Prior to finding this method, I always had the same issue with roasting chicken: breast meat that was dry and flavorless. The problem was that after being exposed to a really high temperature in the oven, the breast meat would cook much earlier than the other parts, which resulted in most of the moisture being drawn out of the meat. To prevent that, I tried some popular methods like rotating the bird in the middle of the process, browning it beforehand and continue with roasting it in lower temperatures, etc. But for some reason, none of those methods gave me what I was looking for.
Finding a Technique That Works
The solution came from America’s Test Kitchen (aka ATK). What they did was to roast the chicken in a pre-heated hot skillet for half an hour in a 450-degree oven (which is higher than many recipes suggest), then turn the oven off, and let the bird continue to roast for another 30 minutes or so. Turning off the oven when the meat was halfway roasted allowed the chicken to finish cooking gently without drying out. I tried this technique and it was magical. While the breasts were moist and soft, the rest of the chicken was roasted perfectly. The only thing that I didn’t like was the fact that the skin wasn’t as crisp as I would have liked. When I looked into it, I found that there were many ways to get a super crisp skin. Brining the chicken for an hour was the most popular method. But, I didn’t want to wait for an hour. Another popular method was drying the bird using paper towels and letting it air-dry (some people even suggested putting it in front of a fan) on the kitchen counter. Once it was thoroughly dried, they seasoned it with a little bit of oil and salt and pepper. And that was what I did.
Adding Vegetables to Boost Flavor
As I was thinking about incorporating some vegetables into the recipe, I had to alter the technique of the ATK a little bit. Since I wanted to line the bottom of the pan with vegetables, I had to find a way to jump-start the roasting process. To do that, I browned both sides of the chicken on the stove for a couple of minutes. I transferred it on a plate while pre-cooking the vegetables to bring out their flavors. Then I placed the browned chicken on top of the vegetables (with all of its juices) and put it in the oven. I roasted it for 30 minutes, turned the oven off, and let it continue roasting for another 25-30 minutes. At the end, the chicken was evenly roasted and the vegetables, infused with the juices of the chicken, were tender and flavorful. In terms of vegetables, I used parsnips, fennel, shallots, and lemon. But really, you can use any vegetable combination you like. Other options like carrots, potatoes, and onions would also work just as well.
More Chicken Recipes You might Like
Cuban Roast Cornish Game HensBraised Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms and Almond PureeChicken Rice Pilaf with Pine Nuts, Currants, and HerbsSouthwestern Chicken Salad with Creamy Avocado DressingQuick Chicken Stir Fry with Roasted Broccoli The inspiration for using parsnips and fennel as vegetables came from this recipe.
