Although turkey is perhaps the most traditional Christmas dinner in the UK and USA, I don’t really like it that much, and prefer chicken.
Today I’m going to discuss different ways that I’ve seen chicken roasted. I’ve tried all of them, and my recent favourite is the New York Times, “Salt and pepper roast chicken” recipe, which has five stars.
For years I simply did what it said on the package. This is to place the chicken in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees and roast for about one and a half hours. Then, let it rest for 10-15 minutes and serve. This has the advantage that you can season the chicken as you like. The results are good, but sometimes the breast is overdone compared to the legs. Some chefs even take the legs off and roast these separately for this very reason.
A variation on this is the “roast in a bag” chicken. These chickens are usually quite large and come pre-seasoned. They are readily available from big supermarkets. The advantage is that you don’t need to touch the raw chicken at all and the seasoning is done already. They also save on cleaning pans. These are suitable mainly for families due to the size of the bird. I have often found the flavour disappointing.
For at least 15 years I used the Australian chef, Tony Blakemore’s method. I use a big cast iron wok. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Rub plenty of butter into the skin of the chicken and season generously. Place breast down in the middle of the pan. Add whatever vegetables you have in the fridge round about. Pour some olive oil onto the vegetables and season. Add such items as chopped garlic and chili peppers if you like. Vegetables I commonly use are chopped onions, carrots, potatoes, celery and peppers. Cook for 45 minutes with the lid on. Then take out of the oven and turn the bird breast up. Then cook without the lid for the remaining 45 minutes. This browns the skin on top. The advantage of this method is that you have a well cooked chicken with a delicious buttery vegetable accompaniment. If you are on a ketogenic diet, you would omit the potatoes. The breast and leg meat are equally cooked.
For all of these chickens, you need to plan ahead. I like to take the chicken out of the fridge for about 15-30 minutes prior to roasting, 1.5 hours in the oven and sometimes a bit more, and 15 minutes resting. I put dinner on the table at 7.30 pm. This means the bird must be taken out of the fridge by 5.30pm at the latest. Many people eat dinner earlier than this. This can be a problem for working mums.
Recently I saw that the NY Times had a 5 star roast chicken recipe and I decided to try it. Having done this several times, I’m so impressed that I’ll probably abandon Tony’s method, although my younger son, can’t bear the thought of me doing this, as he loves the buttery, tasty chicken so much.
Prior to cooking, you are urged to season the inside and outside of the chicken with salt, pepper and herbs to your taste, perhaps rosemary, thyme and sage. Put the chicken back in the fridge for an hour or overnight if you can. (Cover it and keep away from other food items).
Heat the oven to 220 or 230 degrees. Red hot! Now place in a roasting tin breast up. Roast for just 50 minutes. Then, take it out and baste the skin with the fat and juices. Test the internal temperature of your bird. It needs to be 165 F or 74 C. If you don’t have a meat thermometer you can pierce the part of the chicken between the thigh and the breast and the juices should run clear. Any hint of blood and it needs to go in the oven again. Re-test every 10 minutes.
So far I have used small and medium chickens at 220 degrees. I have not had to keep them in longer, but if you have a big bird, and depending on your oven, you may need to.
The skin is delicious and crisp and the taste excellent. I’ll let you know if my son is converted or not in the comments after the Christmas holidays.
Published by
