How to Roast a Chicken

It’s been brought to my attention that many of my friends and neighbors skip Sunday dinner for Sunday brunch.

And I’m naive enough to bet that about 50% of my friends couldn’t properly roast a chicken that’s good enough to call Sunday Dinner. Toot my own horn? Cook your own chicken I say! No but really, it’s super simple and not only is a clutch technique to have in your growing arsenal of culinary skill set, it could get you laid. But we’ll get to the later over whiskey that you buy me on a long Wednesday night. it can be done with as few or as many ingredients as your sexy heart desires.

Let’s some basics done real quick. Thomas Keller, Per Se? or better yet The French Laundry and Bouchon Bistro, has not only paid his dues by mastering the art of understanding how to magnificently control any ingredient known to man (or man’s true best friend, her stomach), he is hands down the senior authority on how to correctly roast a bird. Check out his technique and recipe courtesy of BuzzFeed. The technique of roasting a bird should, in my opinion, take a minimalist approach… The antithesis of this very post. But, sorry grammar nazi, it’s important to understand what goes on in and out of the oven so you don’t screw your chicken, or end up with a dry piece of soggy skinned hen. 

First thing’s first. Let’s do some homework:

Alright, so this is just spot on. Here we’ve understood:
- Tempering - Room temperature bird
- Proper Prep - a dry bird, wishbone removal (which is purely optional)
- Seasoning - just salt and peppa, proper seasoning technique and distribution
- Trussing the bird - which is important I feel… We’re aiming for the best, so let’s follow the recipe on this one.

STEAM - Steam is no good. Stuffing the bird, using a wet bird, basting, covering the bird in olive oil etc… They all create steam. This yields a soggy skin and is not what we are going for. With that said, I’ve done all the above and occasionally still do. But, if it’s a crispy bird packed with umami chicken flavor that you’re going for, don’t stuff the bird.

HEAT - 450F for 1 hour give or take 10 minutes. Time is just a reference. Do yourself a solid and buy a meat thermometer. We are going for an internal temperature of 165-170 straight out of the oven. That thermometer should be inserted into the thickest part of the thigh without touching a bone or the pan. If it reads 165F out of the oven, the bird will reach 170F while it rests and continues to cook. 

EXTRAS - There’s a lot of things you can do when roasting a bird. As the video shows, you can create a bed of root veggies that will roast with your bird. This is a solid ace move. Those veggies are incredible. Soft, full of chicken flavor from the juices that poured out of the bird during roasting, and provide the perfect side kick to your chicken leg. 

I often use 2 carrots, 2 large parsnips (1-1.5 inches thick and 8-9 inches long), 2-3 ribs of celery, and 1 large onion. Cut them up in to large bite sized pieces, pour on 2-3 tablespoons of good olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and toss. Then put it under the bird. Voila, in an hour you have a side dish. 

STUFFING: Meh. Creates steam. Also I’ve found that onions or garlic aren’t usually fully cooked at the end… So, with that said, I put in 4 cloves of garlic, a sprig of rosemary, and a small bunch of thyme in the bird I cooked above. Word of the wise, never stuff the bird with raw meat. The internal temp won’t reach the level you need to kill bacteria and cook a meat like sausage…

HERB BUTTER - Yes this may create steam but it yields incredible flavor and juicy breast meat. How do you do it? Leave a half stick of butter out and bring it to room temperature. Mince up the herbs (1 teaspoon thyme and rosemary each), garlic, lemon zest etc that you’re wanting, and incorporate it in to the butter. Then using your finger, separate the skin from the breast. Using a spoon, put half the butter under in between the skin and breast on one side. Smear the mixture around so that it is even. Voila! You’ve just made a power play. That butter will come to temp in the oven and cook the breast meat while lacing them with the aromatics you’ve incorporated. Genius!

So, with all this said, I hope you go out and enjoy a solid chicken dinner this week. It’s as simple as ABC.

A. Prep the bird - dry/room temp/trussed/fully seasoned
B. 450F for an hour ish
C. Internal temp of 170. 

ProTip - Buy 1.5 pounds of large brussels sprouts. Wash them and discard the outer layer of dark skin. Wash again. Halve them. Toss with olive oil to cover, salt and pepper. Put them on a pan that is lightly coated with olive oil. Throw them in when the bird has cooked for 30 minutes. Toss the sprouts every 6-7 minutes, picking out and reserving the loose petals. They’re done when both sides are golden brown and crispy. BAM! 2nd side dish done!