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roasted chicken

December 26th, 2007 · 3,187 Comments

i rarely buy chicken, rarely order chicken when dining out and really – i rarely even like chicken. it’s kind of a ‘nothing’ food to me, almost always somewhat tasteless and uninteresting, taking on whatever sauce you throw at it. but on occasion, like once at ‘david burke and donatella’ in nyc – i’ve stumbled across some really great chicken. chickeny tasting chicken that’s been roasted to perfection. something i’ve never done. until now. after hearing michael ruhlman talk about the "sunday-cast-iron-pan-chicken-roasting" which takes place weekly in his home, which conjured up all kindsa warm and fuzzy images and smells, i came across what sounded like a similar technique in my brand new copy of , which by the way falls into the ‘must have’ realm of cookbooks.

on page 35 she has a section entitled ‘the practice of salting early’. it is worthwhile information, to say the least. osmosis plays a big roll here, drawing out liquid and then reversing as the cells reabsorb a now salty moisture, seasoning the meat. i’ll still need to perfect my seasonings and my salting technique, but the roasting method is now etched in stone. i did it and can do it again – and again, repetition (i believe) being the key to greatness in cooking. you must buy a small bird – about a 3lb broiler. not a roaster. a broiler. no matter what they tell you. i got mine at whole foods. you pepper and salt the chicken using about 3/4 teaspoon of salt per pound – putting less around the wings and skinny ankles. then place it in the refrigerator, loosely covered for 2 days. sprigs of fresh herbs can go under the skin around the breast and thigh area – and should. i used marjoram because i already had some in the house and batali goes on and on about it. ruhlman probably uses tarragon, and i’m sure that rosemary, thyme or sage would be just lovely too.

preheat to 475. you may need to up the heat or lower it depending on your oven. put your cast iron pan – or any oven safe pan on the stove to get it hot. a 10" works nicely. then put the chicken – patted very dry, in the pan breast side up – it’ll sizzle. then place the pan with the bird in the oven. after 30 minutes turn the bird over. after about 10 more minutes flip it again and leave it in for about another 5. then take it out and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. the skin was perfectly brown and crisp and somehow the breast meat was actually juicy. in my world this has been a rarity so i was pretty pleased. zuni serves theirs with a bread salad that sounds wonderful. i made a basic polenta along with some orange and brown sugar glazed carrots.

simple.

Tags: chicken

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