The pros: Â Trader Joe's Spatchcocked Lemon Rosemary Chicken has a tasty finished product if you can put in the time. It's a timesaver if you forget to take care of things the night before.
The cons: Â You are actually expected to cook this. If you need dinner quickly, skip over this. This product needs an hour in the oven.
The verdict: Â For $14.36 for the one I picked up or $3.99 per pound, what you are getting here is a chicken that has a name that will make a middle school kid chuckle. It may even make you chuckle just a little bit. Yes, I teach middle school and my level of humor sophistication has gone from Masters degree to 8th grade. Goofy name aside, it actually means that the backbone has been removed and it's flattened as a result. This ensures even cooking, reduces cooking time overall, and really is the same as "butterflying."
Low brow humor aside, you get a thoroughly marinated chicken that all you need to do is pre-heat your oven and find a dish large enough to hold this bird. Mine was just over three pounds so it won't take a large pan to do the job. The directions should have given clarification as to what to do with the extra marinade, chicken liquid that came out of the bag. I poured everything out thinking it was all the yellowish marinade and realized it was quite pink. I poured out the excess and baked it which seems to be the right thing to do.
After spending an hour in the oven mine was at its proper safe temperature. I took it out and let it rest for about 10 minutes before cutting into it. I started with the wings as that is the piece that can suffer from the most dryness. It was moist, tender, and all the herbs and flavorings here were very much part of the taste of this bird. The skin was not as crisp as some might like. That can be addressed by taking a paper towel and removing excess moisture before baking.
It was like having Sunday night dinner without much effort. You'll get the flavors of lemon, lime and orange here. In addition the herb combination compliments chicken well: garlic, rosemary, and parsley. Surprisingly, the parsley didn't burn in the oven and the lemon slices weren't overly charred. It was a nice tender chicken that could feed at least two people for dinner. A nice selection the refrigerated aisle. I'd buy this again.
Here is what you can visually expect if you purchase this item:
The package in the refrigerated section with the other marinated meats:
The nutritional information:
The ingredients:
How to prepare:
Out of the package you get chicken halves that are still connected but evenly spaced to ensure even cooking:
Now, I thought it was all marinade that was going to come out of the bag. I went back to the directions to figure out what to do with the very pick hued chicken juice. It just says remove the chicken, so I poured out the "pink liquid chicken juice brine."
After baking for 60 minutes:
Would I buy this again? This is a yes for me. Now the ultimate convenience chicken will always be the rotisserie chicken, especially from Costco or BJs, but if you want Sunday night dinner flavor, this is a solid option.
Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe’s for a searchable list.
Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
Sophia says
Hi! You should lay the chicken flat next time, breast side up. The chicken is spatchcocked so it can cook quickly resulting in a moist bird. Also the butterfly exposes more skin- more crisp meat!
becomebetty says
Sophia, I'm not sure why you think the chicken isn't flat. The spine in a spatchcocked chicken is removed and from the pictures it's breast side up. If it were reversed then the skin would have been soggy. It cooked quickly for a roast.
Joanna Patterson says
We tried it, and it was absolutely horrible. We only ate about half of it, threw the rest in the garbage.
becomebetty says
What didn't you like about it?
Murphy's Mom says
Yes, please tell why you didn't like this! Was it dry or was it the brine seasonings?
Jillybean says
I agree with Sophia. Look up photos of uncooked and cooked spatchcocked chicken on the internet to see how it should be arranged to lay flat. Martha Stewart has a good example. The legs and wings should not be tucked into the body of the chicken. The point of spatchcocking is to allow the chicken to lay flat so all the parts cook evenly and to reduce the cooking time. It also makes it easier to cook evenly on a grill (no rotisserie needed).
Thank you for your review of TJ's Spatchcocked chicken. I bought one today and will try it tomorrow. I am going to check the internal temperature earlier than 1 hour based on your experience of one hour cooking time with all the parts tucked together. I expect I will need less cooking time when the chicken lays flat.
Tom says
I so wanted to love this. But 2 out of the 3 times I've made this, parts of the chicken were just mush. I even returned one, thinking it had spoiled. Now after having the same problem with a second, I wonder if it simply was over-marinated. That lemon juice sort of "cooks" the meat the longer it stays in contact, and I think that's why it becomes mushy and very unappealing.
becomebetty says
Hey Tom,
Thanks for sharing this. I know in lemon juice does cook the food, but thats a bummer that two out of three times it's been bad. I do appreciate you sharing this feedback.
Gail says
I have made this several times - i put the pink juice in the pan - I have used a glass pyrex baking dish and a calphalon roaster - it turns out better in the pyrex dish and it was always excellent - i kinda got burned out on it - but bought one a couple of weeks ago and loved it again. I also toss in a few potatoes and some carrots or onions sometimes.
becomebetty says
Hey Gail! I'm glad you mentioned this. I wasn't sure what to do about the juice. I wasn't sure if it was a keeper or it needed to be drained. Thanks for doing some experimenting and letting me know! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your insight.
Elle says
I LOVE this chicken- no doubt it can be a little labor intensive in cooking, but it’s worth it... last time I tin foil tented so I could continue to cook it longer- you CANT rush cooking it! Lol it’s thick center needs time but ohhhhh what a great chicken!
becomebetty says
Hey Elle! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on this. Thanks for adding about the tin foil tent!
Chanra says
I bought it over the weekend and then I was searching online to read some reviews and came to your page. I was worried we may not like it from previous comments about it being horrible. We cooked it last night and I left all the juices in the pan and cooked for 1 hour. I then broiled it on high for a few mins so that some parts of the skin can brown some more. It was SO juicy, SO tender and the flavors were amazing!!!!!! We loved it and will def. buy again. Paired well with sauteed asparagus and mac n cheese. We ate the entire thing. Next time I'll pour a little bit of the juice out because it was a lot of juice once it was all cooked but def. keep some in while cooking.
becomebetty says
Hey Chanra! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on this. I've gotten this a few times and I really like it. It's really a low effort dinner. Thanks for sharing what you paired it with.
Christine says
I make spatchcock chicken all the time. It's one of the quickest ways to cook a chicken. I thought I'd like this more than I did. I found it mushy and weird in parts. It almost had a Boston Market chicken flavor. Mine is so much better. I also put the lemon slices inside the skin like I do for my own recipe.
becomebetty says
Hey Christine! Homemade is always best, and this is still chicken that sits in a bag for a bit, which when marinaded isn't always the best for texture. Yours sounds awesome and I probably should do a post about how to spatchcock a chicken at some point. Thanks so very much for sharing how you do it and for taking the time out of your day!
Cindy says
Hi. I love Trader Joe’s and try at least one new thing each time I go there. Tonight it was the splatchcock lemon rosemary chicken. I also poured some of the pink juices out before cooking and also added some pepper and garlic powder because it did not smell garlicky enough for me. I wanted to cook it on the outdoor grill but the weather turned nasty so I cooked it in the oven. The chicken was flavorful, moist and juicy. I would have liked the skin a little crisper so next time I will broil a few minutes or try cooking it on the grill. All in all, it was an easy and enjoyable meal. I also thought about adding some onions, cut-up potatoes and carrots to cook in the juice next time.
becomebetty says
Hey Cindy! Thanks so much for sharing how you prepared this. Your dinner sounds delicious. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to stop by and share!