Chicken is the culinary equivalent of an artist’s blank canvas. It is adaptable to many different cooking methods, including roasting, braising, sauteing, poaching and spinning on a rotisserie, to name a few. Cultures around the world have their own distinctive ways of cooking chicken with seasonings ranging from hot and spicy to complex and savory.
Professional chefs often judge one another on the basis of their roast chicken. It’s a seemingly easy dish, but hard to get just right, particularly for an audience of fellow pros. There’s not a lot of sauce or ingredients to mask any flaws. Is the chicken moist and juicy? Is the skin crisp and brown? Do the seasonings bring out the best in the bird, enhance the meal and work with one another? I don’t mean to intimidate! Roast chicken isn’t that difficult, but like anything, perfection is hard to achieve.
The big issue in roasting is oven temperature. For many years I favored a moderate oven – 325 or so – basically following the directions that came with the bird. It was fairly easy to get evenly moist and juicy meat. I would even tolerate a little red color in the thigh joint to get the breast cooked to a moist, just-right doneness. However, the skin doesn’t really get brown and crisp, and the pan juices don’t get a rich caramelized flavor.

Roast Chicken #2 800 dpi
I’ve lately become a fan of a higher temperature approach that yields a dark crispy skin and more flavor and color in the pan juices. But, it’s tough to judge doneness with this quicker cooking approach. I’ve had a few incidents of dry breast meat and thighs that fall apart. My model is Thomas Keller’s, method in his Ad Hoc at Home cookbook. Keller (Chef at the legendary French Laundry) has the oven set at 475 for the first 25 minutes and then reduced to 400 for the remaining time – 45 minutes or so. That phrase “remaining time” is the tricky part. The cooking time will depend on the size of the bird, the depth of the pan, stuffing or not, and a few other imponderables. As I said, I’ve had a few overdone birds – not seriously so – just cooked more that I wanted. Get a meat thermometer and monitor the chicken temperature at the thigh joint or the thick part of the breast. 160 is the goal. Once out of the oven, the chicken should rest for 10 or 15 minutes and will cook a little more.
I’m a lazy cook and don’t like to clean up more than I have to. Chicken should be roasted on a rack so the lower part is not poaching in the pan juices, but those racks are hard to wash. I sacrifice a little technique by putting the bird on a base of celery ribs and whole carrots. I cut these long and lay them across the pan to elevate the chicken an inch or so. By the way, the roasted vegetables taste pretty good with dinner or in a soup. I don’t like to scrub out a crusty roasting pan either, so I line my pan with aluminum foil. Chefs will tell you that this sacrifices some browning in the pan that will intensify the flavor of the juices, and I’m sure they’re right. I think about that as I roll the slide into the trash and stick the pan in the dishwasher – no scouring required.
Seasoning options for roast chicken are almost unlimited. Just around the Mediterranean coast inspiration can be found for paprika, garlic, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, citrus, dried fruits and exotic North African spices like cumin, coriander and cardamom. South and Central America add a rich tradition of chilies from mild to hot. Asian cultures have ginger, soy, peanuts and very hot peppers as enhancements. I favor a simple mix of things usually available in the pantry – a few whole garlic cloves and some salt in the cavity along with a sprig or two from the rosemary plant in my window plus a squeeze of lemon or orange over the top with the juiced fruit in the cavity or in the pan. Once in a while I’ll slip some tarragon or sage leaves under the skin to flavor the breast meat instead of the rosemary. Salt and pepper all over the skin and in the oven it goes! Some cooks suggest rubbing the skin with butter or oil, but this seems like overkill to me.
Mushrooms and pan juices are what I want with the chicken. Slice and saute the mushrooms till brown. While the bird is resting, tip the pan juices into a separator and let the fat rise to the top. Splash some of the wine you’ll be having with the meal into the sizzling mushrooms, add some of the defatted pan juices and check the seasoning. Let that all reduce for a minute while you cut up the chicken and then dinner is ready.
Another method for roasting chicken goes by several aliases including butterflied, spatchcocked, al Mattone or chicken under a brick. The basic method for this is to cut out the backbone along the ribs and then lay the chicken flat all in one piece. Brown the chicken skin side down in an oven proof skillet on the stovetop for 7 or 8 minutes and then roast in the same skillet with a weight on the chicken (bricks are a bit much, I use a small but heavy cast iron fry pan wrapped in foil) at 400 for 45 minutes or so. This method is a little quicker than oven roasting and yields great flavor from the pan juices and a lovely dark color on the skin. The butterflied chicken gets marinated overnight in a plastic bag with some olive oil, lemon, garlic and rosemary, if I’m well organized.
The supermarket chicken display is full of packaged parts, but the whole chickens are there too, tucked away on a low shelf. Grab one for roasting at home. You’ll get a delicious dinner, the house will be perfumed with wonderful aromas, and there will be tasty leftovers, too. Before too long you’ll be ready for the pro chefs to take a taste.