Three Steps to Great Roast Chicken

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Three steps to great roast chicken

Slip your seasonings under

the skin for full flavor andmoist meat. Rub the

chicken all over withsoftened butter, gentlypushing the butter and other

seasonings under the skin

without tearing it.

Fill the cavity with flavor:

Season the bird inside andout with salt and freshly

ground black pepper, andstuff the cavity with herbs,lemon, mushrooms --

whatever will enhance the

flavor of the meat and the

sauce.

Lift the bird with a rack so

the skin crisps all around. AV-shaped rack is best, set in

a heavy roasting pan justlarger than the rack, but aflat rack is better than

nothing.

One 2- to 3-pound farm-raised chicken

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons minced thyme (optional)

Unsalted butter

Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 450F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels,

inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.

Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast

chicken often, it's a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the

wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the

breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it alsomakes for a more beautiful roasted bird.

Now, salt the chicken I like to rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform

coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it's

cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to

taste with pepper.


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Place the chicken in a saut pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature,

put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone I don't baste it, I don't add butter; you can

if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast it until it's done, 50 to60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the

chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the

legs and thighs. I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oysters, the two

succulent morsels of meat embedded here, and give the other to the person I'm cookingwith. But I take the chicken butt for myself. I could never understand why my brothers

always fought over that triangular tip until one day I got the crispy, juicy fat myself.

These are the cook's rewards. Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone,

with one wing joint still attached to each. The preparation is not meant to besuperelegant. Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with mustard on the side and, if

you wish, a simple green salad. You'll start using a knife and fork, but finish with your

fingers, because it's so good.

How to roast chicken

1. For a family roast chicken, weighing about 5 lb (2.25 kg), make astuffing by combining in a food processor 1 peeled, cored andquartered dessert apple, 1 heaped tablespoon of fresh sage leaves, 1peeled and quartered small onion, 4 oz (110 g) of fresh white bread,

crusts removed, 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley leaves, the chickenlivers, 8 oz (225 g) of minced pork or good-quality pork sausagemeat, teaspoon of powdered mace, salt and freshly milled black pepper.

2. To make the stock for the gravy, the chicken giblets are simmeredfor 2 hours in 1 pints (850 ml) water with 1 medium, roughlychopped carrot, half an onion, a few fresh parsley stalks, a sprig offresh thyme, a bay leaf, teaspoon of black peppercorns and a pinchof salt.

3. To stuff the chicken, begin at the neck end where you will find a flap

of loose skin: gently loosen this away from the breast and pack abouttwo-thirds of the stuffing inside. Make a neat round shape on theoutside then tuck the neck flap under the bird's back and secure it witha cocktail stick or small skewer. Take the remaining stuffing and placeit in the body cavity.

4. Place the chicken in the roasting tin and smear 2 oz (50 g) ofsoftened butter all over the chicken with your hands. Season the


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chicken all over with salt and freshly milled black pepper then arrange7 rashers of smoked streaky bacon in a row along the breast. Cut oneextra rasher in two and place a piece on each leg.

5. Roast in the centre of a pre-heated oven, gas mark 5, 375F

(190C), for 20 minutes per lb (450 g) plus 10-20 minutes extra thiswill be 1 hour and 50 minutes to 2 hours for a 5 lb (2.25 kg) bird. Bastethree times during the cooking time. During the last basting, removethe crisped bacon rashers and keep them warm. For the final 15minutes of cooking, increase the heat to gas mark 7, 425F (220C) togive the skin that final golden crispiness. When it is cooked, remove itfrom the oven and cover it with foil. Leave to rest for 30 minutesbefore serving.

6. The sauce is very easy all you do here is combine 6 tablespoons ofcranberry jelly, 2 dessertspoons of chopped fresh sage, 3 tablespoons

of balsamic vinegar and some salt and freshly milled black pepper in asmall saucepan. Whisk over a gentle heat until the cranberry jelly hasmelted. Pour the sauce into a serving jug and leave till needed (it won'tneed reheating it's served at room temperature).

7. Make the gravy with the pan juices and the giblet stock to servewith the chicken.

Begin by taking the chicken from the fridge about an hour before you intend to cook it

(obviously if it's a hot day give it about 30 minutes only), and remove the string that

holds the legs of the bird together so that the joints are loose this will take the chill offthe bird and help it to cook in the shorter time.

Now make a garlic and herb butter by placing the garlic, 2 tablespoons of the chopped

tarragon leaves and the butter in a bowl and combine them with a fork, adding some salt

and pepper. Then place the herb butter inside the body cavity of the bird, along with thehalved lemon slices. Smear a little of the olive oil over the base of the roasting tin, place

the chicken in it, then smear the rest of the olive oil all over the skin of the bird. Lastly,season well with salt and black pepper and then pop the roasting tin into the lower thirdof the oven. Now let it roast for 45 minutes without opening the oven door. When this

time is up, remove the bird from the oven. Next put a wooden spoon into the body cavity

and, using a spatula to hold the breast end, tip the chicken and let all the buttery juices

and slices of lemon pour out into the roasting tin, then transfer the bird on to a carvingboard, cover with foil and let it rest for 20 minutes.


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Three Steps to Great Roast Chicken

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