Every morning, recipes arrive into my email box, from the Bon Appetit/Epicurious Website
So every morning I scan down to find something of interest.
One that caught my eye, was
The Perfect Roast Chicken, from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Cookbook
I’d love to reprint it, as I love his descriptions,
but I may get in trouble
with copyright.
So here in my words, is how to Roast a Perfect Chicken
Courtesy Thomas Keller
Take one 1.5Kg Free Range Chicken
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped thyme (optional)
Some important points to note
First you must dry the chicken completely...
Inside and out
The idea is, the less the chicken steams, the drier the heat,
The better the chicken
Season the chicken well inside, with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Secondly: Truss the chicken
You don't have to be an expert to truss
just make sure the wings and the legs are close to the body,
this makes a great shape and the chicken can roast evenly
Pre-heat your oven to 220C/ 450F
Rain sea salt over the chicken and grind some pepper over the top
You should see those flakes on top
Place the chicken into a roasting pan and place in the oven
Do not touch it, just let it cook for 50-60 minutes
Check after 45 minutes don't want to overcook it
Best way to test for “doneness”
Just poke a skewer into the leg
Hold there for about 10 seconds
The juices should run clear
Put the skewer to your lips
it should be hot
Not quite right,
back into oven for a few more minutes
Remove from oven
Place thyme (if using) into pan and baste the chicken
Baste with the thyme and chicken juices
Let sit on cutting board for 15 minutes to rest
Remove the twine and break up into pieces
The aroma is divine, it’s so hard not to rip into it and eat it all by yourself
So unselfishly,
Dish out good portions to your guest/guests
Serve with a simple green salad, maybe some simple boiled potatoes
So so simple in fact!!!
Guaranteed a huge success
n.b. Thomas Keller slathered the chicken with butter, before serving, but I did find that made the skin a little flabby
So in my wisdom. Serve as is.
I want some right now
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