A SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN 

Serves 4-6

I still adore the basic bird and will likely choose it as my last supper – if I have the choice. The hardest part is finding a good chicken locally. To this day, I lament to the loss of the extraordinary chickens raised by Bud Hoffman, whose birds set the mark for deliciousness in the Bay Area. Before Bud’s, my favorite chickens were the Spanish ones spit-roasting in every market shop along the Costa Brava. I had the good fortune to buy them when I travelled there.

One can give a bird good flavor with just a few simple herbs and spices. For me, simple is the central notion; That, a good salting and few fresh herbs will handily do the trick. If you don’t have a garden full of fresh herbs or a convenient, well-stocked grocery or farmer’s market (I bet you do), a dusting of dried herbs will work wonders.

This recipe can be elaborated in any way you wish, and I’m sure some skilled cooks will “improve” it with fancier seasonings, but my intention here is to give you a basic approach that will allow you to get a yummy roast chicken on the table, regardless your circumstances. And after roasting and serving the bird, make a quart of flavorful stock from the carcass, neck and any leftover bones.  Because the carcass is already full of flavor, you don’t need to add aromatic vegetables or seasonings. You can also make a delicious giblet toast from the liver, gizzard, and heart – panfried and chopped, seasoned with a few herbs of your choice - if you’re so inclined.

A FEW THOUGHTS:
SALT 
Try to find a tasty salt – Diamond Crystal kosher salt is a workhorse – reliable and used widely in restaurants. Sea salt has better flavor. You can spend a fortune on sea salt but don’t need to. I buy French grey salt (sel gris) or coarse sea salt, both rich in minerals, and grind the salt to a fine texture with the mortar and pestle. French, Italian, Spanish, Irish, English, Turkish, American – all are good sea salts, and the origin is to one’s own taste, little else. If you want a fancy salt to accent the finished bird nicely or to gussy-up your table, I suggest the Maldon Sea Salt, a large flake from England. It gives a pointed, minerally, salty burst to a dish, and is available in many stores.

ROASTING RACKS 
A roasting rack is super helpful helps achieve a good roast chicken. I often use a baking sheet with stainless steel rack, sometimes called a cooling rack. I also sometimes use a cast iron pan with a round cooling rack set inside. That works fine, too. I’ve come to like a V-shaped steel rack that sits in the baking sheet and holds the chicken in an upright position. The idea is “nothing fancy.” You just need to hold the chicken up off the pan.

TEMPERATURE
The USDA advises cooking poultry to an internal temperature of 165 ºF (74 ºC) for food safety. I follow this advice in spirit and mostly to the letter, though I usually pull my chicken from the oven at around 160 ºF (71 ºC) internal temperature or just above. The chicken will rest to around 165 ºF or a little higher, which yields a perfectly moist chicken. Test it in several places, not just one; the deepest part of the breast and thigh. As a young cook, I aimed for slightly lower temperatures, giving a medium or even medium-rare bird, but as I matured as a cook, I found that the flavor was even better in a more well-cooked bird. Wild game birds are a different story, but for farm-raised gallinaceous birds – chickens, turkey, quail, Guinea hens, even pheasant – I like them to be on the far edge of medium, which means taking them from the oven at 160 ºF (71 ºC).

1 whole pasture-raised chicken, about 3 ½ - 4 lbs
1 ½ TBL kosher salt
2 TBL unsalted melted butter or 2 TBL olive oil 
1 ½ TBL + 1 tsp OFB Sicilian Seasoning Spice
A handful of garden herbs: parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, savory, oregano, etc. 
A few strips of peel 
2 or 3 crushed, peeled garlic cloves 

Heat oven to 425ᵒ F.

Salt chicken inside and out with kosher salt. Refrigerate for 4 hours or preferably, overnight. Next day, let chicken to come to room temperature. When ready to roast, rub outside if chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle outside of chicken with 1 ½ tablespoons OFB Seasoning Spice. Stuff chicken cavity with lemon peel, garlic cloves, and herbs (tied in a bundle if you wish; truss chicken if you wish). Place chicken on a roasting rack set inside a roasting pan – the typical turkey set up, but smaller. Place pan on middle rack of oven with feet facing the right side of the oven. Roast for 20-25 minutes at 400ᵒ F (200 ºC). Rotate pan 180 degrees, so feet are facing left and roast 20-25 minutes more. The skin should be browned and well-crisped. Turn chicken again 180º – feet to the right – and turn oven down to 350ᵒ F (175 ºC). Roast chicken 20 minutes more. Turn pan around again 180º and roast 15-20 minutes longer. Test internal temperature at deepest part of the breast and thigh. Thermometer should read 160ᵒ F (71 ºC). Allow chicken to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Place chicken on a warm serving plate and pour pan juices over the bird. Et voilà! Save the chicken carcass and any stray bones (wing tips, etc., but not the ones off the plates!) for stock.

To make stock, cover the chicken carcass with cold water and simmer for 40 mins. No additional veggies or seasoning are needed in the stock. Cool and freeze stock for another dish; it’s great for risotta and soups.

 ©2020 Christopher Lee