This is a recipe for a whole tandoori chicken that is marinated in a yogurt tandoori masala, slow roasted in a home oven, broiled to get those crisped bits, and then smoked with charcoal for a tender, juicy, and flavorful dish.
A whole tandoori chicken is perfect for a large dinner party or to serve as the centerpiece Thanksgiving dinner. If you are looking for other Indian-inspired Thanksgiving dishes, check out this blog post that has a whole Thanksgiving menu.
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Tips for spatchcocking a chicken
Spatchcocking is a fancy word that describes the technique of flattening a chicken. This method helps the dark meat and the white meat cook evenly and thus results in a tender bird! Here are some tips when it comes to spatchcocking a chicken:
- Ask your butcher for help. If you are too intimidated to break down a chicken, just ask your grocery store butcher to spatchcock the chicken for you!
- Get a sharp set of kitchen shears. Kitchen shears are one of the easiest ways to take out the spine of the chicken. If you have really sharp shears it helps to cut on either side of the spine and remove it.
- Work near the sink and compost bin. Cutting a whole chicken can be quite messy so it is best if you can position yourself next to the sink so you can easily clean up and next to the compost bin so you can throw out any unnecessary parts of the chicken.
- Use your body weight to press down on the chicken breast. When breaking the breast bone of the chicken, use both of your hands as though you are preforming CPR and use your body weight to press and crack the rib cage underneath. You should hear and feel an audible crack.
Why it's important to dry brine AND marinate
This recipe seasons the chicken in two parts. The first part involves adding a dry spice rub of salt, garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder, and sugar to the chicken and letting it sit in the fridge uncovered for at least 2 hours. The dry brining process is important because it helps season the chicken within AND results in a tandoori chicken that is tender. The 30 minute marination process involves adding a yogurt-based tandoori masala to the exterior of the chicken. This marination is important to add delicious exterior flavor to the chicken.
How to get a flavorful crust
In order to get a flavorful crust, you should:
- Dry brine the chicken over night. An overnight brine helps the outer skin of the chicken dry so that the marinade can easily stick and roast on top of the chicken.
- Baste the chicken every 20 mins. Basting the chicken with ghee, butter, or oil really helps prevent the exterior marinade from drying out and adds enough fat to help the exterior get those charred bits.
- Broil the chicken at the end. I personally like to use a kitchen torch to help charbroil the chicken at the end. However, you can easily set the oven to the broil setting for 2-3 minutes to help get charred brown spots on the exterior of the chicken.
Using the dhungar method for smoking chicken
The dhungar method is a way of introducing a smoky flavor to South Asian dishes. For this method, we will heat a piece of charcoal until it's hot, place it in a small bowl, and pour ghee/oil on it to create smoke. You will trap the tandoori chicken and the charcoal smoke together in a tent until the chicken is infused with the smoky flavor.
Whole Oven Roasted Tandoori Chicken
Product Reccs
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs whole chicken
- 2 tablespoon ghee melted butter, or vegetable oil for basting and smoking chicken
- charcoal for adding an extra smoky finish at the end (Optional)
- cilantro-mint chutney as a dipping sauce, (Optional)
- lemon rice for serving (Optional)
Dry Rub
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Marinade
- 4 inch (25 g) ginger
- 10 (40 g) garlic cloves
- ¼ cup (5 g) fresh mint leaves
- 2 tablespoons Kashmiri chili powder
- 1.5 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried methi leaves
- ½ teaspoon asafetida
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Place 3-4 lbs whole chicken on a large cutting board with the breast side down.
- Spatchcocking the chicken - removing backbone: Take sharp kitchen shears and cut along the two sides of the backbone to remove it.
- Spatchcocking the chicken - flatten the chicken: Turn chicken over so it is breast side up. Use the palms of both hands, one over the other as though you are giving CPR, place them over the chicken breast, and press down with pressure and your body weight to break the chicken breast bones. The chicken breast will become flat as a result.
- Remove skin from the chicken and discard.
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Place the chicken on a wire rack over the sheet tray and arrange it with the breast side up and the wings and thighs to the side. The wire rack helps get air circulation around the entire bird.
- Dry brine the chicken: Mix all of the dry rub ingredients (1 tablespoon Kashmiri chili powder, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon sugar) together in a small bowl. Sprinkle and pat (not spread) the dry rub evenly all over (both sides) the exterior of the chicken and allow it to sit in the fridge uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. This process allows the chicken to be seasoned within and softens the tough chicken proteins.
- Make the marinade: Add all of the marinade ingredients (4 inch (25 g) ginger, ¼ cup (5 g) fresh mint leaves, ¼ cup (5 g) fresh mint leaves, 2 tablespoons Kashmiri chili powder, 1.5 teaspoons garam masala, 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1.5 teaspoons sea salt, 1 teaspoon dried methi leaves, ½ teaspoon asafetida, ½ teaspoon sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons lemon juice) into a small blender or food processor and blend until smooth. It is important that this mixture is fine and doesn’t contain large pieces of ginger or garlic.
- Rub the marinade all over the top (not the underside) of the chicken and let it rest for ~30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line the sheet tray that rests under the wire rack with aluminum foil. It is important to line the tray with aluminum foil so that when you bake the chicken, the drippings won’t leave a mess for you to clean up. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water to the sheet pan lying under the chicken. This helps prevent smoke as the drippings drop down.
- Transfer the chicken into the oven on the middle rack and cook for ~60 mins or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh reads 165F. Take the chicken out every 20 mins during the hour, brush the exterior with melted ghee or vegetable oil, and place back in the oven.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, turn the oven to the high broil setting and broil the chicken for ~2-5 minutes or until there are black charred marks on the top. It’s important to keep a close eye on the oven at this step and not walk away because the chicken can easily burn at this step. You can alternatively use a kitchen blow torch to broil the chicken. The torch method is my preferred method as you can really control where the chicken chars.
- (Optional) Remove the chicken from the oven. Create a large aluminum tent to cover the chicken. Take 1 piece of charcoal and place it directly on the stovetop using tongs. Allow the charcoal to light and burn a bright orange before transfering to a small heat safe bowl. Pour ~1 tablespoon of ghee or vegetable oil directly over the charcoal. Quickly and carefully place the smoking charcoal bowl in the aluminum foil tent with the chicken for 10-15 minutes. This will not only allow the chicken to cool down enough to carve it but also give it that delicious smoky taste!
- Carve the chicken as desired and serve with cilantro mint chutney and lemon rice as accompaniments.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can get a smoky flavor for tandoori chicken by broiling it at the end and using the dhungar method for a charcoal flavor.
You can dry brine the whole chicken up to 24 hours in advance.
Spatcocking helps to flatten the chicken, which helps the thighs cook at the same rate as the breasts.
If you really like the skin, you can keep it on. However, traditionally tandoori chicken is eaten without the skin. Removing the skin also helps the brine and marinade to penetrate the chicken.
Kashmiri chili powder is a red chili powder that helps impart the red color. However, you can opt for red food coloring if you want a bright red like the chicken that they serve at restaurants.
Tandoori chicken tastes so delicious with naan, lemon rice, or yogurt rice!
Amit
Wow i try this recipe 😋 I am loving it
Shri Repp
Ah makes me so happy to hear <3
Shri
Louis
Haven’t tried the recipe yet. Am I supposed to remove the dry brine before applying the marinade?
Shri Repp
You don't need to remove the dry brine