a good bit of vinegar myself).
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Baste the roast chicken with the sauce as soon as it comes out of the oven. Serve the remaining sauce with the chicken on the side.
Just before you cook with abandon…
A technique not a recipe: I’ve given pretty exact measurements for all the ingredients but it’s almost impossible to eye up a bunch of basil and decide if it’ll yield 100g or 6 cups of leaves. I do err on buying more rather than less and then portion up the amount of sauce based on how what amount of leaves I end up with. But try not to sweat it too much. I recommend holding back some of the vinegar and olive oil, so that you only add enough to balance with the amount of herbs in your sauce. Once you get familiar with the recipe, you’ll be able to build the sauce using the technique and your judgement.
Quality ingredients: The golden rule in cooking and baking is to always use the best ingredients you can afford. This is an even more important ‘rule’ when you are making a dish that does not involve cooking. Each ingredient needs to shine and can’t hide through cooking process. In this recipe it’s the red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, and to a lesser degree the Dijon mustard and anchovies, that are going to be your star ingredients.
Oxidation: Parsley is pretty resistant to oxidation but fresh basil can be a challenge as it is so fragile. As soon as you start chopping fresh basil the oxidation process will start. Then it’s a race against time to try and slow the oxidation process. The acid in the vinegar will help, as will covering the finished sauce with olive oil. Another culprit is thought to be overprocessing, so follow the steps and leave the basil to last. I find that if the basil looks old, dry and tough, you’re probably best not using it in a fresh sauce. It will not give you any joy and go brown almost immediately.
Resting roast chicken: Try and make time in your meal prep to rest the chicken for at least 10-15 minutes after it comes out of the oven. This allows the meat to relax the internal juices redistribute themselves back through the bird. There’s nothing more disappointing than cutting into a beautiful whole roast chicken and seeing all the juices run off the cutting board.
Kitchen scale: If you are going to bake, you need a kitchen scale. It’s really in the necessity column not the optional column. You don’t need to spend a fortune on them, decent ones can be bought for about $70. The expensive ones break down just as quickly as the cheaper versions. But I would recommend you go for a known brand from a reputable kitchen shop.