Having a tough day?

Roast a chicken.⁣

Well, it always works for me anyways. ⁣And yes, I know it doesn't solve the worlds problems but it will make your day a little more delicious. 

It might sound basic but there’s something magical about it. ⁣⁣

Learning to do the foundational things well is where you build your confidence in the kitchen. When you understand and can really execute the process, it opens up the potential for so much creativity and makes it so much more fun.

This is my whole philosophy on cooking.

Roasting a chicken is one of the things I’d put on my top ten list of things I want everyone in the world to know how to cook.

And sure it might be tempting to grab a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, but to me you’re missing out on the magic that’s in the process. Which is just as satisfying as the eating part. Don’t get me wrong, there’s always a time and place for grabbing that rotisserie bird, but putting the extra bit of effort to make it yourself is always worth it.

The act of preparing the chicken. You get to make it as simple or as layered as you want with flavours and other things - more on that later.

The comforting smell that is better than any essential oil out there.

The anticipation of it all as you watch the most simple of ingredients turn into a beautiful meal.

It just feels good thinking about it as I write this which means the act of itself is something worthwhile. These little things are what make life meaningful.

Roast chicken. The perfect place to start to learn how to cook better and to start a meaningful little ritual of your own.

So let’s go on into some details that will help you to dial in your chicken roasting game.

Pre-game

First, find the best quality bird you can find. It always starts with good ingredients.

Next you want to think about seasoning. Start with salt. Generously rub the bird with kosher salt as early as you can and pop it in the fridge loosely covered. If I’m prepared I’ll do it overnight but a few hours will do. This is also when you can add different spices if you want to flavour it up - a few of my favourites that I’ll mix in with my salt are; rosemary, thyme, sage, paprika, zata’ar, cumin. It really depends on where you want to go with the flavour so think about what you’ll be using the chicken for and what you want to serve it with. This will inform your choices. Citrus zest of any kind is also great!

You can also marinate the whole bird in buttermilk which is something that came from Samin Norsat's book, Salt Fat Acid Heat. The buttermilk works as a tenderizer and makes it almost fool proof to avoid the dreaded dried out bird. *You can flavour the buttermilk with aromatics like garlic, green onions, woody herbs to name a few.*

Almost game time.

Take your chicken out of the fridge at least an hour before you're going to cook it which helps for more even cooking. Of course this isn’t mandatory - I sometimes forget too so if you do, don’t sweat it just get it out of the fridge as soon as you remember.

When choosing your roasting tool, think about what you’re doing with the meal. Are you wanting to roast vegetables along with the chicken? Do it in a roasting pan that has lots of room to properly roast those veggies. Do you want to do a pan sauce after? Maybe a large cast iron works best so you can pop it right on the stove while the chicken’s resting.

This is your time to add more flavour to the chicken. Stuff the bird with herbs, sliced lemons, garlic, onions or other aromatics. Mince up some fresh herbs, citrus zest with softened butter and rub it under the skin. Again, this is the time to play with flavours you like. Try different things and see what you love.

Gametime.

I like my oven hot for the first 35-40 minutes to help with a nice crispy skin so I usually start at 450* then turn it down to 375*. I’ve read about people doing it from a cold oven which I haven’t tried yet but this is the thing, you can test out different temperatures, etc. on your own each time you do it. That’s how you learn what works best for you! And this is the whole point - make it work for you.

When I put the chicken in the oven I always have the legs facing the back of the oven. It tends to be hotter back there and the dark meat takes longer to cook so this helps with even cooking. 

Now here’s another important thing to remember: Everyone’s oven is different in where there’s potential hotspots, or how even how it holds heat. This is where using your senses and trusting your gut comes into play. You have to keep an eye on what’s happening. Is it browning too quickly on one side? Maybe you have to shift it around to even things out. These are the things that no one can tell you, you just have to notice and adapt.

As far as cooking time, again this is all going to depend on the size of your bird and your oven but good rule of thumb is about an hour to an hour and a half. You can start testing for doneness after an hour which also is good to start to notice the differences in an undercooked bird vs a cooked one. Two quick checks are that the legs should jiggle easily when you give it a wiggle, and if you pierce the leg at the joint the juice should run clear. This is also where a thermometer is your best friend! The temperature should read 165*. It’s always good to make some mental notes when you’ve got the right temperature as to what you’re seeing. This again helps with building that kitchen intuition. I promise, when you do it enough times you’ll just start to ‘know’. Remember, it’s a practice!

Post Game.

It’s always good to like with any other meat, give your chicken some time to rest before you cut into it. Cover it with foil and let it hang out.

While the chicken rests is the time to do a pan sauce if that’s part of the plan. All the juices and chicken-y bits are gold for a pan sauce so make sure you’re using the pan you cooked it in - hence my note above :) When I make a pan sauce I’m always looking for that balance of something acidic to brighten it up along with a little richness of some kind of fat. I’ll get the pan on the stove at a medium heat and deglaze with wine, scraping all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Let this simmer until it’s reduced by about half and then I’ll add some cream or butter along with whatever flavourings I’m feeling so again, could be fresh herbs, a splash of citrus, maybe some dijon mustard, again this is where you can get creative. If you want it more of a gravy style, you can add some chicken stock and then thicken with a little cornstarch slurry (cornstarch & water).

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Ready to learn the pleasure and the principles of cooking well? THE CREATIVE KITCHEN is if for you if you want to learn some foundational cooking skills so you can find your own creativity and flow in the kitchen. Because that’s what it’s all about!

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