This oven roasted spatchcock chicken has crispy seasoned skin and juicy meat, then gets finished with a tangy Alabama white barbecue sauce and served with roasted sweet potatoes and a simple cabbage slaw.

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Spatchcock Chicken with Alabama White BBQ Sauce

If you’ve never spatchcocked a chicken before, it might sound like one of those cooking techniques that’s more complicated than it’s worth. But once you’ve done it, it’s actually incredibly simple and one of my favorite ways to cook a whole chicken.

Removing the backbone allows the chicken to lay flat, which means it cooks faster and more evenly than roasting it whole. You get more crispy skin, and it’s also much easier to carve once it’s finished.

For this version, I season the chicken with smoked paprika, garlic, onion, and plenty of black pepper. Then I roast it alongside sweet potatoes and make a tangy Alabama white barbecue sauce that does double duty as both the sauce for the chicken and the dressing for a simple cabbage slaw.

It’s a really good full dinner that mostly comes together on a sheet pan.

Main Ingredients & Swaps

Whole chicken: Any standard whole roasting chicken works here. Spatchcocking it helps the breasts and dark meat cook more evenly.
Yellow mustard: The mustard acts as a binder for the spices and adds another layer of flavor. Mixing it with olive oil makes it much easier to spread evenly over the chicken.
Smoked paprika: This gives the skin a beautiful color and adds a little smoky flavor without a smoker or grill.
Garlic and onion powder: These keep the seasoning mixture simple while adding plenty of savory flavor.
Mayonnaise: This is the creamy base for the Alabama white barbecue sauce. I use my homemade mayonnaise, but your favorite store bought mayo works too.
Apple cider vinegar: Alabama white sauce should have plenty of tang. Start with the recipe amount and add another splash if you want it even sharper.
Sweet potatoes: These can roast right alongside the chicken, making the whole dinner easier.
Cabbage: I use a combination of green and red cabbage for the slaw. The Alabama white sauce doubles as the dressing, so there’s no need to make a separate one.

How I Spatchcock a Chicken

Place the chicken breast side down on a large cutting board. Using sturdy kitchen shears, cut along one side of the backbone and then the other until you can completely remove it.

I also remove the wing tips and save everything in a freezer bag. Once I have enough chicken scraps and bones saved, I use them to make homemade chicken stock.

Flip the chicken over so the breast is facing up and press firmly on the breastbone until the chicken lays relatively flat.

At this point, I season the chicken generously with kosher salt.

If I’m thinking ahead, my favorite method is to do this the day before and leave the salted chicken uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator overnight. This gives the salt plenty of time to season the meat and helps dry out the skin.

If you’re making it the same day, let the salted chicken sit for at least 30 minutes before roasting.

Seasoning the Chicken

For the seasoning, I combine smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper.

I spread Dijon mustard mixed with olive oil over the skin before adding the spices. The olive oil is important here because it helps turn the mustard into a smoother coating that’s easier to spread over the chicken.Then I rub the seasoning mixture all over the top.

The chicken roasts at 425°F (220°C) for about 45 minutes until a meat thermometer reads at least 155. Carry over cooking should get you to 165 while the chicken rests.

Keep an eye on the skin toward the end. The spices can get dark at this temperature, so if they’re browning too quickly, loosely cover the chicken with foil for the last 10 minutes or so.

Alabama White BBQ Sauce

If you’ve never had Alabama white barbecue sauce, it’s very different from the tomato based barbecue sauces you might be used to.

It starts with mayonnaise and gets a generous amount of apple cider vinegar, along with lemon juice, garlic, black pepper, cayenne, salt, and just a little sugar.

The result is creamy, tangy, peppery, and especially good with roasted chicken.

I start with 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, but you can add a little more depending on how tangy you like your sauce.And one of my favorite things about this meal is that the sauce isn’t just for the chicken. I use it to dress the cabbage slaw too.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

The sweet potatoes are really simple because the chicken and sauce already bring plenty of flavor. I halve them and coat the pan with a little coconut oil, then season the potatoes with salt. Start roasting them cut side up. After about 15 minutes, flip them so the cut side is against the pan and let them continue roasting until they’re tender with a deeply caramelized bottom.

They can roast right alongside the chicken, which makes this whole meal much easier.

Simple Cabbage Slaw

For the slaw, I thinly slice both green and red cabbage. A mandoline makes this really quick. Then I toss the cabbage with some of the Alabama white barbecue sauce. Taste it and add another splash of apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt if it needs it.

That’s it. You get something fresh and crunchy to balance the roasted chicken and sweet potatoes without having to make another dressing.

Carving the Chicken

Give the chicken plenty of time to rest before carving.

I start by removing the leg and thigh sections, then remove the breasts and slice them. You can also separate the drumsticks from the thighs before serving.

And don’t throw those bones away! I add them to the same freezer bag as the backbone and wing tips to use for chicken stock later.

Arrange everything on a platter and spoon plenty of Alabama white barbecue sauce over the chicken before serving.

Tips & Storage

Salt the chicken ahead of time if you can. Leaving it uncovered in the refrigerator overnight helps season the meat while drying the skin for better browning.
Mix the mustard with the olive oil before rubbing it onto the chicken. It creates a much smoother coating.
Watch the spices during the last part of roasting. If they’re getting too dark, loosely cover the chicken with foil.
Save the backbone, wing tips, and leftover bones for homemade chicken stock.
Store leftover chicken and Alabama white sauce separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator. The leftover chicken is also great cold or chopped up for salads and sandwiches.

Watch Me Make It

You can watch me spatchcock, season, roast, and carve the entire chicken in my full week of meals video on YouTube. I also show how I make the Alabama white barbecue sauce, cabbage slaw, and roasted sweet potatoes to turn it into a complete dinner.