The Easiest Roast Chicken
Are you intimidated by roasting a whole chicken? Scared it will be undercooked or dry as a bone? Worry no longer — this foolproof roast chicken is so easy and will impress any guests or family. It comes out truly stunning; you will be dreaming about this dish for weeks (or until you make it again). This is a great dish for a dinner party because app the prep happens the day before, and the cooking is totally hands off. Let’s get cooking…
Ingredients:
4 LBS Chicken (High quality chicken makes a BIG difference here)
1/4 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
2 TBS Olive Oil
Thermapen Instant Read Thermometer (a necessity!)
Scallions to garnish
Special Tools & Ingredients that you should order:
Thermapen One - $70.85 (Save 35% - Limited time only!)
Lodge Cast Iron Skillet - $29.90 (Save 40% - Limited time only!)
Step 1: Prepping the Chicken
Remove the chicken from the plastic, and discard neck. Place chicken on a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack. Pat the chicken dry to remove any excess liquid. Season the chicken with the salt all over (don’t forget to season inside the cavity and under the skin). Place baking sheet in the fridge uncovered, overnight.
Step 2: Cooking the Chicken
1 hour before cooking, remove the chicken from the fridge. Preheat oven to 425 with convection. Meanwhile, preheat cast iron pan over medium heat. One hot, add olive oil and place chicken in the pan, breast side up. This will jumpstart the crisping and cooking of the thighs, so they will cook evenly with the breasts. Sear for 5 minutes. With a cooking brush, baste the chicken in fat as it accumulates in the bottom of the pan. Slide chicken into the oven and roast for 55-60 minutes. reove the chicken from oven, and using your Thermapen, check the thickest point of the breast. You are shooting for 155 degrees, because the chicken will continue to cook to 165 degrees as it rests.
Step 3: Resting and Carving
I cannot stress enough how important it is to rest your chicken for at least 30 minutes. This will allow the chicken to continue to cook, and reabsorb all its juices (just like a steak). Check out this video on how to carve a chicken! Garnish with chives and enjoy!
