My mom bought be that cult book, The Secret some time ago, and while I tried it for the first 10 pages, it wasn’t my thing. But I have something to tell you: I have a secret of my own.

Roast Chicken

I’ve made roasted chicken before, sure, who hasn’t? It can be good, they say, but it never really won me over. I wasn’t getting what everyone else was. I’d read about putting truffles under the skin, rubbing it down with “good” butter, etc., etc.

Forget that. I’m going to share the secret to delicious roasted chicken.

In the photo above, I have some brussels sprouts and mushrooms going on too, but I’m only going to talk about the chicken.

First, buy a good chicken. I picked up a small one from Bell & Evans. I’ve liked their turkey in the past.

Second, salt the bird. Salt it good with kosher salt. Hours before you ever roast it. It really does make a difference. I’m not talking about brining it, just salt it—inside and out.

Third, roast vegetables with it. Onions, lots of onions. Carrots. What else? Anything you like! Fennel would be great, celery root, potatoes of course, and even parsnips. Go wild or go simple.

Fourth, put the bird on top of the vegetables. Pour melted butter over the chicken. Stuff the cavity with things like lemon, ground pepper, a halved-garlic bulb, and even some herbs.

That’s what got me: I was putting butter on the bird, and under the skin, with it still cold. No no, no bother. Pour it on melted. I even put a split garlic clove in the butter before I microwaved it, so it was really garlic butter.

Fifth, roast it at a medium-high temperature. 450 degrees is good, just watch it, it may need to be covered by foil if it gets too brown.

Sixth, after it’s done (for a small to medium bird, count for 60-90 minutes), pull out the bird, and let all the drippings and juiced go into the pan. Put the pan back into the oven. Add a glug of wine if you want.

After 10-15 minutes, take out the sauce and vegetables. These are delicious! Put them onto a platter. Next, carve your chicken. Nicely put all the parts onto the same platter. Folks at the table can grab the parts they want.

It’s a delicious one-pot meal that you can supplant with good bread, good drink, and you won’t believe how easy it can be!

This entry was posted on Monday, December 29th, 2008 at 1:01 am and is filed under In the Kitchen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.