Pros and cons of butterflying a chicken versus leaving it whole for roasting? AskCulinary

I'm making roast chicken and potatoes (recipe below).

I'm thinking of butterflying the chicken instead of leaving it whole. What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? How should I adjust the cooking time if I do end up butterflying it? (I know it will take less time, but how much less?) Anything else I should do differently?

Also, would this recipe work if I used only bone-in breasts instead of a whole chicken? I'm worried specifically that there wouldn't be enough fat rendered out, and therefore the potatoes wouldn't be as schmaltz-ilicious as they are when I make this with a whole chicken. But I'm also worried that I won't have enough white meat to go around if I just use a whole chicken.

Thank you.

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ROAST CHICKEN AND POTATOES

1(3 to 4 pound) chicken, rinsed and patted dry

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme

1 clove garlic, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 pounds red potatoes

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Remove chicken from refrigerator, wash and throroughly dry it, and let it rest for 30-60 minutes while doing other prep. Also remove butter so it will come to room temp.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Tie the chicken legs together. Mix together the butter with the rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Rub the chicken all over with 3 tablespoons of the herbed butter. Slide some of the butter underneath the breast skin.

In a small roasting pan, pour in the white wine and place the chicken breast side down. Roast for 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, season the potatoes with salt, and pepper and drizzle with oil to coat.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Remove the chicken to a plate turning it breast-side up. Brush the rest of the herbed butter on top of the chicken. Add the potatoes to the bottom of the pan and place the chicken on top.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F, and return the chicken to the oven to finish roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the inner thigh, not touching the bone, reaches 160 degrees F, about 1 hour more. Once done, remove the chicken to a carving board and let rest 10 minutes before carving. Remove the potatoes to a serving bowl.

Return the roasting pan to the stovetop over high heat. Deglaze the pan with the lemon juice, scraping up the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

To serve: Place slices of chicken on plate with potatoes and drizzle the pan sauce over both.

Submitted December 21, 2016 at 04:21AM by birdprom http://ift.tt/2hFbw4p AskCulinary