Roasting a chicken is one of the easiest meals you can make, so it is perfect for those busy weeknights. This maple black pepper roast chicken has about 5 minutes of prep time, then straight in the oven. While it’s roasting you can make sides, or go about your other household chores (or just enjoy a nice glass of wine before dinner).

Like with all my roast chicken recipes, I prefer to spatchcock them. This means removing the backbone and pressing them flat for a more even cook. Other than that little bit of technical kitchen know-how, the rest of the recipe is dead simple. There’s also just five ingredients, so you can shop for this dish with very little effort.
One of my most popular spatchcock roast chicken recipes is my Peruvian roast chicken, but this maple black pepper one is even easier. Plus, once you try maple and black pepper together you are going to want to use it on so many other things (ahem bacon anyone?).
How To Make This Maple Black Pepper Roast Chicken

This recipe could not be simpler. There is only one ingredient which might be difficult to find depending on where you live. However you can buy it on Amazon here if you do not live in Europe or have access to a European food market.
Roast Chicken Ingredients
- 1 whole Chicken – If you can find one that hasn’t been plumped up artificially that would be ideal. Even better would be to get it directly from a local small time farmer. But of course with most recipes you will have to make do with what you have access to.
- 2 tbsp Vegeta Seasoning – This is the aforementioned ingredient that can be difficult to find, especially if you live in America. But it’s one of my secret ingredients in plenty of my roast chicken recipes and has people asking what the trick is.
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1.5 tbsp Black Pepper – Freshly cracked. Avoid using pre-ground powdered black pepper as it really isn’t the same and due to the fineness will cause the measurements to be off. Freshly cracked will give you nice big pieces of pepper dotting the chicken skin. I use Tellicherry peppercorns with my Peugeot electric pepper mill set on the coarsest grind.
Spatchcock Chicken Instructions

Like all my spatchcocking recipes I recommend using a pair of poultry shears. You can use regular scissors or even a chef’s knife, but they won’t work as well and even the the ability to slip and cause a kitchen accident.

To spatchcock a chicken simply locate the backbone and cut along either side of it. If there are any insides pull them out then flip the bird breast side up and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Easy as that!

In a small bowl mix together the vegeta seasoning and olive oil. The seasoning will dissolve easily so you should add the oil slowly while mixing, otherwise you can make it too runny.

Use your hands to pull the skin away from the meat of the bird. Take care not to rip the skin, we want to create a nice crispy shell during the roasting process. Then simply grab a bit of the vegeta-olive oil mix and rub it under the skin on both the breast and each thigh. By doing a spatchcock chicken you are creating a lot of surface area so be very liberal with the rub. If there is any left you can rub the outside of the skin. Place the chicken on a roasting tray and into an oven at 200C or 400F for 35 minutes.
This method creates an extremely crispy skin on the roast chicken, and while it doesn’t become as glasslike like with my baking powder chicken wings, this recipe is a lot quicker.

While the chicken is roasting you can combine the maple syrup and freshly cracked black pepper in a small bowl. At the 35 minute mark pull the chicken out of the oven and glaze it with the maple black pepper mix. Slide the tray back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, or until you can see the sugars in the glaze start to crackle and caramelize.

For the glazing portion of this recipe I highly recommend a basting brush since the chicken will be too hot to rub by hand.
How To Serve This Maple Glazed Chicken

I serve this black pepper and maple glazed chicken the same way I would any roast chicken. I use a large knife to cut the legs and wings off at the joints, and then carve along the rib cage to remove the breast and tenders. Since a whole chicken can serve 3-4 people easily I often don’t do any more carving than that, but you can slice the breast fillets into smaller bite size pieces if you wish.
For the carcass I will usually pick it clean and use the rest of the meat to make a little chicken salad. You can also save the carcass for soup or making a stock.
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Chicken Devel
- Chakhokhbili (ჩახოხბილი)
- Baking Powder Chicken Wings
- Chicken Liver Pashtet (Pâté)
- Sweet Spicy Sesame Chicken

Maple Black Pepper Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole Chicken If you can find one that hasn't been plumped up artificially that would be ideal. Even better would be to get it directly from a local small time farmer. But of course with most recipes you will have to make do with what you have access to.
- 2 tbsp Vegeta Seasoning This is the aforementioned ingredient that can be difficult to find especially if you live in America. But it's one of my secret ingredients in plenty of my roast chicken recipes and has people asking what the trick is.
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1.5 tbsp Black Pepper Freshly cracked. Avoid using pre-ground powdered black pepper as it really isn't the same and due to the fineness will cause the measurements to be off. Freshly cracked will give you nice big pieces of pepper dotting the chicken skin. I use Tellicherry peppercorns with my Peugeot electric pepper mill set on the coarsest grind.
Instructions
- Use poultry shears to remove the backbone from the chicken. Pull out innards, flip, and use your palm to break the breastbone to flatten the bird.
- Use your fingers to wiggle in between the skin and meat on the breast and thighs; Take care not to rip the skin.
- In a small bowl mix together the vegeta and olive oil. Use your fingers to spread it around in the pockets between the skin and meat. Try to get around in there as much as possible as the oil will really help with the skin crisping up. Any extra and you can rub on the outside of the skin.
- Place chicken on a roasting pan and place in an oven preheated to 205C or 400F and roast for 35 minutes.
- While the chicken is roasting combine the maple syrup and freshly cracked black pepper.
- After 35 minutes in the oven pull out the tray and baste the chicken all over with the maple-pepper glaze. Be liberal and let it get all over the skin. Slide tray back in the oven and let bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until you see the sugars in the glaze begin to caramelize.
- Remove chicken from the oven. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes under a foil tent before carving. Enjoy!

Hi just came here from r/recipes and definitely making this tomorrow for dinner.