The Pursuit of Great Roast Chicken
Last night I set out once again to attempt an even better recipe for roasted chicken. What I’m looking for is something moist, but flavorful and satisfying. Chicken approaching comfort food.
There are several things at play: flavors in the meat, salt, texture, and juiciness. I started once again with what I consider the Thomas Keller master recipe. To summarize, he roasts a chicken that would feed 2-3 people simply. Moderately high heat (450 degrees), little prep other than salt and pepper, but the kicker is at the end: he sauces his chicken.
So, I have to improvise because that’s what I do.
I like his technique for making the skin crisp and brown: high heat. But how do we ensure moisture inside? And flavor? I take one half lemon, cut it into four pieces, and then stuff the cavity of the bird with it. I tie up the chicken, salt and pepper it liberally, and that’s it.
I used a 450-degree oven. One hour. I probably could have gone for 10 minutes less time last night; I’ve got to work out the timing just right with the weight. I tried my best to keep the oven at 450 degrees, using a digital thermometer.
I put the chicken on top of two large, thick slices of onion, in a roasting pan. The onion carmelized and later added flavor to the fat and lemon drippings in the pan when the bird was removed to rest.
For the sauce, I took good-quality butter and melted it; I added to that the drippings, more fresh lemon juice, and a good amount of Dijon-style mustard. I also added a large amount of fresh lemon thyme.
This sauce gets draped over the cut chicken pieces once the chicken is carved. You can use a spoon, or as you eat, dip your piece of chicken into this magic sauce as the evening wears on. It’s most delicious, something exquisitely flavorful, yet all the while pretty simple.
What was left of the carcass last night has been transformed into a stock today, with the addition of shaved carrot slices (using a peeler), pepper, and a handful of chopped onion. I’m turning it into a bacon-potato soup. The bird was around $9.50; it was organic, and for me, worth its weight in gold.
3 Responses to “The Pursuit of Great Roast Chicken”
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Eugenio
Said this on January 18th, 2010 at 6:29pm:A good roast chicken is hard to beat. I usually salt and pepper the chicken when I buy it then keep it in the freezer. One tricky thing for the home cook is that preferably you should start the chicken in the oven at room temp (the chicken) rather than cold so it crisps quickly and the skin doesn’t poach.
Cindy
Said this on January 18th, 2010 at 9:16pm:Last Saturday I made my first roast chicken using Thomas Keller’s recipe. Now you’ve given me some sauce ideas for the next time - thanks!
Greg and Hongjun
Said this on January 24th, 2010 at 9:26pm:We followed the recipe tonight. The chicken turned out to be very good and the sauce is soooooo tasty!