A few months ago, there was a thread about classic or homey dishes that we admit to never making. I do quite a bit of cooking, and when I said I never made a roast chicken, people were surprised, and so I was determined to roast a chicken this winter. Just recently, I remembered back in the 1970s and '80s those Perdue Oven Stuffers and I did make one, but it was totally forgettable, and so I…forgot. Yesterday, I made an absolutely delicious organic roast chicken. It was a very simple prep, just placing the chicken on top of sliced onion and lemon, and rubbing with fresh garlic and sprinkling with Herbs de Provence, salt and pepper. Cooked on 425 for 1 hour and it was crispy and moist. I also roasted parsnips and carrots, and mashed potatoes with goat cheese and caramelized onions. Wine was a terrific 2009 Lapierre Morgon.
what took you so long. great pairing. as a matter of fact roast chicken is very wine friendly.
Sounds great but depending on size of chicken 425 for one hour is too long.
I look for 3lb-ers and cook at high heat for 40-45 min.
Hum… For me a 4lb needs at least a hour ten at 450 to get done or it’s still a little raw on the outside. I think Keller advocates one hour for his 3.lbers at 450
Are you using the convection setting or simple bake? Seems the former I can do 425 for 50~
Our Whole Foods sells chickens that are 3-4 lbs. They also are having a sale (not sure how widespread), and the whole chickens are selling for $0.99/lb. I had one last night, and it was very good.
Simple bake not convection setting.
I start my chicken at room temp, not right from refrigerator and I always Zuni it. unwrapped in refrig salted for 2-3 days.
NIt is never raw or rare.
Find a local chicken CSA. We did that last year for pasture-raised chickens and eggs. Most chickens were 3-4 pounds, none over 5 and a few below 3. Extremely tasty too. Must be all the bugs, worms, and small animals they get to eat in addition to their feed.
I never understood the selling point of a 100% vegetarian diet for chickens. Is it a polite way of saying chickens are not fed soylent green?
That thread was my inspiration to finally do this. I didn’t know it was the Thomas Keller prep - I just took ideas from different sources and ended up with one that I liked.
I generally like brining, then roasting at low temperatures (250-300), then high (450-500) at the end to crisp up the skin. That’s if I have a lot of time to plan ahead. Otherwise, it’s roughly an hour (small chickens) at 350degrees for me.
Keller’s basic roast chicken is a 3lb chicken washed, dried, salt & pepper inside, trussed and salt sprinkled all over done at 450 for 45 mins. Larger chickens don’t work as well with that time/temp since they aren’t fully cooked by time the skin is brown. You can just drop the temp to 400 and extend the time a bit.
Yes. Basically. It’s a disease vector thing as I understand it… you can’t infect a flock by feeding them bad feed if it’s vegetarian. Think mad cow, etc.