Wow your tastebuds with the easiest and juiciest roast chicken. All you have to do is rub it with oil, season with salt & pepper, and let your oven do all the work.
I've wanted to try and then to master the art of roasting a bird for quite some time. I feel like a perfectly roasted meat is the way to prove your cooking chops. or something like that.
I *finally* took the plunge- I bought a pricy organic, free range whole chicken at Trader Joes. I was ready, nervous but ready. Holding the raw bird in my hands, I felt so Michael Pollan.
You know, about getting a whole bird. Well minus the killing and slaughtering part, because, I'm sure, he would take the bird through the WHOLE process. Besides, I have no desire to actually slaughter and pluck my own chicken.
Epicurious told me that the Thomas Keller way was the one to beat. No fuss, no muss, sometimes going back to the basics is best, also the 700 5 star reviews lessened my anxiety about this choice.
Again, very Michael Pollan. Since his recommended bird was the child sized version of mine, I used Ina Garten's cooking instructions to cook this guy to blissful perfection.
Or to hope to at least. I mean you can't go wrong with that combo, can you? I submit that you cannot. Or so I hope.
As a safety (food safety & sanity) precaution, check doneness with a meat thermometer (the breast should be 165 degrees), I didn't have one so I mutilated my bird pre-doneness by cutting him open to check for pink meat.
After all this, I bet you're thinking, why spend the time to cook a whole bird? As someone whose constantly straddling the line between saving TIME, making my life easier, and experimenting in the kitchen, this bird actually hits the mark in both of these arenas.
It takes 5 minutes to prep, and the rest of the work is done by your trusty oven. And what's even better is that you get A TON of fresh chicken, it's perfect to use all week long.
You can even take it a step farther and make chicken stock with the bones, and freeze for later. VERY Ina, guys, very Ina.
You're welcome.
Need a few great recipes to make with this chicken?
you can also throw these veggies into the oven when there's 20-30 minutes left of cooking time for a full meal-
How to Roast the Perfect Chicken
Ingredients
- 4-5 lb whole chicken giblets removed
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
- Pat chicken dry with paper towel.
- Tress chicken (tie up it's legs with kitchen twine or sewing thread, which ever you have on hand)
- Cover skin and cavity with salt and pepper.
- Place bird in roasting pan, then in the oven. Cook for ~90 minutes (for a 5 lb bird)
- Once bird is done, place on cutting board (preferably one with a well around edge, you don't want chicken juices spreading all over your counter & floor!) Baste with juices at bottom of pan. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Notes
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