A simple roasted chicken is a great way to showcase the natural flavor inherit in well-raised poultry. This straight-forward recipe is endlessly flexible -- add vegetables, spices, or herbs to create your own masterpiece. See variations at end of recipe for ideas.
Note: Salting the chicken before roasting helps it retain its own natural juices and flavors.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken
- Salt
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil or butter
- 1 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
Preparation:
Note: Start this recipe at least 4 hours and up to 1 day ahead.
- Rinse chicken with cool water. Dry with paper towels. Use your fingers to loosen the skin from the meat on the breasts and thighs.
- Measure out 1/2 tsp. salt per pound of chicken (i.e. a 4-lb. chicken will need 2 tsp. salt). Rub salt all over chicken, including under the loosened skin. Set chicken breast-side up in a roasting pan and chill up to 36 hours.
- Preheat oven to 400°. Rub breasts and top of thighs with oil or butter. Pour wine or broth into bottom of pan. Roast, undisturbed, until browned, about 45 minutes.
- Reduce heat to 325°, spoon some pan juices over the chicken, and continue roasting until meat pulls away from ends of drumsticks and thighs joints feel loose and move easily when you wiggle the end of a drumstick, about 30 minutes (cooking times for chicken vary greatly depending on size, temperature going into the oven, and precision of oven temperature, so go by how the chicken looks and feels, not the clock). Experienced chefs also know that a fully-roasted chicken makes a slight hissing whistle or "singing" sound.
- Let chicken sit for at least 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to large cutting board and carve. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
Variations
- Herb Chicken: tuck 1/3 cup fresh herbs -- such as thyme, sage, or oregano -- under the skin before roasting.
- Lemon Chicken: gently squeeze 2 lemon halves over chicken before adding wine to pan. Stuff lemon halves into the chicken cavity.
- Spicy Chicken: add 1/4 tsp. cayenne to salt mixture.
- Chicken with Roast Vegetables: add halved or quartered root vegetables to pan after the first 15 minutes of cooking.
- Garlic Chicken: rub 1 to 2 cloves minced garlic under the skin before roasting. You can also add whole cloves of garlic to the pan.
- Smokey Chicken: add 1 tsp. smoked paprika (pimenton de la vera) to salt mixture.
