A whole chicken split and opened flat, skin side up, browned and crisp with the drumsticks turned in, on a white oval platter in a pool of buttery pan drippings. — Split broiled chicken on a platter with pan drippings.

Broiled Chicken (1931)

Name: Broiled Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 lb whole young chicken; 2 tbsp soft butter, for rubbing; 1 tsp salt; ¼ tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp all-purpose flour; 3 tbsp butter, melted, for basting

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Broiled chicken from Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes Revised, 1931: a young bird split down the back, buttered, floured, broiled on both sides and finished in a moderate oven.

By The Forgotten MenuPublished Oct 29, 2026

Recipe makes: One 3 lb chicken, 4 servings
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 1 hr 5 min

About 8 minutes under the broiler skin side up, 20 minutes bone side up, then about 15 minutes in a 350°F (175°C) oven until the thigh reads 165°F (74°C). The total includes a 5-minute rest on the platter.

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Split broiled chicken on a platter with pan drippings.

The story behind the recipe

Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes Revised opens its poultry pages with a whole young chicken split down the back, opened flat, buttered and floured, browned under the broiler, finished in a moderate oven and served in its own drippings. The book’s July dinner menus offer “Fried or broiled chicken,” with new potatoes, peas and currant jelly, and strawberry ice cream and vanilla wafers to follow; this is the broiled half of that choice.

What did broiling mean in 1931?

In this recipe it means cooking “under the flame of an oven,” the broiler of a gas range, and the book does not leave the bird there to the end. After about 20 minutes under the heat, it moves to a moderate oven, 350°F (175°C), for 15 minutes more. The bird is basted “frequently” throughout with its own drippings and melted butter. The flour dusted over the skin soaks up butter and browns, and it thickens the drippings a little, so the bird reaches the platter with its own sauce already in the pan.

The book adds a second route, “if more convenient”: start the chicken in the oven and finish it by browning under the flame. Either way the menu gave the cook a choice of frying instead, and the book’s Fried Chicken, a couple of pages on, comes with a milk gravy.

Making it today

The book says only “a plump, young chicken”; we use a 3 lb one, the size sold today as a broiler or fryer. We split it with shears, cutting out the backbone, and leave out the washing, since rinsing raw poultry spreads its bacteria around the sink. We turn the bird skin side up again for the oven, so the skin is on top for the platter, and we cook it to 165°F (74°C) by thermometer, which the book did not ask for. On the same table, the Creamed Mushrooms (1931) read out on the radio that July make a side dish on toast. What Did Aunt Sammy Tell Listeners to Cook in July 1931? sets out the whole July menu and the broadcast that announced the book.

Select a plump, young chicken, split down the back, draw, wash, and wipe dry. Rub all over with butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dust with flour, and place on a rack in a roasting pan skin side up. ...

Ruth Van Deman and Fanny Walker YeatmanAunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes Revised (Washington: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Home Economics, May 1931), Broiled Chicken, p. 24

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Ingredients

For One 3 lb chicken, 4 servings. Quantities are shown as written.

Quantities as written here, for One 3 lb chicken, 4 servings.

Whole young chicken3 lb
Soft butter, for rubbing2 tbsp
Salt1 tsp
Black pepper1/4 tsp
All-purpose flour2 tbsp
Butter, melted, for basting3 tbsp

Ingredients as written here

3 lb whole young chicken
2 tbsp soft butter, for rubbing
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 tbsp butter, melted, for basting

Equipment

Poultry shears or a heavy knife
Roasting pan with a rack that fits under the broiler
Small saucepan or microwave-safe cup, for melting butter
Basting brush or spoon
Instant-read thermometer
Hot oval platter

Instructions

Set an oven rack so the top of the chicken will sit about 6 inches below the broiler element, and heat the broiler.
Put the chicken breast side down on a board. Cut along both sides of the backbone with the poultry shears and remove it. Turn the bird over and press firmly on the breastbone to flatten it. Pat it dry all over with paper towels.
Rub the soft butter all over the chicken. Sprinkle it on both sides with the salt and pepper, then dust it evenly with the flour.
Lay the chicken skin side up on the rack in the roasting pan and slide it under the broiler. Broil until the skin is lightly browned, about 8 minutes, watching that it does not scorch.
Turn the chicken bone side up and baste it with the pan drippings and some of the melted butter. Broil for about 20 minutes, basting every 5 minutes with the drippings and more melted butter.
Turn the broiler off and set the oven to 350°F (175°C). Turn the chicken skin side up again, baste it with the rest of the melted butter and move the pan to the middle of the oven.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer pushed into the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone, reads 165°F (74°C), and the breast reads the same. Give it a few minutes more if it needs them.
Lift the chicken onto the hot platter and let it rest for 5 minutes. Pour the pan drippings over it and bring it to the table whole, then carve it into quarters.

Nutrition

520calories per serving

Recipe makes: One 3 lb chicken, 4 servings
Servings: 4

Estimated per serving (4) from USDA FoodData Central values for roasted chicken meat and skin, butter and flour, allowing for fat left in the pan.

Recipe notes

When adjusting quantities

One split chicken fills a roasting pan under most broilers. For two, use two pans and broil them one after the other, keeping the first warm in the 350°F (175°C) oven.

Notes

Quantities mentioned in these notes don’t change when you adjust the servings.

We chose the weight of the chicken, the amounts of butter, salt, pepper and flour, the 6-inch rack position, the basting interval, the last turn skin side up and the thermometer check; the order of cooking and the 350°F (180°C) finish are the book’s. We skip the book’s washing of the bird (USDA food safety advice). The book also allows the opposite order: bake the chicken at 350°F (175°C) until it reaches 165°F (74°C), then brown it under the broiler for the last few minutes. Chill leftovers within 2 hours and reheat to 165°F (74°C). Contains dairy and gluten.

Scaling changes the ingredients only; pan sizes and cooking times need their own judgment. To adapt this recipe further, try the recipe tool at TuneMyRecipe (opens in a new tab), our sister site.