Chicken gets a bright kick from Lisa Strangis, the culinary wunderkind behind Make Me Hungry, a food writer who arouses an appetite. Lisa whips If & When into rich butter and dusts it with fennel pollen.
The chicken cooks much quicker and more evenly, and its skin becomes perfectly crisp and meat incredibly tender when it’s butterflied open (aka spatchcocked) - but you can opt for a whole bird or cut chicken pieces, too.
Need
3 TBP butter, room temperature
2 tsp Preserved Meyer Lemon Paste
1 tsp fennel pollen
1 tsp kosher salt or sea salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 whole chicken
Do
Wash the chicken and pat it dry. Season with a few pinches of salt.
Transfer to a wire rack set on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Position chicken so that breasts are aligned with center of baking sheet. Allow chicken to sit at room temperature, covered, for at least 30-45 minutes before cooking.
Preheat oven to 425 F.
In a small bowl, mix softened butter, preserved lemon paste, fennel pollen, salt and pepper.
Gently slide your fingers between the skin and breast to loosen; continue into the thigh and leg to fully separate skin from meat without tearing. Rub the butter mixture under and over the skin so that everything is evenly covered.
Roast for 15-20 minutes until skin begins to turn golden brown, then reduce the temperature to 375 and cook another 20-25 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a breast registers 150°. (if yours is a whole bird, adjust cooking time accordingly).
Transfer to a cutting board; let rest at least 10 minutes before carving.
