Live the Live ™

I’m always goofing around with different spice blends, especially with chicken, because I probably cook it more than any other meat. Very often, I’ll just change up the blend depending on my mood, or what I first see when I open up the spice cabinet.

This was one of those days. But it came out great!

This time, I used a whole bird, and I spatchcocked it before seasoning and cooking. Spatchcocking is the process of cutting down both sides of the backbone of the chicken, so you can lay it flat in the pan. This way, the bird cooks more evenly. (Always save the backbone for future chicken stock.)

In many cases, before I season a piece of meat, I rub it with oil to help the seasonings stick. This time, I tried something a little unusual: I rubbed it all over with maple syrup! Then I seasoned both sides of the bird well.

1/4 cup brown sugar.
1/4 cup sweet paprika
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated onion
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon mustard powder

Maple syrup

Combine all the ingredients, except the maple syrup, in a bowl.

Spatchcock the chicken. Spread it out flat in a pan.

Rub the chicken all over with the maple syrup.

Rub all sides of the chicken with the spices and put it back in the fridge until one hour before cooking.

One hour before cooking, remove the chicken from the fridge and season again, if you think it needs it. Preheat the oven to 325° and bake until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°.