Walk-Away Roast Chicken
By America's Test KitchenPublished on June 25, 2009
Time
2¾ hours, plus 1 hour chilling
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
If using a kosher chicken, skip step 1 and don’t rinse the chicken in step 3. We recommend using a V-rack to roast the chicken.
Instructions
- Dissolve the sugar and salt in 2 quarts water in a large container. Submerge the chicken in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 250 degrees. Coat a V-rack with nonstick cooking spray and set inside a roasting pan.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and rinse. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then carefully separate the chicken skin from the breast meat, being careful not to break the skin. Place the butter underneath the skin, then gently massage the skin to distribute the butter evenly over the breast.
- Tuck the wings behind the back. Brush the chicken with the oil and season with pepper. Place the chicken, breast side up, in the prepared V-rack and roast until the thickest part of the breast registers 125 to 130 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
- Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees and continue to roast the chicken until the thickest part of the breast registers 160 to 165 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes longer.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Carve the chicken and serve.
Time
2¾ hours, plus 1 hour chillingYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For a roast chicken recipe that required very little attention during cooking, we first brined the chicken in a sugar and salt solution, which guaranteed that the meat would be well seasoned and the skin caramelized. Once the chicken was brined and patted dry, we brushed the bird with olive oil and let it cook undisturbed in the oven without any further basting, resulting in great color and crisp skin, with minimal fuss. To further ensure crisp skin and flavorful meat for our roast chicken recipe, we separated the skin from the meat, pumping up the flavor even more by slipping a little butter between the skin and the meat.
Before You Begin
If using a kosher chicken, skip step 1 and don’t rinse the chicken in step 3. We recommend using a V-rack to roast the chicken.
Instructions
- Dissolve the sugar and salt in 2 quarts water in a large container. Submerge the chicken in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 250 degrees. Coat a V-rack with nonstick cooking spray and set inside a roasting pan.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and rinse. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then carefully separate the chicken skin from the breast meat, being careful not to break the skin. Place the butter underneath the skin, then gently massage the skin to distribute the butter evenly over the breast.
- Tuck the wings behind the back. Brush the chicken with the oil and season with pepper. Place the chicken, breast side up, in the prepared V-rack and roast until the thickest part of the breast registers 125 to 130 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.
- Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees and continue to roast the chicken until the thickest part of the breast registers 160 to 165 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh registers 170 to 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes longer.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Carve the chicken and serve.
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