Roast chicken, it seems, is a nostalgic food for many people. They remember eating their mom’s roast chicken growing up, and in their memories it was never dry and always comforting. I, on the other hand, grew up eating a great many delicacies crafted in the kitchen by my talented mother, but roast chicken wasn’t one of them. I haven’t asked her, but roasting poultry, I think, was always her albatross.
I have one data point to support this theory, besides the obvious lack of roast chickens in my childhood, and that is my family’s collective inability to properly cook a turkey. Unlike many families who consistently overcook their turkey into a dry hulk, for three Thanksgivings running we have instead managed to cook turkeys that are completely raw. We have used different recipes and techniques, and it’s never been caused by the same factor from year to year, but we cannot get our act together to cook a bird that is safe for human consumption. As a result, this Thanksgiving we are having stuffed quail.
For people who don’t know this important bit of background, they are surprised when they hear that I am not a master of the roast chicken. ‘It’s so easy!’ they always say. So a few weekends ago I decided it was time to roll up my sleeves and get down to business with a 3.5 to 4 pound organic fowl.
The recipe I chose was from Food & Wine, and it was called “best ever roast chicken,” which I felt was a good omen for my inaugural chicken roasting. I was quite skeptical, given that the only ingredients in this recipe were a chicken and 2 ½ teaspoons of salt, but I dutifully followed the instructions- washing and drying the chicken, salting it inside and out and letting it sit, uncovered, in the fridge for at least 5 hours.
Guys, it was worth it. My first chicken was a perfect specimen of crispy skin and moist dark AND white meat. It was a beautiful golden color, and it smelled magnificent, once the smoke in the air from the burned string had cleared. (This was my one mishap- I should have known better but there was a piece of string sticking out when I tied the legs together and it burned to a crisp). I had, in essence, speared my family’s white whale. Maybe for Thanksgiving 2018 we’ll have a turkey.
I think my chicken's leg string is part of the reason my apartment filled with smoke, but 50 minutes is a long time to have your oven at 500° with a bunch of rendered chicken fat, so if you don't have a well-ventilated kitchen this could be an issue you run into also. Crispy chicken is worth it, though!
Ingredients
- One 3 1/2 - 4 lb. whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Season the chicken inside and out with the salt, then tie the legs together with kitchen string, if desired. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 5 hours or overnight. Let the chicken come to room temperature before roasting.
- Preheat the oven to 500°. Put the chicken in a small roasting pan or large skillet. Roast for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers 162°. Transfer to a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve the chicken and serve.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2017/11/06/roast-chicken/
