Oven Roasted Chicken
Chicken Simple Recipes Meat Dishes Oven Recipes
This is the juiciest oven roasted chicken I've ever prepared. It seemed even juicier than the beer can chicken. The secret lies in choosing a small chicken, maximum 1.4 kg, and salting it 2 days before cooking. The technique is the same as for mixed grills, just applied to larger pieces of meat, which is why the waiting time is longer.
I hope I haven't discouraged you with the waiting time... It's not hard - I planned the chicken for the weekend, bought it making sure it wouldn't expire in those 2 days 😉, salted it and then "forgot" it in the fridge until Sunday evening when it was ready in an hour. I served it with just salad of salads and some croutons. But next time I want to put some whole semi-boiled potatoes (about 15 minutes) in the pan around the chicken and season the chicken with a little paprika for more color, because since I didn't use oil (you don't need to!) the skin came out paler - that was the only flaw.
NOTE Feb 08, 2009 - I remade the chicken and the photos, this time seasoned with a mix of paprika, pepper and turmeric and it's a whole different story - I got a perfect color now.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken for grilling (maximum 1.4 kg)
2 sprigs rosemary
4 sprigs thyme
salt (sea salt, if possible)
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
How to prepare oven roasted chicken
- Clean the chicken of fat from the inside, especially around the neck area. This is important, otherwise the fat will melt in the pan and burn, smoking up the whole house. Wash the chicken and dry it well with paper towels.
- Salt the chicken all over, including inside and under the breast skin.
- Put the chicken in the fridge for 2 days. This is the whole trick to getting a juicy chicken.
- When you want to cook it, take the chicken out and season it with the mix of pepper, paprika and turmeric. Under the breast skin, insert the rosemary and thyme. I also sprinkled some coarse salt over the chicken.
- Preheat the oven to maximum, 250°C for half an hour.
- Heat a pan (that can fit the chicken) on the stovetop. Place the chicken breast-side down - you'll hear it sizzle. Around the chicken I placed potatoes cut into long slices and seasoned with the same mix as the chicken, plus salt. Put the pan in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.
- Take the pan out, flip the chicken - carefully so you don't burn yourself - breast-side up and roast for another 30 minutes. Don't baste the chicken with the pan juices!
- When done, let the chicken rest for 15 minutes without cutting it, then serve.
Salt the chicken and after 2 days stuff it with herbs
Place it in the hot pan breast-side down
The roasted chicken
Oven roasted chicken (photo sent by Simona)
