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Roasted Butterflied Chicken with Tarragon-Mustard Pan Sauce

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on September 12, 2011

Time

1¼ hours

Yield

Serves 4

Roasted Butterflied Chicken with Tarragon-Mustard Pan Sauce

Ingredients

2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon 1 medium clove garlic, mincedSalt and ground black pepper 1 whole chicken (3 pounds), butterflied according to illustrations 1 to 51 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Before You Begin

Roasting the chicken in an oven-proof sauté pan makes it easier to make a stove-top sauce right in the cooking pan. If you don't have an oven-proof sauté pan, you can substitute a roasting pan, using two burners to make the sauce.

Instructions

  1. Mix tarragon, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Following illustrations 6 and 7, loosen the skin on each leg and thigh; rub the herb mixture under the skin. Loosen the breast skin; rub the remaining herb mixture under the skin. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Transfer chicken to a large oven-proof saute pan, skin side up; rub with oil and lightly season chicken with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature while oven heats.
  2. Roast chicken until skin is nicely browned and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees, about 30 minutes. Transfer to plate, tent with foil, and allow to rest while making sauce.
  3. Spoon off all fat from sauté pan. Place pan on burner set at medium-high heat. Add broth and simmer until reduced by half, scraping up drippings that have stuck to bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in mustard, then butter. Carve chicken following illustrations 8 and 9, serve with pan sauce.
Roasted Butterflied Chicken with Tarragon-Mustard Pan Sauce

Roasted Butterflied Chicken with Tarragon-Mustard Pan Sauce

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

1¼ hours

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
1 medium clove garlic, minced
Salt and ground black pepper
1 whole chicken (3 pounds), butterflied according to illustrations 1 to 5
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
1 medium clove garlic, minced
Salt and ground black pepper
1 whole chicken (3 pounds), butterflied according to illustrations 1 to 5
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
1 medium clove garlic, minced
Salt and ground black pepper
1 whole chicken (3 pounds), butterflied according to illustrations 1 to 5
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

A butterflied chicken cooks faster and more evenly than a traditional whole bird. We wanted to work out some kinks in our butterflied chicken recipe so it would be perfect as well as quick. For our butterflied chicken recipe we preferred splitting the chicken at the back rather than the breast. Tucking the legs under made for a better presentation of our butterflied chicken recipe. We thought pounding the chicken might decrease the cooking time, but it made no noticeable difference. However, it was easier to weight a chicken that had been pounded to a uniform thickness.

Before You Begin

Roasting the chicken in an oven-proof sauté pan makes it easier to make a stove-top sauce right in the cooking pan. If you don't have an oven-proof sauté pan, you can substitute a roasting pan, using two burners to make the sauce.

Instructions

  1. Mix tarragon, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Following illustrations 6 and 7, loosen the skin on each leg and thigh; rub the herb mixture under the skin. Loosen the breast skin; rub the remaining herb mixture under the skin. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Transfer chicken to a large oven-proof saute pan, skin side up; rub with oil and lightly season chicken with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature while oven heats.
  2. Roast chicken until skin is nicely browned and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees, about 30 minutes. Transfer to plate, tent with foil, and allow to rest while making sauce.
  3. Spoon off all fat from sauté pan. Place pan on burner set at medium-high heat. Add broth and simmer until reduced by half, scraping up drippings that have stuck to bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in mustard, then butter. Carve chicken following illustrations 8 and 9, serve with pan sauce.

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