In need of foolproof roast chicken recipes
July 19, 2021 7:35 AM   Subscribe

I have destroyed three organic-pastured raised heirloom birds with my inability. Please save my poultry! Looking for tasty and foolproof roast chicken recipes.

The birds are about 1.5 lbs to 3 lbs. After choking down another dry chicken breast and trying to decide if the thigh is actually cooked, I need some help!

This is my first time learning how to cook whole chicken after spending my formative cooking years as a vegetarian. I am very comfortable in the kitchen, but not with cooking meat. "Basic" recipes as well as complex flavors and multiple ingredients are welcome. I would prefer unfussy recipes (for example: spatchcocking, marinating, etc. is okay, but once it's in the oven, I don't want to mess with it until it's done).

Also looking for tips/tricks in addition to full recipes. Does it matter what pan size I use? Should I be covering the bird in foil? Do I really need to tie the legs with twine? etc. etc. Thank you!
posted by pumpkinlatte to Food & Drink (32 answers total) 19 users marked this as a favorite
 
Ina garten Tuscan Lemon Chicken

except i rarely grill it or press it with a brick. I just bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes for your little birds or 1 hour or so for your larger ones.

the spatchcocking makes a huge difference for me that it is all done. plus way easier to cut up. i usually go all night or all day on the marinade
posted by domino at 7:44 AM on July 19, 2021 [2 favorites]


I've had good results with the Serious Eats / Kenji Lopez-Alt spatchcocked chicken (I have his book The Food Lab so I use the method in there, but the website version looks about the same). I use a regular baking sheet with a wire rack in it...spatchcocking is really what makes the most difference for getting evenly cooked meat IMO. And a instant read thermometer is a must; then you never have to stress about whether it's cooked all the way through, just stick a thermometer in and it'll tell you!
posted by cpatterson at 7:49 AM on July 19, 2021 [8 favorites]


Must have: butter, salt, and a thermometer. Apply and re-apply liberally (well, maybe not the salt).

I agree that spatchcocking is the best approach. But even that isn't easy, especially the butchering! You might want to start with buying some skin-on parts, and experiment by oven-roasting those separately before going whole-bird.

I like to chop potatoes, carrots & turnips and put them in the pan under the chicken.

Serious Eats and Smitten Kitchen are good reading. Start with high temp (like 450), then turn down after 10 min. Cover the breasts with foil only if the thighs need longer to cook.
posted by Dashy at 7:53 AM on July 19, 2021


I also use Kenji Lopez-Alt's instructions from The Food Lab, basically linked above by cpatterson. I salt the spatchcocked chicken with one tsp on diamond crystal kosher salt per lb the day before, including under the skin which I loosen, and leave it uncovered overnight in the fridge. Halve the salt quantity if using Morton's kosher salt or fine salt. Then invest in a thermopop instant read thermometer.
posted by carolr at 7:58 AM on July 19, 2021 [1 favorite]


+1 for spatchcocking your chicken. You can ask a butcher to do this for you! I also really like this serious eats version of Chicken-Lady Chicken. I've cooked this in two cast iron pans when I've had a bird too big to fit into one.
posted by mcgsa at 8:08 AM on July 19, 2021


Spatchcocking is the way to go for heat distribution, and it's not hard - you just need good shears. I have the recommended OXO shears from that article, and they are sturdy enough for a turkey as well.

Do note - heritage birds are lean, smaller than grocery store birds, and not generally pumped full of saline like grocery store birds. They do not provide the margin of error that mass-produced chickens do. You would be better off with a recipe that specifically addresses cooking a heritage/homegrown bird, and I think you pretty much have to use a leave-in thermometer with an alarm at about 8-10 degrees lower than your desired final temp (or use a recipe that tells you what temp to take it out at, to cover and let it carry over to a final temp) - I have a cheap Polder I've been satisfied with for years, but you can spend over $100 if you really want to.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:14 AM on July 19, 2021 [4 favorites]


Not a recipe, but a technique. I always rub a mix of fat and flavoring between the skin and the flesh of the chicken and it never comes out dry that way. Take the chicken out of its packaging and pat it dry with paper towels. Then find the spots where you can slide your hands underneath the skin, usually around the tail. I slide my hands gently under and all around lifting up and separating the membranes that connect the skin to the flesh and trying not to tear the skin. You won’t be able to lift every single connection so if you’re feeling a lot of resistance don’t push too hard and just leave it. Then scoop up your fat plus flavor and push it all around in the openings you’ve made between the skin and flesh reserving a tablespoon or so to rub on top of the skin. I usually put it straight in the oven from here but you can also put it back in the fridge to marinate in the flavors for an hour.

Fat plus flavoring combos I do regularly: butter or olive oil or both plus thyme, rosemary, and sage

Butter and olive oil plus lemon zest and a little lemon juice and thyme

Olive oil and orange zest and canned chopped chipotles and oregano

Sesame oil and sriracha or gojuchang and garlic and a splash of rice wine vinegar

I don’t include salt in the mixture but do salt the outside of the chicken prior to cooking.

I have not included measurements because it does not matter that much. You just need a enough of the fat mixture to cover the whole chicken in a thin layer. For a small chicken this is maybe a 1/4 cup of fat mixture at the most but it’s better to err on the side of having a bit too much and you can always mix the extra in with the vegetables you put around the chicken in the pan. Whatever veggies you’re using I highly recommend including shallots.

I don’t spatchcock or tie the legs with twine. I don’t use foil. It never turns out dry. I decide when it’s done cooking based on putting a meat thermometer in the fattest part of the thigh and waiting till it reaches 165 degrees.
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity at 8:22 AM on July 19, 2021 [4 favorites]


I'm a big fan of this Bon Appetit recipe -- it's very basic, it has clear instructions, and it has never failed me.

(This was part of their Basically - 10x10 series: 10 recipes each with 10 or fewer ingredients. Every one is a winner.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:35 AM on July 19, 2021 [1 favorite]


I use this recipe:

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/my-favorite-simple-roast-chicken-231348

I cook the chicken in a cast iron braising pan (no lid of course). I do the bit at the end with dried thyme and the fat from the bottom of the pan. I don't do the bit with the butter and the mustard.

A meat thermometer is your friend. You should definitely be using one.
posted by TORunner at 8:37 AM on July 19, 2021 [1 favorite]


I do the very simple Nigel Slater one described here, and it has never come out anything less than perfect. As noted above, fat under the skin keeps it from drying out. Also be sure to pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels - somewhat tedious to get it really dry, but pays off in lovely crispy skin.
posted by tinymojo at 8:37 AM on July 19, 2021


Agree that spatchcocking is the way to go, but also wet/dry brining may help with the breast moisture issue.

Heirloom/pastured birds are delicious and definitely taste more like chicken compared to their supermarket freak-of-nature cousins, but the smaller stringier breasts do often come out tougher in general.
posted by mikesch at 8:47 AM on July 19, 2021


Michael Ruhlman's sex chicken recipe has never failed to deliver us a delicious meal. Simple and dependable.
posted by nbier at 8:51 AM on July 19, 2021


I cook free range chickens that are usually somewhat over the upper weight limit you quote - say around 1.8 kilos / just under 4lb.

We have a fan oven , which you know has to be set a little lower than a conventional one, but I would probably have the fan temp at around 180° and cook for around an hour and a half all in. Maybe an hour and twenty minutes with lots of wrapped up resting time when it comes out of the oven.

I'd use a metal or glass roasting dish, with a rack so the underside doesn't go all fatty / soggy, salt and oil all over (and sometimes some herb mix over that).

Most importantly, I always quarter a lime and put that in the cavity with salt and fresh herbs if they're around. An orange if a lime isn't available but not a lemon as we tried that and didn't like the taste despite lemon chicken being a popular flavour. I remove the pads of fat from the edge of the cavity (I'm sure they have a proper name) before cooking, only because my mum always did.

I must confess I've never used a meat thermometer although I know that is recommended - if in doubt I'll stuck a knife into the thigh to the bone and press hard on the meat. If juices are clear, and / or the meat is obviously cooked, that's fine. If not, another 15 minutes or more.
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 8:53 AM on July 19, 2021


Not wanting to abuse the edit window - I say the line is important just because I think it helps with not just the flavour but with keeping the bird moist. It might be some sort of culinary placebo effect but it works for us🐔
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 8:58 AM on July 19, 2021


America's Test Kitchen's "Cast Iron Crisp Roast Butterflied Chicken with Rosemary and Garlic" is super easy and turns out great every time.
posted by hankscorpio83 at 9:08 AM on July 19, 2021


Samin Nosrat's Buttermilk Chicken has never failed me!
posted by tangosnail at 9:17 AM on July 19, 2021 [2 favorites]


I always rub a mix of fat and flavoring between the skin and the flesh of the chicken and it never comes out dry that way.

I was coming in to suggest exactly this as well, and the method Waiting For Pierce describes above is what I do. A flavor/fat combo I use a lot is butter with chopped fresh herbs, and sometimes with some chopped preserved lemon* as well.

* Kitchen tip: preserved lemon is dead easy to DIY and can live forever in your fridge and you can use it in many situations: all you do is get a big bag of lemons, some salt, and a mason jar; cut like 3 of the lemons into wedges to start, then drop a tablespoon of salt in the jar, add a couple lemon wedges, then another spoon of salt, then lemon wedges, and on and on alternating like that. Cut up more lemons if you need to and really squish the layers in there good. Finish with one more spoon of salt, then juice enough lemons to make enough juice to cover the lemons over. Close the jar and leave it out on your counter for like a week, shaking it up a little once a day. In a week it's ready - you can leave it in your fridge after that, and whenever you need a wedge just fish it out. The rind will feel like it has a weird chewy texture and the pulp will be goo, but it works well with all applications - chop the rind up for roast chicken, smear the goo on some fish before you broil it, etc.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:06 AM on July 19, 2021 [2 favorites]


I spatchcock and roast on a sheetpan mostly these days. But in the past I always went with Dorie Greenspan's Chicken for the lazy. It doesn't create the absolute best brown skin, but the result is always tasty and I've never had a problem with overcooked or dry chicken with it (/and/ the roast veggies / bread at the bottom are absolutely delicious).
posted by dis_integration at 10:37 AM on July 19, 2021


Dry Brine overnight (i.e. salt this shit out of the bird and leave it uncovered on a rack in the fridge), Rub with oil (olive) place on rack in roasting tin. 425 for 25 minutes 325 for 40 minutes or whenever you hit your temp in the thigh.

Butter tastes great as do compound butters, but butter has water in it which keeps the skin from maximally crisping. Hence have become a minimalist. But this requires a good chicken, not a supermarket bird. Occasionally I do find a little fennel polled dusted on top before cooking is nice.
posted by JPD at 10:41 AM on July 19, 2021


Spatchcock lol. I don’t know how anyone could be bothered.

You don’t need a thermometer either. For 1.5kg, roast at 190C for 90mins. Adjust the time up or down by 5-10mins per 100g. Your chickens seem quite small though? I’ll be honest - at 1.5 pounds, it’s not worth eating yet. Throw that one back. At 3 pounds you’re starting to get somewhere.

Before you put it in the oven - cut up carrots, celery & an onion and put them in the bottom of your roasting tin. Untie any string or whatever from around the legs - smear the chicken all over with butter - cut a lemon in half & squeeze out the juice all over the buttery chicken, then put both squeezed out halves in the cavity along with some smashed garlic cloves and some kind of herb - parsley is ok, thyme is much better, tarragon is my favourite. Put it on top of the vegetables. Salt & pepper. Then roast it.

For gravy - add half a glass of white wine to the pan after you take the chicken out. Scrape all the tasty brown bits off the side, over a gentle heat. If you’re steaming any green veg to serve with it, scoop out a ladle of the veg water and add it to the pan. Strain, then simmer while your chicken is resting (which is important - 10mins).

Never fails. I’m hungry now.
posted by rd45 at 10:59 AM on July 19, 2021 [1 favorite]


This is by far my favorite way to roast a chicken! It’s so easy and the chicken always comes out juicy and delicious.
posted by cakelite at 11:03 AM on July 19, 2021


If you are finding your chicken is coming out dry, you might try using an oven thermometer as well as a meat thermometer. It may be that your actual oven temp is off from what your controls say, which is affecting your results.

I know you also said you wanted relatively unfussy recipes, but there is something to be said for basting, particularly when it's a whole bird. You don't have to do it often, but it can really help.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 11:16 AM on July 19, 2021


America's Test Kitchen has plenty of roast chicken recipes:

ATK Weeknight Roast Chicken

ATK Perfect Roast Chicken in One Hour

There are a dozen more. Just search "atk roast chicken" should bring you lots of ideas.
posted by kschang at 12:26 PM on July 19, 2021


I cook my chicken upside down (breast side down). Normal instructions for roasting per weight, stuffed with a lemon, garlic, and liberally salted in the cavity. Then lots of olive oil and salt and pepper again on the skin.

But upside down. I think that’s key. The juices then run through the breast on their way out.

When there is about 15 min left I crank up the heat a bit and turn it right side up to crisp up the skin.

Also - are you resting your chicken? Wrap it up in aluminium foil and let it rest for at least 15-20 mins.

Finally, read up on how to carve a chicken. I think that also makes a difference.

Best of luck! There’s few things in life better than a juicy roast chicken.
posted by like_neon at 12:29 PM on July 19, 2021


I learned how to roast a chicken using Thomas Keller's recipe. It's blissfully simple (spatchcocking is cool but if you're just easing into meat, that is probably a bit much) and the simplicity is part of what makes it so great - the lack of additional ingredients makes for a crispy skin and tender meat. It's a great base recipe - it'll come out great if you cook it as directed, but as you grow in confidence, you can do things like cook thighs using the technique, or change up the herbs you use, etc.
posted by lunasol at 12:30 PM on July 19, 2021


+1 for spatchcocking (also essential for roasting turkey). Anyway, hopefully everyone has convinced you to spatchcock the chicken and now you just need ideas for seasonings. An easy delicious sweet/savory prep is to baste with lemon curd. You can buy a jar of it or use Ina Garten's lemon curd recipe. Lather that chicken up with the curd and it comes out so delicious. Excellent served with roasted baby potatoes.
posted by TestamentToGrace at 12:35 PM on July 19, 2021


(Oh, two things about that Thomas Keller chicken: 1. The recipe is for a 2-3 lb chicken which is almost impossible to find in American supermarkets. I typically do a 4ish lb chicken for about 80-90 minutes. 2. If you can, slice up some potatoes or other root veggies to lay down under the chicken. This keeps the chicken drippings from burning. It also results in delicious potatoes/carrots/turnips/ whatever.)
posted by lunasol at 12:38 PM on July 19, 2021


Would you consider steaming or poaching a chicken as an alternative to roasting? Bonus, you can use the leftover liquid to make rice with.
posted by hooray at 2:08 PM on July 19, 2021


Mark Bittmann's Simplest Roast Chicken is my go to technique. It's been ages since I looked at the actual recipe, but I use the technique every single time I roast a whole chicken. It is literally fool-proof. I saw it the first time in the NYTimes, and it seems it isn't paywalled there? If so that recipe is perhaps easier to read and follow. I did indeed buy a cast-iron skillet just for this recipe, as Bittmann suggests, but before that, my carbon steel pan worked just fine.
Where Bittmann used olive oil in the original recipe, I often use butter. Butter and chicken are friends, the skin becomes even more delicious with butter. And I sometimes stuff my chicken with herbs like parsley and tarragon and often also half a lemon. I also sometimes add whole cream to the pan juices on the stove top while the chicken is resting, for a delicious homey gravy. Either which way, it is good, it's the method that is the magic.
As someone who has cooked chicken for 40 years, mostly with OK results, I felt this recipe was a game changer, because it can not go wrong.

I usually buy a free range chicken and when I bring it home, I unpack it and dry-brine it for whatever time I have. Dry-brining is rubbing the seasoning of salt and pepper (and what else you like, powdered ginger, paprika, chili powder...) and letting the bird rest for as long as you can wait. Over night is very good. Last time I roasted a chicken it rested for an hour. This improves the taste and the skin texture. But it is not necessary, Bittmann's method works with a cheap supermarket chicken right out of the bag. Though dry it with a piece of kitchen paper before adding seasoning and oil/butter.
posted by mumimor at 2:14 PM on July 19, 2021


If you have a crockpot, you can put the chicken in it, fill the chicken's cavity with fork-pierced lemons, season however you like, drape bacon slices over the chicken, cover and cook on high 4 hours. Works every time.
posted by kingless at 5:19 PM on July 19, 2021


The Zuni Roast Chicken has never failed me yet. Works fine with smaller birds.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:52 PM on July 20, 2021 [2 favorites]


More than anything else, you need a meat thermometer and learn how to use it. Whole chickens are honestly fairly forgiving if you're temping it correctly and are willing to trust the thermometer. Once you're more comfortable with the cooking techniques, you can get away with estimation but for now I'd trust technology.

You can use either an instant read or a "constant read" (whatever they're called). Constant read - something you jam in the bird and leave it in the meat for the entire length of the roast - is useful if you have a habit of forgetting things in the oven. Either way, the probe gets placed in the same spot - inside of the thigh close to the ball joint. Don't touch the bone with the probe. Once it hits 160 F*, you're done. Pull it out of the oven and let it rest (uncovered) for about ten minutes, and it'll come up to the USDA recommended temperature from there.

If you want a simple recipe:

The night before, dry off the chicken inside and out, salt generously inside and out, and set on a rack set in a sheet pan and place uncovered in the fridge. When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425F. Pull the chicken out of the fridge as the oven is preheating. You can cook it right on the sheet pan/rack combo if you like. Rub the skin of the chicken all over with olive oil (or brush with melted butter - the butter will solidify again and slowly remelt in the oven). Cut a lemon in half and stuff the cavity with half the lemon, a bunch of parsley, and cap with the other lemon half. Position your thermometer probe (if you're using a constant read kind), throw it in the oven, and pull it out when the temperature reads 160.

For extra credit, throw a cast iron skillet in the oven while it's preheating. Spread some butter or olive oil in there, then when it's time to cook throw the prepared chicken in the middle of the now hot skillet and toss potatoes or root vegetables around it. The potatoes will cook in the rendered chicken fat while the bird roasts.

*USDA recommended temperatures
posted by backseatpilot at 6:29 AM on July 22, 2021


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