Thomas Keller's Perfect Roast Chicken

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I unfortunately have not been posting regularly lately... residency is taking over my life! But with the free time I do have, I like to try out new recipes (and new restaurants!). Currently broadening my range outside of Vietnamese moment.

I had this chicken at a friend's place once and it was DIVINE! The most moist and succulent chicken ever... with minimal effort! I replicated it at home and it tasted *almost* as good! The secret? Cooking at high heat! Made this again for my fiancé and it's a winner :) Some tips I learned along the way - use about 1 teaspoon kosher salt per pound of chicken. Salt cavity with 1-2 teaspoons of salt, usually closer to 2 tsp. Cooking time is actually 11-12 mins per pound based on 450. Does not take entire 75 mnins.

Thomas Keller's Roast Chicken (founder of French Laundry)

1. Use a 4-5 lb chicken - bring to room temperature (let sit on counter top for 1-2 hours)

2. Run your hands under the skin of the breast, legs, thigh and separate it from the flesh

3. Apply a layer of kosher salt to the meat under the skin. Thomas Keller suggests ~2 tbs.

*optional: can add fresh chopped herbs underneath the skin (I like the light taste of fresh tarragon but any herb will do!)

4. With the chicken flat on the table and from a high/even height, sprinkle more kosher salt liberally over the outside and on the wings. High/even height helps salt distribute more evenly. *saw this on a youtube video, not sure if it makes much of a difference

5. Bake in pre-heated oven @ 450 degrees for 75 mins *most important step!*


6. Let it rest 10 mins so juices run through the chicken

7. Carve and serve!

Thomas Keller recommends salting the chicken 24 hours in advance and letting it sit in the fridge overnight (doesn't make huge difference so I usually skip it).

Bake a room temperature bird so it's not ice-cold on the inside and bakes more evenly (let sit on counter top for ~1-2 hours) *makes small difference*

If serving a crowd, it's better to roast 2 smaller birds in 2 separate pans than 1 big one (a large bird will not cook evenly with this technique)

*Unfortunately this chicken cannot be stuffed.

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