Cooking a Whole Roasted Chicken doesn't need to be hard! If you follow my instructions, you'll be able to cook up a beautiful bird with juicy meat and golden brown skin. This recipe is adapted from the one and only Thomas Keller. If you don't know who he is, he is probably the greatest chef ever to come out of America.
About This Recipe
Growing up, my family never ate roast chicken that much. We were a typical Chinese-Canadian family so we mostly ate Chinese food at home. But when I left home for university, I started cooking more Western-style food during my spare time, and one of the things I picked up on was roasted chicken.
To be completely honest, the first few times I made roasted chicken, it came out pretty bad. The meat was dry and I couldn't get a nice brown color on the skin. But after playing around with temperatures and buying a meat thermometer, I was able to get consistently juicy meat with brown skin every time.
Best temperature For Juicy Chicken
The key to juicy chicken is pulling out the chicken at the right time. Most recipes recommend cooking the chicken to 165ยฐF because that's the USDA's guideline for food safety. At 165ยฐF, harmful bacteria like Salmonella are instantly killed. However, the majority of chicken meat is very lean, so by 165ยฐF, the meat is very dry and overcooked.
The thing that USDA doesn't tell you is that food safety isnโt just about temperature; itโs also about time. Chicken cooked to 150ยฐF is perfectly safe to eat as long it is held at that temperature for at least 4 minutes. When you remove the chicken from heat at 150ยฐF, the temperature naturally rises another 5โ10ยฐF due to carryover cooking. This means the chicken will finish cooking to 155โ160ยฐF as it rests for about 10 minutes. During this time, the germs are killed, and the chicken becomes safe to eat.
Drying the skin overnight
This a completely optional step, but it will help you achieve a beautiful brown skin on the chicken. By letting the chicken air dry in the fridge, we allow the cold air circulation to remove moisture from the skin. Dry skin browns much better than wet skin when roasting.
To air-dry, simply place the chicken on a pan uncovered (with the packaging removed) in the fridge overnight. Let it air dry for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours.
๐ Recipe
Whole Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (3-4 pounds)
For the seasoned butter
- ยผ cup softened butter
- 1 ยฝ tablespoons salt
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (or any combination of sage, rosemary, thyme, and parsley)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
- ยฝ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- This step is optional, but for the crispiest skin, you want to air-dry the chicken overnight. First, truss up the legs of the chicken using some butcher's twine (just tie them together so they aren't spread apart). Tuck the wings underneath and place the chicken breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Leave it uncovered in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours.
- Remove the chicken out of the fridge one hour before cooking.
- Preheat your oven to 450ยฐF and set the rack in the lower-middle position.
- Combine the butter ingredients in a small bowl. Spread ยฝ of this mixture inside the neck and stomach. Spread the remaining ยฝ on the outside.
- Roast at 450ยฐF for 10 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350ยฐF. Continue roasting for another 50-60 minutes until the thickest part of the breast reads 150-155ยฐF. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before eating. Enjoy!
Sharon
This is a keeper! The herbs and spice rub to make crispy skin is outrageously delicious and does not disappoint.
After the initial high temp (10 minutes) I sprinkled fresh thyme on the top of the breast- umm- yum!
I added a tablespoon of olive oil to my cast iron skillet and thick sliced onion that the chicken sat on to roast. Easy and perfect for a fall Sunday afternoon dinner
Courtney
Amazing ๐ saving this to make again and again.