Lemon Garlic Chicken with Anchovy Sauce

This is a New York Times recipe slightly tweaked. The NYT uses just chicken thighs to make this delicious chicken dish. I used a whole chicken, which I spatchcocked. I also changed up the sauce a bit by adding more lemon juice and zest, and a little butter.

Chefs have differing opinions on the benefits of spatchcocking. The theory is by removing the backbone, the bird can lie flat for more even cooking. It is also believed that spatchcocking speeds up the cook-time. The term “spatchcock” has Irish origins and has been used in cookbooks since the 18th century.

These photos are from a previous blog as I use this technique often, but this time forgot to take photos. My hen also had a broken back so the spine was a little crooked making the first cut somewhat off. To spatchcock the chicken, lay your bird breast-side down, insert your sharpest knife (or if you have very sharp kitchen shears they will work, too) along both sides of the spine and cut through skin and bone along the spine to remove it completely. Remove the wing tips and toss both the spine and wing tips in a freezer bag to make a rich chicken stock, or as they like to say today…bone broth!

Instead of roasting the spatchcocked bird flat, I reassembled it into shape. I had not done this before, but the bird cooked evenly and beautifully. There goes that theory!

What made this bird so special is the sauce. Lots of garlic, anchovies, capers and lemon combine to create a rich, deeply flavorful sauce. A fat tablespoon of butter also riches up the sauce nicely. Anchovies may sound unlikely, but when cooked down they do not taste at all fishy, but do add a very robust depth of flavor.

This is a 5 3/4 lb. bird so I doubled the amount of sauce from the NYT recipe, which calls for 4 to 5 thighs.

Once you have removed the spine and wing tips generously salt and pepper both sides of the bird. Zest 1/2 of the lemon on the underside of the bird. Flip and zest the top of the bird with the other half of lemon. Set aside to rest while you make the sauce. Always cook meat at room temp, not directly from the fridge.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mince 12 cloves of garlic. Set aside 2 of the cloves for later. In a large Dutch oven or heavy skillet heat 1/2 cup olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the 10 remaining cloves of minced garlic, a whole 2 oz. can of drained  anchovies, 4 Tbsp. drained capers, juice from 1/2 lemon, and chili flake. I used New Mexican chili, but whatever chili you prefer will work. Toss the lemon pieces into the sauce after they have been zested and juiced. Finally add a tablespoon of butter, which rounds out the sauce and deepens the flavors.  Cook, stirring with a rubber spatula to break up the anchovies until the garlic just starts to brown around the edges and the anchovies dissolve; about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.

Generously spoon the sauce over the underside of the chicken. Flip the bird and either lay flat (the traditional method) or set the bird upright and sauce generously. You can’t tell from this photo, but push the lemon pieces under the bird and between the carcass and wings.

Roast for 30 minutes at the high heat-400 degrees. Reduce heat to 325 degrees. Baste the bird and continue roasting for another 45 to 50 minutes or until the legs reach 155 degrees. USDA recommends cooking to an internal temp of 165 degrees, but if the legs are at 155 the rest of the bird will be cooked perfectly. Plus it does continue cooking even after removing from the oven.

Brush the capers and any garlic pieces off the top of the bird and broil for 5 minutes more to brown and crisp the skin. Baste again. Remove the bird from the oven, place on a tray and tent with aluminum foil while you finish the sauce.

While the bird is resting, bring the sauce, in the same pan you roasted the chicken, to a gentle boil, add 1 more Tbsp. butter and the juice of 1/2 lemon and the remaining 2 cloves of minced garlic. Stir to loosen any pan drippings or pieces of chicken and cook for about 5 minutes.

Strain the sauce and pour generously over the chicken to serve.

My husband, Jerry and I, always go for the legs first. We are dark-meat people! But the breast on this chicken was moist and equally delicious!

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5 from 1 vote

Lemon Garlic Chicken with Anchovy Sauce

This recipe is all about the sauce. Use whatever cuts of chicken you prefer, or as I did, roast the whole bird! The sauce elevates a humble chicken to an elegant and sublime dish.

Ingredients

• 1 whole Chicken, I used a 5 3/4 lb. bird
• 2 tsp. coarse Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 12 cloves Garlic, minced; set 2 minced cloves aside for later use
• 1/2 cup Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 2 oz. can Anchovies, drained
• 4 Tbsp. Capers, drained
• 1 Lemon, divided in half. You will use both the zest and juice.
• 1 tsp. New Mexican chili powder Or chili of your choice, but the flavor and heat level does make a difference.

Instructions

• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Spatchcock the chicken. Remove wing tips. Save the spine and tips for chicken broth.
• Generously salt and pepper the bird. Zest 1/2 of a lemon on the underside. Flip the bird and zest the other half on the top of the chicken. Set aside while you make the sauce.
• Mince two cloves of garlic and set aside for a later use. Mince the additional 10 cloves of garlic.
• Over medium-high, gently heat 1/2 cup olive oil. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add 10 cloves of minced garlic, the can of drained anchovies, drained capers, chili, 1/2 of a juiced lemon, and 1 Tbsp. of butter. Let cook, stirring to break up the anchovies, until the garlic just begins to brown around the edges; 3 to 5 minutes. Do not overcook the garlic as it can become bitter. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
• Spoon a generous amount of sauce on the underside of the bird and place in the same pan you made the sauce in. Spoon the rest of the sauce over the top of the bird. Tuck the lemon pieces under the bird and between the carcass and wings.
• Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees. Baste the bird with sauce and pan juices and continue cooking for another 45 to 50 minutes until the internal temp on the thickest part of the bird measures 155 degrees.
• Once it reaches temp, brush the capers and any garlic pieces off the top of the bird and broil for 5 minutes to crisp up the skin. Remove the chicken to a platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil.
• To finish the sauce, once the bird is removed, re-heat the sauce with all pan drippings until it is bubbling. Add 1 more Tbsp. of butter, the juice of 1/2 lemon, and the remaining 2 Tbsp. of minced garlic. Stir to pull up any pan drippings. Strain the sauce and serve over the chicken.