Sunday, January 28, 2018

Simplest roast chicken


There's a Wegman's not ten miles from where we now live. I've been there twice. Last weekend we bought a chicken and tonight we decided to cook it at last.

Mark Bittman has an amazingly easy roast chicken recipe at the New York Times website. Here it is. Warning: Some people find this sets off the smoke detector. We didn't have any  problem despite having the oven halfway across the kitchen from the hood.
Yield: 4 servings 
Time: 50 to 60 minutes 
INGREDIENTS 
1  whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat 
3  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 
PREPARATION 
1.   Put a cast-iron skillet on a low rack in the oven and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Rub the chicken all over with the oil and sprinkle it generously with salt and pepper. 
2.   When the oven and skillet are hot, carefully put the chicken in the skillet, breast side up. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Continue to roast until the bird is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meaty part of the thigh reads 155 to 165 degrees. 
3.   Tip the pan to let the juices flow from the chicken’s cavity into the pan. Transfer the chicken to a platter and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. Carve and serve.
It was delicious. I deglazed the pan with a little red wine to make a basic gravy, and that was it. 


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