August 2026
Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, March 2026
A recent issue of Cook’s Illustrated featured a Tuscan-style roast chicken that caught my eye. The technique calls for spatchcocking (butterflying) a four-pound chicken and weighing it down during cooking to speed up the process. Naturally, I had to test if it actually streamlined the cooking time as promised.
The Process
First, I removed the backbone from a four-pound chicken and flattened it by pressing firmly on the breastbone. I loosened the skin and salted the flesh underneath. Next, I heated oil in a skillet until just smoking, then laid the chicken skin-side down, weighing it down with a cast-iron Dutch oven (no bricks on hand today!).
After five minutes on the stovetop, the entire setup—skillet, chicken, and Dutch oven—went into a 400°F oven. Twenty minutes later, I removed the Dutch oven, flipped the chicken over, and let it finish roasting until the thickest part of the breast reached 150°F.
While the chicken roasted, I whipped up a quick sauce using fresh lemon zest and juice, fresh parsley and rosemary, mustard, garlic, and black pepper. The sauce was finished by adding some of the drippings from the chicken once it was done. My only tweak to the original recipe was omitting the red pepper flakes.
The Verdict
From prep to placing the chicken in the oven took just 20 minutes, with the total time from start to finish clocking in at a little over an hour.
The results were excellent. The chicken was tender and remarkably juicy across four separate dinners for two. The herb-lemon sauce added a vibrant, tangy lift that complemented the roasted flavor perfectly. If you are looking for a efficient, straightforward way to prep high-quality meals for the week, this technique is well worth adding to your routine.
