Roast Chicken

During my maternity leave, mom would often visit (or Alexis and I would visit them) and invariably she'd prepare a dinner for En and me, most times it would be a halved chicken, rubbed with spices, ready for me to stick into the oven and let cook while I tend to Alexis. It was one of the most wonderful thing anyone could do for a new mother.

Roasting a chicken can seem intimidating, but honestly, it's a little easier than cleaning chicken breast or cutting up chicken quarters. As a general rule, whole beast is tastier and juicier than when broken down into parts, and if I can get my hands on a whole chicken, then I'm roasting it. This recipe is as simple as they come. The coating can be prepared in advanced and stored, but the closer to the grinding of the spice, the better the flavour will be, though the diminished freshness is negligible. Time does the real work, freeing you up to do whatever you need for an hour and a half.


There is one other preparation of whole chicken I would like to someday try, but it would require  experimentation and tending to, both things I cannot afford with Alexis as young as she is. It is Chicken In Milk, an Italian dish which I've seen Jamie Oliver recreate, and it seems delicious. But that is for another time.

Jev, you asked about the chicken, so this post is for you.

Ready for carving

Coating (1 3/4 cup)

Cornmeal (fine)		1/2 cup
Whole Wheat Flour		1/4 cup
Unbleached Flour		2 tbsp
Barley Flour		2 tbsp
Cornstarch		2 tbsp
Oregano (dried)		2 tbsp (ground)
Thyme (dried)		2 tbsp (ground)
Garlic Powder		3 tbsp (ground)
Chili Powder		2 tbsp (ground)
Onion Powder		1 tbsp (ground)
Black Pepper		1 tbsp (ground)
Sea Salt		1 tbsp (ground)

Chicken

Whole Grain-fed Chicken		1
Dry Coating		1 cup

Preparation:

1. Gut and trim any visible fat from chicken without removing skin
2. loosen skin from breast, again removing fat, and be careful not to tear skin
3. Wash chicken in vinegar and salt solution and rinse well
4. Allow chicken to dry
5. Truss chicken
1. cut a good length chicken twine
2. tuck wings to back and hook twine inside crook of wings
3. cross twine over spine so they form an 'X'
4. wind twine around  opposite drumstick bone
5. draw ends together under and tie off
6. I keep the wingtips untucked but close to the side of the bird. This way, the tips get crispy, but will not burn.
7. In the same spirit, I don't torture the drumsticks into position under the bird. The twine will hold them together and close to the body, that's all they need to keep from burning. If you fix them beneath the bird, the coating will bake soggy rather than crisp.
6. When bird is dry, place on roasting rack on the side and take a handful of coating, pressing it into the skin. Get into the creases of the wing and where the leg joins the body. Use your bare hands; there is no other way to get the coating into every crevice. Once they are coated, they will not absorb a great deal more coating. Just don't wash your hands until you've finished coating the chicken.
7. Repeat on the other side
8. Repeat on the top of bird, but first, push some of the coating under the skin on the actual breast meat
9. Press coating on the top (neck area) and the bottom of the bird
10. With half a handful of the coating, rub it around inside the cavity. This is more for flavour than for texture, but for it will absorb the cooking juices and fall onto the spine, which you will cut away when carving. This step is crucial for infusing the best possible flavour into the meat.
11. Some of the mixture may have fallen, so press any of the remaining mixture over top of the bird
12. Place bird uncovered into a 350C oven for (approximately) 1 hour and 30 minutes (for a medium sized bird)
13. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. Just look at it through the glass. If the coating isn't black, what are you worrying about?
14. Depending on the weight and size of the bird you may need to give or take 10 minutes of cooking time. I judge by colouring, but if you are really unsure, use a meat thermometer. I've used one before, but I hate poking holes into the meat. If your bird seems unusually big, give it a little more time.
15. Let rest for at least 10 minutes to allow juices to redistribute.