My Favorite Roast Chicken

Roast chicken should be one of the simplest recipes out there, yet I could never get it quite right. Either the white meat was too dry, the dark meat undercooked. The skin not quite crispy enough. I tried everything, slow and low, fast and high, breast up breast down but it was never just right. Until now. I came across this recipe on Epicurious. It turns out the secret to a succulent, crispy bird is to start with a dry chicken, dry pan and lots of salt.

Ingredients

1 2-3 pound farm raised chicken
kosher salt and pepper
2 teaspoons minced thyme
butter
Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 450
Rinse the chicken and dry thoroughly with paper towel
Salt and pepper the inner cavity, then truss.
Cover the outside of the bird with salt (about 1 tbsp) and pepper to taste
Place chicken in a saute or roasting pan and put it in the oven.
Leave it for about 50-60 minutes (you’ll know it’s down when the juices run clear and the legs wiggle loosely from the body)
Once it’s done, add chopped thyme to juices in pan and baste bird with the juices
Let stand for about 15 minutes, then carve
Serve with butter and dijon mustard

YUM!

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