The Best Roast Chicken
Everyone has a nostalgic dish - a recipe that instantly transports them to mom's or grandma's kitchen. Let others have their macaroni and cheese or their meatloaf. I'll take roast chicken.
Like most Jewish families, mine had roast chicken every Friday night and for every holiday. I cherish the memories of my mom telling me how to make chicken skin perfectly golden (a little bit of paprika!), and slipping into the kitchen with my aunt to pick all the meat off the bones.
So here it is: the perfect roast chicken that I struggle not to devour all by myself. As always, a few notes:
If you can, buy pastured, humanely raised chicken (my mom calls these "happy chickens"). Though pastured chicken is more expensive, you won't have to worry about antibiotics - or perhaps more importantly, the conditions in which the chicken was raised. Whole Foods and farmers markets are good sources.
Unless you're making soup, always look for young chickens, which are more tender.
I prefer crisper skin, so I rinsed my chicken, then let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before seasoning and roasting.
I can't stress enough that you shouldn't be afraid of this dish - or squeamish about cooking whole animals. This is honestly harder to screw up than cooking just the breasts. So tackle those fears and dive on in - and kept plenty of soap on hand. Happy roasting!
The Best Roast Chicken
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 60 minutes Total time: 70 minutes + resting time
Ingredients
1 whole chicken (5-6 pounds), neck and giblets removed from the cavity
Fine kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 bunch fresh thyme
1 medium lemon, halved
1 head of garlic, halved
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
Place a rack in the middle in the middle of your oven and preheat to 425 degrees.
Thoroughly rinse the chicken inside and out, then pat dry. Generously salt and pepper both the inside and outside of the chicken, then stuff the cavity with the thyme, lemon and garlic. Drizzle the olive oil over the outside of the chicken, then season with a little more salt and pepper, and the paprika.
Tie the legs together, and tuck the wing tips under the chicken's body. Place the chicken on a rack fitted in a roasting pan, then pour two cups of water in the pan. If you don't have a rack, twist several sheets of aluminum foil into a large, thick circle, then set the chicken on top of that.
Roast the chicken for 50 - 60 minutes, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh and a thermometer registers 165. Note that you're cooking time will vary depending on the size of your chicken.
Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest on a cutting board. for 15 minutes before carving. Serve alongside drippings from the pan.
