Tomorrow is National Poultry Day and the Center for Culinary Arts at the Sarasota campus has provided a recipe to tempt your tummy for this special food day.

Spatchcock Chicken

1  3.5-4.5 pound whole chicken

1 tbsp olive oil

1 head whole garlic

¼ pound softened unsalted butter

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tsp chopped sage

1 tsp chopped tarragon

1 whole lemon zested & sliced into ¼” slices

1 onion cut into small wedges

As needed kosher salt& freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Cut top 1/8-1/4 inch from whole head of garlic.  Place garlic cut side up in the middle of a 12” square piece of aluminum foil shiny side in.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper and gather edges of foil and seal to create a loose pouch.  Place pouch on small cookie sheet and roast for 45 minutes and allow to cool in foil to room temperature reserving oil.  When cool simply squeeze bottom of garlic to remove roasted cloves from the skin into a small bowl.  Using a fork mash garlic cloves to make a paste, then combine with softened butter, lemon zest, and chopped herbs and season to taste with salt & pepper and reserve.

Remove backbone from whole chicken with kitchen shears by cutting down each side of the bone; reserve for soup or stock.   Place bird on cutting board breast side down and press down and out on each side to flatten creating a butterflied (Spatchcock) chicken.  Gently separate skin from the breast and thighs being careful to not rip or tear the skin.  Divide the garlic & herb butter under the skin and distribute evenly, and season the bottom (inside) of chicken with salt & pepper.  Place sliced lemons & onion wedges on a cookie sheet large enough to accommodate the butterflied chicken.   Place the bird breast side up on top of onions & lemons ensuring that wings are tucked in and legs & thighs are flat, brush lightly with reserved oil from roasted garlic and season with salt & pepper also.  Place in middle of oven and roast at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, and then reduce heat to 375 degrees cooking an additional 25 minutes.   Chicken is cooked when internal temperature reads 165 degrees on a meat thermometer placed into the thigh near the hip.  Allow to rest in a warm place for approximately 8-10 minutes before carving.

Serve immediately with favorite sides and sauce.