A better roasted chicken

There are some things that just cannot be rushed, and with some meals can be greatly improved with a little planning and a little more work. As the saying goes, you get out of things what you put into them. This is certainly true with food, and especially a roasted chicken.

I doubt there will be anyone that is reading this that has never had a simple roasted chicken before. Its a staple of Sunday dinners around the world. Its a pretty simple meal really. Place your chicken in the preheated oven, wait until its done, make a gravy and your are done. Its a comfort food for many, though many people now see it as a rather boring meal.

But it doesn’t need to be. Letting your chicken soak in a simple brine can transform the ordinary into extraordinary. The breast goes from dry and bland to juicy, tender, and oh so flavourful. Each year when I am teaching my students, I have them prepare two chickens at the same time; one that has soaked in the brine, the other has not. And every year its always the same thing, everyone says that they will never cook a piece of chicken that has not been brined again.

The brining solution is very simple to make and consists of nothing more than water, sugar, and salt. It always follows the same ratio :

  • 4 cups (1L) water
  • 1/4c (50g) salt
  • 1/4c (50g) sugar

Now, its important to remember that you want to use a cool or better yet, cold brine when adding it to a chicken to avoid increasing the risk of salmonella contamination. What I tend to do is to place half of the necessary water on the stove with the salt and sugar, and heat until dissolved. Once complete, add enough ice to get the volume you need and stir until cool. Place your poultry in the brine and allow to sit for about 1 hour for each pound that it weighs. After it has soaked, drain it off, give it a quick rinse, and you will be good to go. Watch the video below to see how I go about it.

Another common technique that professional chefs use to improve the cooking of their chickens and turkeys is to truss them, which is a technique of tying them with butchers twine. This improves the look and allows it to cook more evening. The video below will show you the steps to truss your poultry.

My trussed chicken, ready for the oven

I opted not to stuff this chicken, and as you will hear me discuss in the video, I have not stuffed a chicken in a very long time. There are a number of reasons for this, including that its impossible to get enough stuffing, or dressing as we call it here in Newfoundland, into the bird, so I always need to make extra on the side anyhow. But more importantly, it is actually a risky procedure. Raw chicken is loaded with salmonella, and when you stuff your poultry, this stuffing absorbs some of this contamination. You are then forced with either overcooking the poultry to ensure that the stuffing is properly cooked to an internal temperature of 185F or risk undercooked stuffing by pulling the poultry out when its finished. Save yourself the hassle, and do it on the side. I will do another video about this closer to Thanksgiving.

Making a gravy is a great way to add a lot of flavour and really improves the meal. I always make a pan gravy, and the colour from the drippings from the roasted chicken is outstanding, not to mention very flavourful. In this video, I make a simple mushroom gravy with shallots for flavour. Don’t have shallots? No problem, slice up an onion or some garlic, and it will work just as good. Here’s another handy ratio for you to remember. You will need 1 tablespoon of flour for each cup of liquid that you are using to make your gravy. Simply add your flour directly into the pan with all of the drippings and mix well so that it forms a roux (which is a French word we use in the kitchen to describe a mixture of flour and fat). If its too dry looking, go ahead and add a little more butter or oil. Once your roux is made, add your liquid, whisk together, and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes. It will be one of the finest gravies you have ever made.

Check out part two where I cook the chicken and let me know what you think.

2 Replies to “A better roasted chicken”

  1. Wonderful info. I have never seen a chicken cooked like that before. Looks awesome. Now I am hungry! Lol. We use seasoning salt on the chicken instead of salt.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.