No Really – The Best Roast Chicken

What you’ll need:

A roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack
A baster (old school rubber bulb with plastic tube…)
Again, you know…that’s it

Ingredients:

1 3-4 lb. chicken (fresh and as organic as your pocket book will afford)
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons of salt – I know, don’t have a heart attack I’ll explain the salt…
2 teaspoons of pepper
1 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder
1 cup of liquid – you choose. I use white wine sometimes or cranberry, orange juice (if you use any fruit juice keep an eye on the chicken skin – sugars from the juice can burn the skin. If it’s getting too dark but the chicken has more time to cook – throw a piece of foil over the bird in the oven to protect it from the direct heat but don’t stop basting!)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the chicken from the package and rinse in cold water – make sure that you get it clean from anything that is left on the skin from the package.

Now here’s the thing about the salt. My mother – did I mentioned that this her recipe? It is and it hasn’t changed a bit. First thing to do is kosher the chicken. Yes, kosher it. Why? Well firstly my mother used to do it, so that’s one very good reason, but it is done to remove any blood and impurities. By salting the chicken, it makes it juicer and more flavorful. That’s her story and so far, she’s been right on. So here is what you need to do – it may freak you out but hold on and stay with me. Take the salt and cover the entire chicken in a heavy layer of salt. Inside and out. You may need more than a cup to really get it covered.

Let the chicken sit with the salt on it for 20 minutes and then rinse it thoroughly. Remove it from the sink (assuming that this is where all the craziness is happening) and dry it with paper towels. Make sure you get the skin really dry.

Now, flip the chicken onto its breast and begin seasoning. Sprinkle everywhere with the salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder – making sure you have enough for both sides of the chicken. 

A note -if you want, you can add more or less of any of the seasoning according to your taste.  

Once it’s seasoned on both sides (don’t forget to get seasoning into the cavity) put it onto the roasting rack breast side up. Put the chicken in the oven and pour about a quarter cup of the liquid into the bottom of the pan and then baste every 30 minutes. Add liquid as you need to make sure you have enough to baste with each time.

There is a lot written about cook times and temperature… I am a purist. 20 minutes a pound in a 350-degree oven. To check for doneness you can poke the lower thigh with a fork and if the juice runs clear, your done. Another way is to wiggle one of the legs, if it moves easily it’s done.

Take it out and put it on a cutting board and tent foil over the chicken and let it rest for 10 minutes or so. Running late? Cover the chicken with foil and it can wait for you…but not too long!

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No Really - The Best Roast Chicken

(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)

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Ingredients

• 1 3-4 lb. chicken (fresh and as organic as your pocket book will afford)
• 1 cup plus 2 teaspoons of salt – I know, don’t have a heart attack I’ll explain the salt…
• 2 teaspoons of pepper
• 1 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder
• 1 cup of liquid – you choose. I use white wine sometimes or cranberry, orange juice (if you use any fruit juice keep an eye on the chicken skin – sugars from the juice can burn the skin. If it’s getting too dark but the chicken has more time to cook – throw a piece of foil over the bird in the oven to protect it from the direct heat but don’t stop basting!)

Instructions

1

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

2

Remove the chicken from the package and rinse in cold water – make sure that you get it clean from anything that is left on the skin from the package.

3

Now here’s the thing about the salt. My mother – did I mentioned that this her recipe? It is and it hasn’t changed a bit. First thing to do is kosher the chicken. Yes, kosher it. Why? Well firstly my mother used to do it, so that’s one very good reason, but it is done to remove any blood and impurities. By salting the chicken, it makes it juicer and more flavorful. That’s her story and so far, she’s been right on. So here is what you need to do – it may freak you out but hold on and stay with me. Take the salt and cover the entire chicken in a heavy layer of salt. Inside and out. You may need more than a cup to really get it covered.

4

Let the chicken sit with the salt on it for 20 minutes and then rinse it thoroughly. Remove it from the sink (assuming that this is where all the craziness is happening) and dry it with paper towels. Make sure you get the skin really dry.

5

Now, flip the chicken onto its breast and begin seasoning. Sprinkle everywhere with the salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder – making sure you have enough for both sides of the chicken.

6

A note – if you want, you can add more or less of any of the seasoning according to your taste.

7

Once it’s seasoned on both sides (don’t forget to get seasoning into the cavity) put it onto the roasting rack breast side up. Put the chicken in the oven and pour about a quarter cup of the liquid into the bottom of the pan and then baste every 30 minutes. Add liquid as you need to make sure you have enough to baste with each time.

8

There is a lot written about cook times and temperature…I am a purist. 20 minutes a pound in a 350-degree oven. To check for doneness you can poke the lower thigh with a fork and if the juice runs clear, your done. Another way is to wiggle one of the legs, if it moves easily it’s done.

9

Take it out and put it on a cutting board and tent foil over the chicken and let it rest for 10 minutes or so. Running late? Cover the chicken with foil and it can wait for you…but not too long!