Don’t Be Chicken

Roasting a chicken at home is easy as reservations

With Mecca's guide to roasted chicken, you’re eating as well as anyone, anywhere.

Image credit: Photo by stevendepolo via Creative Commons.

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By: Mecca Bos

There are few things more satisfying than roasting a chicken at home. You get to fill your home with the scent of ambrosia, make a wish with a dried bone from its carcass, and enjoy crispy chicken skin, chicken sandwiches and stock, all for a meager ten bucks ($15 if you get fancy).

You can also make the sort of meal that feeds a small crowd, never goes out of fashion, and is always happily received by any audience.

With the chill in the air, the couch and afghan seem subtly calling, “You. Me. Ménage Trios,” now might be a logical moment to leave the strappy pumps in the closet, cancel the dinner reservation, and fire up the oven.

Which will be about the most exertion you’ll need for this bird, simple and easy as she could be. Here's how it's done (partially adopted from Thomas Keller, Michael Ruhlman and other smart cooks, including myself).

Do: Choose the best bird you can afford. If you can get a pastured chicken in season from a local farmer, do. I’m not in the mood to get preachy, but good food tastes good. Don’t worry about brining this bird. For our purposes, I want you to think of grabbing a chicken at five, and have dinner on the table by seven. It’s really as simple as that.

Don’t: Rinse your chicken in the sink. Any bad bacteria that may be on your chicken will be killed in the cooking process, so there is absolutely no reason to rinse raw chicken.. You probably won’t clean all of the surfaces properly, and then you’re going to go in and wash your lettuce, and your salad is going to be what makes you sick tonight.

Do: Allow your chicken (or any protein) to come to room temperature before cooking, which shortens cooking time. Also, liberally season your meat. And I do mean liberally. A couple tablespoons of Kosher salt for one chicken is not overkill. This will help give your skin exceptional texture and flavor. Crank the oven to 450.

Don’t: Worry about racks or fancy Dutch ovens. You can roast a chicken in a cast iron skillet if that’s all you’ve got. Scatter potatoes, root vegetables, onions, or anything you would like to roast with your chicken over the bottom of the pan. This will serve as your rack.

Do: Truss your chicken (if you want anything inside of the cavity, like sprigs of thyme, garlic, lemon, etc put them in now.) Trussing is not just for keeping the legs from flopping around. Trussing closes up the cavity, keeping heat from circulating around the breast and drying it out, which yields a breast you actually want to eat—one that’s as juicy as the dark meat. 

It's as simple as that. Already I’ve said too much. Put all of this in the oven and set your timer for one hour. If you’re in the mood to do a little something extra, toss the neck and the giblets (if you got your bird from a good source, it will come with giblets) along with a few aromatics into a saucepan, cover with water, and simmer this over low heat for the hour the bird is cooking.

When the bird comes out, strain the liquid and use it to scrape up the pan drippings. Reduce this mixture over the burner right in the roasting pan, finishing with a couple knobs of butter, salt and pepper. Serve over your carved chicken.

Tonight you’re eating as well as anyone, anywhere.