Thai Red Curry Roast Chicken is roasted Spatchcock Style, meaning the backbone is removed and it is butterflied.

Being fearless Is a feat that does not naturally come easily to me. At my core, I harbor a much more introverted personality than the flashes of an extrovert that come to the forefront in certain situations. As a performer, it was always an intense struggle to overcome the crippling fear as I developed my craft in the classical world. Coupled with a finely tuned sense of reading people’s thoughts and impressions, it was a constant uphill battle in maintaining the belief in the things I could offer in a world with very, very, accomplished and talented musicians. For the most part, theatre and music in tandem with working jobs that relied on my personality to be successful, I learned to adapt the “fake it till you make it” mentality.

Losing a good part of my vision at the end of 2015 brought me back to the more timid, introverted parts of myself. All of a sudden, the simplest things that the average person would take for granted were much more challenging. Precisely squeezing the toothpaste onto my toothbrush. Putting a key into a lock. Pouring coffee into a cup. Applying makeup. Walking up stairs that had poor contrast. Learning how to use my phone again. As time seemingly crawled by that first year, I was able to stabilize the NMO attacks with medication and as a result, the inflammation/active attacks stopped. What was not permanently damaged in my optic nerves was able to recover what they could in the period of stability. Though I do not have fine detail in my “good” eye, I am able to approach everything from less of a fear perspective and more of a thankful perspective.

Using the Spatchcock Preparation for roasting chicken ensures the light and dark meat will come out tender and juicy...and cook evenly at the same time.

One of the reason I chose the name “The Intrepid Cookie” for this site is because Intrepid is another word for “Fearless”. As I gained confidence in my situation as my health stabilized, I made the conscious decision that I wanted to live my life fearlessly. Sometimes this means trying something new and failing spectacularly. At this point, I cannot sit and wonder if my preventative medication is going to fail me. If I come out of remission and relapse again, I will deal with what new challenges that brings if the damage is permanent. One of the most important things I have gathered from my situation is that if you live in constant fear, you live a very miserable life. I strive to be fearless in the things and experiences I attempt, and it has shaped my life for the better because of it.

Incredibly juicy and flavorful, this Thai Red Curry Roast Chicken mixes the flavors of a traditional curry with a chicken satay dipping sauce.

One of the things I wanted to be fearless about in the kitchen was conquering the big cuts of meat. Birds on the bone, if you will. I have successfully roasted Thanksgiving Turkeys before, but for whatever reason, I was not as inclined to approach the roasting of chickens with the same enthusiasm and zeal. I was afraid of the temperature not being properly correct in the thigh meat versus the breast meat, and I really detest overcooked poultry. It’s tough, dry, and tepid to chew, chew, chew until your jaw aches. Surprisingly, in all my years working in restaurants, I never had to roast whole birds, just different cuts of meat on the bone typically pan seared then finished in the oven.

So to conquer this fear of whole chickens, I wanted to try a completely new (to me) method of preparing the bird for roasting, which is called “Spatchcock”. Basically you are butterflying the chicken, taking out the backbone and breaking the breastbone to roast the bird completely flat on a pan, grill, etc. The idea is to have all the different types of meat cook evenly, so you end up with a juicy, flavorful piece of poultry no matter where you take the cut from. I did a lot of research on how to properly break down the bird, and then did a ton of research on high heat versus low heat while actually roasting the bird.

What I have come up with is a cross between.a Thai Red Curry Chicken and Chicken Peanut Satay appetizer for the flavor profile. First, you marinate the broken down bird overnight in the fridge, loosely covered with foil, just to make sure the Curry Marinade you’ve made penetrates well into the meat. Then, when you are ready to roast the chicken, you blast your oven to 500 F. Let the chicken rest for about a half hour out of the cold fridge air to help it cook more evenly. The high heat renders the extra fat out of the skin so it ends up nicely crisp. While the chicken is roasting, you make a quick Peanut Curry Glaze/Dipping Sauce that you brush onto the chicken during the last 10 to 15 minutes of roasting. Half of the Peanut Curry Sauce is used for the basting, the rest can be reserved to use as a dipping sauce for the finished chicken when served

Carving a chicken that has been prepared Spatchcock Style is incredibly easy, as the legs come off in one clean slice and it is simple to carve the rest of the breast meat.

This Thai Red Curry Roast Chicken is really pretty special. It fuses Thai influences with the traditional roast chicken, and the combination of umami from the two types of curry powder/pastes used, sharpness of the lime juice used, and slightly spicy nuttiness of the Peanut Curry Glaze is slightly exotic and completely delicious. The high heat of the oven makes the skin crisp up, and then brushing it with the Peanut Curry Glaze creates this delicious nutty crunch as you eat. The chicken itself is ridiculously juicy, but more importantly, not oily. Rotisserie Chickens from the grocery store are terrific, but the chicken always has a slightly oiled feeling as you eat, and this method of roasting chicken just creates pure juiciness, completely tender chicken. It is wonderful.

I served this Thai Red Curry Roast Chicken over mixed greens with sliced Cucumbers and Red Peppers, the Peanut Curry Dipping Sauce, and Limes, but I think it would be completely delicious with some Coconut Lime Rice and a Green Mango salad. The leftovers of the chicken stayed very juicy and tender, even when I repurposed them into a slightly untraditional Thai Red Curry. You could totally use this chicken upon some cold soba noodles and fresh veggies, or toss them into a wrap for a quick Asian inspired lunch that is handy to eat on the go. Be fearless in your approach to the sides and ways you serve this chicken! It is scrummy, so you cannot lose in whatever way you choose to eat it. :)

This Thai Red Curry Roast Chicken has a presentation as beautiful as the traditional whole roasted bird..

Thai Red Curry Roast Chicken

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: 6

Spatchcocking a chicken (or turkey) was very intimidating for me, as I had no idea what I was doing. I watched countless videos and found tutorials online, and found THIS one especially helpful. Make sure you have a pair of very strong, sharp poultry shears/kitchen scissors because that will help make the process much smoother. I am a weakling, and found it a little difficult to cut through the bone, but got it going after a little elbow grease was applied.

There are polar opposite opinions on the proper temperature needed to roast a Chicken. I turned to Serious Eats as a guideline for the temperature I chose, as Kenji has really honed down the science of cooking to an exact art and makes it very accessible for the home cook. My biggest qualm about using a traditional 350F for roasting the chicken was that I was afraid the skin would not crisp up enough while trying to retain the moisture in the meat, and I knew from my own experiments that even roasting big chicken breasts at 450F for 20 minutes or so yielded a very juicy result, so I felt fairly confident about roasting with high heat.

I should note that the 10 minute rest time after you cook the chicken (or any meat, really) to temperature is CRITICAL in allowing the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. If you do not let the meat rest and cut into it too soon, you essentially are letting all the juices run out onto the cutting board, which is a sad, sad thing. No one likes a tough chicken!

Ingredients

1 Four pound Whole Chicken
Limes, for serving
Curry Peanut Dipping Sauce, for serving

For the Curry Marinade:

2 Tbsp Flavorless Oil, such as Canola or Grapeseed
1 Tbsp Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Red Curry Paste
2 Tsp Ground Curry Powder
3/4 Tsp Granulated Garlic
1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp Ground Coriander
4 dashes Fish Sauce
3/4 Tsp Coarse Kosher Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper

For the Curry Peanut Glaze/Dipping Sauce:

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tsp Minced Garlic
1 Tsp Minced Fresh Ginger
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Chunky Peanut Butter (I used Adam’s Chunky Peanut Butter)
1/2 Cup Water
1 Tsp Honey
1 1/2 Tsp Sesame Oil
1 1/2 Tsp Red Curry Paste
2 to 2 1/2 Tsp Lime Juice
Sea Salt to taste

Directions

For the Chicken Curry Marinade:

Line a Baking Sheet with Aluminum Foil for easy cleanup. Place a wire cooling rack in the Baking Sheet to lay the flattened bird on - this allows he hot air to evenly circulate around the meat while roasting, which helps crisp the skin. Spray the wire rack with some Cooking Spray to help the chicken not stick while it roasts.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, Red Curry Paste, curry powder, garlic, ginger, onion powder, coriander, fish sauce, Kosher salt, and some cracked black pepper. Set aside while you prepare the chicken.
Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the innards, and with very sharp kitchen shears, cut the backbone out of the chicken in two neat lines. Discard backbone or reserve to make stock if you like.
Flip the bird over and break the breastbone so the bird lies flat. It will look like a flying squirrel, spread eagled and unrefined on the cutting board! With a sharp knife, gently poke holes into the meat all over to allow the marinade to really penetrate.
With your fingers, gently massage the marinade into the chicken skin and meat. Try and get it under the skin as well until it is thoroughly and evenly coating the entire bird.
Transfer the chicken onto the prepared baking tray. Arrange the bird so that it lays flat, carefully tucking the wings in. Sprinkle additional Kosher Salt on the skin and some fresh cracked black pepper as well.
Loosely cover with Aluminum Foil and marinate overnight.

To Roast the Chicken:

Remove marinated chicken from fridge and let warm up for about a half hour on the counter.
Remove top rack from the oven, and position the middle one in the upper top third of the oven. Preheat to 500 F.
Remove Aluminum Foil from the chicken and roast for 30 minutes. Brush the entire bird with half of the Peanut Curry Glaze and continue to cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, until the internal temperature of the breast meat is 160 F and the thigh meat is also 160 F. The chicken continues cooking once you remove it from the oven.
Loosely cover the chicken with Aluminum Foil and let rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving with the reserved Peanut Curry Dipping Sauce and Fresh Lime Slices.

To make the Peanut Curry Glaze/Dipping Sauce:

Over medium heat in a small skillet, heat the olive oil then sauté the garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 45 seconds to 1 minute.
Add the Soy Sauce Peanut Butter, water, honey, sesame oil, red curry paste, lime juice, and whisk together and reduce down for about 5-7 minutes. The peanut butter may break but keep stirring, it will come together.
Taste, and season with additional salt if needed.