The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (154 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Most roast chicken recipes put juiciness and evenly cooked meat first and simply make do with so-so skin. Our goal was to create a roast chicken with super-crisp skin that would crackle with every bite. First we rubbed the chicken with a mixture of salt and baking powder, then let the chicken air-dry in the refrigerator overnight—this combination of steps dehydrated the skin, leading to a crunchier texture. But for the ultimate crisp skin, we need to provide an escape route for the rendered fat. Making a few incisions along the back of the bird, separating the skin from the meat, and poking holes in the skin of the breast and thighs allowed multiple channels for excess fat and juices to escape. Finally, we roasted the chicken at high heat until the skin was a perfect golden brown.

See “PREPARING CRISP ROAST CHICKEN” illustrations that follow recipe.

See “APPLYING BUTTER UNDER SKIN” illustration that follows recipe.

SERVES 3 TO 4

Do not brine the bird; it will prohibit the skin from becoming crisp. The sheet of foil between the roasting pan and V-rack will keep drippings from burning and smoking.

1.
Place chicken breast side down on cutting board. Insert tip of sharp knife to make four 1-inch incisions along back of chicken. Using your fingers, gently loosen skin covering breast and thighs. Using metal skewer, poke 15 to 20 holes in fat deposits on top of breast and thighs. Tuck wings behind back.

2.
Combine salt, baking powder, and pepper in bowl. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle evenly all over with salt mixture. Rub in mixture with hands, coating entire surface evenly. Set chicken breast side up in V-rack set on rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, for 12 to 24 hours.

3.
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Using paring knife, poke 20 holes about 1¹⁄
₂
inches apart in 16 by 12-inch piece of aluminum foil. Place foil loosely in roasting pan. Flip chicken breast side down and set V-rack in prepared pan on top of foil. Roast chicken for 25 minutes.

4.
Remove pan from oven. Using 2 large wads of paper towels, rotate chicken breast side up. Continue to roast until breast registers 135 degrees, 15 to 25 minutes.

5.
Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Continue to roast chicken until skin is golden brown and crisp, breast registers 160 degrees, and thighs register 175 degrees, 10 to 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to carving board and let rest for 20 minutes. Carve and serve immediately.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

For really great roast lemon chicken, we needed to bring out the full potential of the two main ingredients. We wanted evenly roasted, moist chicken with crisp skin and bright, pure lemon flavor—without a trace of bitterness. We brined the chicken for extra juiciness and then filled its cavity with a quartered lemon and garlic cloves before roasting. Once it was cooked, we cut the chicken into four pieces and broiled them to get evenly crisped skin. After trying to introduce more lemon flavor by adding strips of peel to the pan drippings, we discovered they were the source of the bitter flavor. Instead, we finished our roast chicken by adding some fresh lemon juice to a simple pan sauce of chicken broth, butter, and fresh herbs for the ultimate lemon flavor.

SERVES 3 TO 4

If using kosher chicken, do not brine in step 1, and season with salt as well as pepper in step 3. Broiling the fully roasted and quartered chicken skin side up as it sits in a shallow pool of sauce crisps and browns the skin while keeping the meat succulent. If you decide to skip the broiling step, go directly from quartering the chicken to finishing the sauce with lemon juice, butter, and herbs.

1.
Dissolve ¹⁄
₂
cup salt in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge chicken in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels.

2.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Set V-rack in flameproof roasting pan and lightly spray with vegetable oil spray.

3.
Cut 1 lemon lengthwise into quarters. Place lemon quarters and garlic in cavity of chicken. Brush breast side of chicken with 1 tablespoon melted butter and season with pepper. Place chicken breast side down in V-rack, then brush back of chicken with remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter and season with pepper.

4.
Roast chicken for 40 minutes. Remove pan from oven; increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Using 2 large wads of paper towels, rotate chicken breast side up; add 1 cup chicken broth to pan. Return pan to oven and continue roasting until breast registers 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes longer. Remove pan from oven; tip V-rack to let juices from chicken cavity run into roasting pan. Transfer chicken to carving board and let rest while making sauce. Remove V-rack from pan.

5.
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler. Remove fat from surface of drippings in pan using large spoon and stir in remaining ³⁄
₄
cup chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits. Place pan over 2 burners, bring sauce to simmer, and cook until reduced to ¹⁄
₂
cup, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

6.
Discard lemons and garlic from chicken cavity. Cut chicken into quarters, adding any accumulated juices to pan. Place chicken quarters skin side up in sauce in pan; broil chicken until skin is crisp and deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to serving platter.

7.
Halve remaining lemon lengthwise; squeeze juice of 1 half into pan; cut remaining half into 4 wedges and set aside. Whisk chilled butter into sauce until combined; stir in parsley and thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve chicken with sauce and lemon wedges.