This Spice-Rubbed Roast Chicken Is One Of Our Favorite Healthy Chicken Recipes

Spice-Rubbed Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder or granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (3½- to 4‑pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, measured separately
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice, squeezed from 1 lemon

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. In small bowl, use spoon to stir together chili powder, oregano, salt, garlic powder, and pepper.
2. Transfer chicken, breast side down, to 12‑inch ovensafe skillet. Use paper towels to pat chicken dry on all sides. Use your hands to rub exposed side with 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with half of spice mixture.
3. Flip chicken breast side up. Rub exposed side with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with remaining spice mixture. Wash your hands.
4. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until breast registers 160 degrees and drumsticks and thighs register 175 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 50 minutes to 1 hour. (As you temp, make sure to keep the thermometer away from any bones—they can give you inaccurate readings.)
   1. To temp breast: Insert instant-read thermometer into thickest part of chicken breast, holding it parallel to bird, avoiding bone. Breast should register 160 degrees.
   2. To temp thigh: Insert instant-read thermometer at angle into area between drumstick and breast, avoiding bone. Thigh should register 175 degrees.
5. Use oven mitts to remove skillet from oven and place on cooling rack. Place oven mitt on skillet handle as reminder that handle is HOT. Insert wooden spoon into chicken cavity, hold outside of chicken with tongs, and transfer chicken to carving board. Let chicken rest for 20 minutes. (Do not discard drippings in pan.)
6. While chicken rests, in second small bowl, use clean spoon to stir water and cornstarch until dissolved.
7. Holding skillet handle with oven mitt, add cornstarch mixture to drippings in skillet and place over medium-high heat. Whisk to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Cook until mixture is boiling and slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and slide skillet to cool burner. Whisk in lemon juice.
8. Use chef’s knife to carve chicken, following photos, below. Serve, passing sauce separately.

Cut chicken where leg meets breast, holding knife close to leg quarter to keep plenty of skin covering breast. Pull leg quarter away from breast while pushing up on joint. Cut through joint and skin to remove leg quarter.

Place leg quarter skin side down on carving board. Cut through joint that connects drumstick to thigh. Repeat steps 1 and 2 on second leg quarter.

With cavity facing away from you, locate breastbone. Starting at cavity end of breast, cut just off center of breastbone. Working from cavity end to neck end and using breastbone as guide, cut straight down along breastbone until you reach rib cage.

Insert your thumb into cut. Gently pull back breast to expose rib cage. Working from cavity end to neck end, cut breast from rib cage. As you cut, angle knife to follow curve of rib cage.

Continue to cut until you reach wing joint. Gently pull breast away from rib cage while pushing up on wing joint from underneath. Cut through wing joint to remove breast and wing.

Placing knife as close to wing bone as possible, cut wing from breast by slicing through skin and connective tissue. Slice breast crosswise (the short way). Repeat steps 3 through 6 on second breast.