A spatchcocked chicken is covered in a simple rub of cumin and chili powder and roasted at a high temperature for a simple, quick, and delicious dish.
Part of me feels bad for even posting this as a recipe because it’s so simple, but it’s also SO GOOD. “Chili powder cumin roasted chicken recipe” pretty much sums up all you need to know about this recipe, but, of course, I’ll be sure to include the specifics too. 
The first thing you need to know is that this chicken has been spatchcocked. What that means is that the backbone has been removed so that you can flatten the chicken out. (I also use this technique for my skillet-roasted lemon chicken recipe.) The benefits of this technique are that the chicken cooks in a shorter amount of time than if it was left whole and it also cooks more evenly, resulting in a beautifully juicy chicken.
Cumin and Chili Roasted Chicken
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- One 3– to 4-pound chicken
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450?F.
- To spatchcock the chicken, cut along both sides of the backbone with a pair of kitchen shears. Lay on a cutting board breast side-up and press on the breastbone with the palm of your hand to flatten. (You can reserve the backbone for stock. Or, you can just roast it along with the chicken to nibble on as a snack.)
- Mix together the chili powder, cumin, and salt and rub all over the chicken. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and put in the oven on a middle rack. Roast the chicken until browned and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers at least 155?F to 160?F, about 45 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the chicken into pieces and serve hot with the pan juices.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Main
