Southwestern-Flavored Butter for Walk-Away Roast Chicken

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.