This chicken took a circuitous route into my kitchen. I don’t cook a lot of meat at home, to spare the vegan and because I’ve always been comfortable with a mostly vegetarian diet. So, when this dish came up in the rotation for Cook the Book Fridays, I decided to hand off the cooking to my parents. They have some beautiful chickens in their freezer that they got from a friend’s farm. This recipe adapts perfectly to the barbecue, which they’ve already got fired up for the summer season. I thought I’d send my mother home with the harissa paste in my freezer and enjoy this dish vicariously through their photos and descriptions.
But things didn’t go as planned. First, I completely forgot about the harissa paste, so my mother settled on sambal oelek instead. My brother spatchcocked the chicken for her and she put together the marinade, bagged the chicken, and refrigerated it.
And then she remembered she was going away to a conference, so she brought the chicken over to me. It needed another day in the refrigerator, which brings us to today. I put it into my Dutch oven, weighed it down with some Corningware, and cooked it on the stovetop. I lost some of the skin, but it worked rather well. Then, I transferred it to the oven, where it took about half an hour to finish. I was happy with how it turned out in the Dutch oven, but I think I’ve got to invest in a larger cast iron frying pan. I think it would have been easier to work with and the chicken wouldn’t have taken quite so long to finish.
The results were tender and juicy, a little spicy, and very flavourful. I only had a taste tonight, but I’m looking forward to having some more tomorrow, with coleslaw and roasted potatoes. The rest is going into the freezer, so that it can travel back to my parents’ house. It wouldn’t be right to exclude them from enjoying this chicken, would it?
I’ve titled this post Poulet Crapaudine, which is French for spatchcocked chicken, but David Lebovitz calls it Chicken Lady Chicken, in honour of the woman who inspired the recipe. I hope if you try this dish, your chicken doesn’t have to commute quite as much as mine did.
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One Wet Foot 
I had a good laugh with this one! It definitely had a commute! This was an awesome recipe andI love how you kept some for your parents!
I purchased a too large chicken (didn’t notice David said 3 lbs) so after we spatchcocked it
I cut it in half. Saved the rest for another time. It was good, tender and juicy and delicious.
Yours looks beautiful.
Agree that I needed a bigger cast iron frying pan (though my chicken was not that big…). This was not as easy as the recipe made it look, for sure!
LOL I was wondering what you meant by the miles it traveled. Quite the commute for a chicken, but it’s delicious and I agree that your parents should get a taste. 🙂
My chicken didn’t commute at all and I actually thought there were too many steps from buying it to getting it to the table. But, I did get a chuckle out of your post today. The best laid plans, huh? I also thought this was delicious but since you and I didn’t have a grill (like your Mom and Dad), I thought this entire recipe was a little unwieldy. Of course my chicken like yours and Nana’s was larger than David suggested. To be honest, I like the rotisserie chickens I occasionally buy. When I roast chickens myself, I have far easier recipes than David’s. Feeling a little disloyal to David right now. Happy Vancouver Summer to you, Teresa.
Your chicken did put in a lot of miles. I cook meat infrequently because I follow a plant-based diet. It shocked my husband when I made this chicken. I debated for a while whether I should cook this or not. I admire your dedication to this cooking adventure, despite all the troubles you had to go through.
Your chicken’s travels made me smile. I love that the whole family pitched in. I wonder what the trick is so the chicken skin won’t stick. The marinade was delicious.
You made me giggle with your “travelling chicken”. I agree with you, this chicken is so delicious. This is one chicken dish that I will be making again!
That first picture is to die for! Sounds like your chicken crossed the road a couple more times (after being plucked!). Like you, I used my Corningware and it was in the oven for 30 mins.. all in all… it was pretty good!
I love the journey this little chicken took and how nice to share with your parents, I bet they were happy to have such a tasty dish!
I primarily use my cast iron pan for roasting chickens. It is well worth the investment. Your chicken did travel a bit! Nice that you are sharing it with your parents. Glad you liked it!