Ultimate Roast Chicken

Name: Ultimate Roast Chicken
Ingredients: 1 chicken, 3* to 4 1/2 lbs., lumps of fat and tail removed, rinsed and patted very dry; Fine sea salt (1 1/2 tsp. for a 3- to 3 3/4-lb. chicken or 2 tsp. for a 4- to 4 1/2-lb. chicken); Pepper (3/4 tsp. for a smaller chicken or 1 tsp. for a larger one); About 1 tbsp. olive oil (for plain or French Herb chicken)

4 ingredients

5 steps

Ingredients

1 chicken, 3* to 4 1/2 lbs., lumps of fat and tail removed, rinsed and patted very dry
Fine sea salt (1 1/2 tsp. for a 3- to 3 3/4-lb. chicken or 2 tsp. for a 4- to 4 1/2-lb. chicken)
Pepper (3/4 tsp. for a smaller chicken or 1 tsp. for a larger one)
About 1 tbsp. olive oil (for plain or French Herb chicken)

Directions

1

Slide 2 fingers between breast skin and meat on chicken to make pockets. Turn chicken over and loosen thigh skin the same way. Mix salt and pepper; evenly rub 1/4 tsp. over meat in each pocket and the rest over outside of bird. Put chicken on a rack in a rimmed pan, very loosely cover with plastic wrap, and chill 2 days.
2

Pat chicken dry inside and out. Make seasoning, if using, and add to chicken as directed. Oil chicken (for plain or French Herb). Set chicken breast-up on a V-shaped rack in a 12- by 17-in. roasting pan; tuck wing tips under if you like. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 475°.
3

Roast chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally through thickest part of breast reaches 160°, 30 to 45 minutes for a smaller bird or 45 to 50 minutes for a larger one. Transfer chicken to a warm platter and let stand in a warm place about 10 minutes.
4

*To find small (uncooked) chickens, try markets that roast rotisserie birds (which are small) on-site.
5

Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving plain chicken.