Za’atar Roast Chicken
March 14, 2022 | By Jeremy Scheck | 4 Comments
Za'atar Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 spatchcocked chicken (you can ask the butcher at the grocery store to do it for you, or you can also use a normal whole chicken, but the cook time will change)
- Kosher salt
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 dates, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup full fat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons za'atar
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes)
- 1 lemon, halved
Instructions
- Season the chicken generously with kosher salt on all sides; set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the minced shallot, chopped dates, and crushed garlic. Use a pestle or a muddler to crush them together and mix. Then add the olive oil, greek yogurt, za'atar, paprika, aleppo pepper, and juice of HALF the lemon (save the other half).
- Brush the mixture all over the chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge overnight (preferred)
- If cooking immediately, add a cast iron pan to the oven and preheat the oven to 375° F. Place the chicken skin side down on the preheated pan. Cook 15 minutes before carefully flipping over with a tong. Cook another 30-40 minutes, until the skin is crispy and the internal temperature (in the thickest part of the thigh) reaches 165° F.
- If marinating overnight, allow to come to room temperature about 30 minutes before cooking. While waiting for it to coom to room temperature, preheat the oven and place a cast iron pan in it to heat up with the oven. When it is hot, place the chicken skin side down on the preheated pan. Cook 15 minutes before carefully flipping over with a tong. Cook another 30-40 minutes, until the skin is crispy and the internal temperature (in the thickest part of the thigh) reaches 165° F.
Jeremy Scheck spent high school perfecting his signature cupcakes, making quiches and coffee cake by the dozen at a local bakery, and teaching cooking demonstrations at Williams-Sonoma. As a 10th grader in 2016, he began documenting his favorite recipes on a blog called The After School Bakery. In college, Jeremy learned to make 50 gallons of ice cream in the food science lab, how to prune grape vines in the teaching vineyard, the best way to milk a cow in Northern Italy, and why film photography is an art worth saving. As a sophomore in 2020, he traded blog photos for video and became a TikTok culinary sensation. Jeremy has been featured on the Today show, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BBC Radio, People, and Access Hollywood, among others. Jeremy is a graduate of Cornell University with a double major in Spanish and Italian, and significant coursework in food science. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Jeremy.
great recipe! i used the seasonings on chicken tenders instead of a whole chicken and it turned out great. keeps chicken not boring
I saw the only comment was about chicken tenders. I’ve made this full bird tons of times it’s amazing. Sought out za’atar too and it’s great.
Always my go to recipe when it comes to roast chicken. Have made this recipe multiple times nw. Each time used the same ingredients and method and it is so good 🙂 I also add in vegetables and coat them with some of the spice marinade and add with the chicken.
Has anyone tried roasting this in a sheet pan? I don’t have a large-enough skillet. Also I was wondering how many dates in the recipe. It says “1” but that doesn’t make sense. Did he mean 1 package or was it supposed to be “10”?