by 3* chef Thomas Keller
http://youtu.be/K6yLuNRgiLg?t=5m36s

Salt, pepper, thyme, stick in oven!


The vid is from an episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations called Techniques. A bit of a different episode for the series but it is interesting.
Also has segments on red sauce, burger, lobster, stew, steak, fries and omlettes.

I cooked a chicken on Saturday in a similar manner. Just dried and doused in black pepper then coated with sea salt. Into the oven at 230C for 15 minutes then 18 minutes per lb at 170C (fan).

No foil, no basting, no turning. Turned out very well.

I like it.

I've always had the feeling I was doing too much with my roasted chicken.

I remember Rick Stein saying the same on one of his programs. He mentioned that one of the famous early French chefs (Escoffier or similar) published this method and if it was good enough for him then it's good enough for anyone.

Has anyone else tried roasting it upside down i.e. the breast down in the fat/juices.
People say that keeps it moist??

I have a similar recipe for roasting chicken.
I use however much more pepper, thyme and rosemary.
The herbs I chop fine and rub it all over the chicken. Oh, I sometime put a preserved or fresh lemon inside the chicken.

Yeah I've tried it. Didn't think it made much different. The best way I've found to keep a roast chicken completely moist all over is to quarter it before cooking. That way you can do the legs a little longer than the breasts. That said, provided you cook it right the breasts shouldn't ever be particularly dry...just slightly drier than the brown meat, IMO.

I don't do too much to the chicken, just season, a little squeeze of lemon juice and a some thyme but I always put some butter under the skin. I also cook it on a bed of roughly chopped veg so I can make a decent gravy after.

Yes I do this, for the first half of the cooking time then turn upright. Advantage: moister breast plus the underside gets crispy too (not soft/soggy).

I suppose you could just roast it conventionally and then turn upside down (once done) to rest, transferring juices into breast.

The best way I've found to keep a chicken moist is to slow cook it rather than oven roast it, but then there's a whole other thread on that topic!

I do mine in a chicken brick. Stuff half a lemon inside, season, put it in the pre-soaked brick, pop it into a cold oven, turn the oven on full and leave it alone for two hours. Result? Moist chicken that falls off the bone and crispy, brown skin.

And the bonus is that I can prepare it in the morning before work, set the oven timer and come home to delicious, hot roast chicken.

Thanks for the comments re. roasting upside down - will give it a shot.
I'm not sure about quartering it, because I like filling the cavity and the neck with stuffing.

Anyone ever tried the Heston Blumenthal way of roasting a Chicken? Yes, it's a bit of a faff (his methods always are!!), but it's really worth it and i've never had such moist Chicken.

Brine in in the fridge for 24 hours in enough water to cover the bird with two or three 'good' pinches of salt. Rinse off and place in a roasting tray, slather it with melted butter and season well.

Pop it inthe oven at 75 degrees C for 3 to 4 hours (no - not a misprint) or until the bird has reached 60c when a meat thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the breast.

Melt some more butter, add some chopped Thyme, slather the bird once again and then roast again on a high temperature - about 190/200 c for about 20 minutes until
golden brown.

It's yummy.

Salt pepper, oil and paprika on the skin, whole lemon (cut in half) in the cavity, 170c for about an hour and a half. Done!

I had one of the oakham rosterrie chickens the other week, which is cooked in the bag. I thought the meat was lovely and moist.
Must have a look at the ingredients list next time to see what they put in the marinade coating so that I can try to copy it myself

That's the thing though. There is a lot of prep whereas this guy takes the simple route.
Being a 3 michelin starred chef isn't the be all and end all but it gives you an indication that he knows what he's doing.
From what i've seen of him he's not so much into methods that Blumenthal and Adria use.

I watched the Heston chicken episode and decided it wasn't for me - it looked sodden with fat and water - a bit like some chickens I've cooked and loathed.

If I want chicken to be really tender then I'll do it in either the slow cooker or the pressure cooker, though slow is best and you can drain off the half a gallon of fat which pours out of it.

If done in the oven then I want a slightly firm texture - so the sinews almost break when you bite it, but not dry as with most supermarket roasted efforts.

I roast chicken the normal way, but I cook pheasant upside down, and it does really help to keep it moist. I do, however, rest any bird I cook upside down.

I do the same, but without the lemon. I often remove the breasts and prepare them some other way, they tend to turn dry when roasted. I may try this preparation without oil, it looks interesting enough.

I have never had a dry bird this way . And the oil is just a rub of olive oil to help the seasoning stick to the skin.

i just buy them ready cooked from asda
by time i get home everything else is ready...
no fecking around

Me too...delicious!!!! Better than home cooked!

put a whole garlic head unpeeled into a baking dish with a lemon cut into quarters, a couple of wedges of peeled onion and some fresh thyme. Balance the whole chicken on top and poor half a bottle of dry white wine (or cider) into the dish. Brush the chicken with melted butter or olive oil and salt 'n pepper. Bake uncovered for about 90 mins for an average size bird.

Take out the chicken carefully pouring any juices back into the pan and set aside to rest. Mash up the squidgey garlic and lemon and then sieve the roasting pan liquid - try to skim of a little of the fat if you can too. Then use the garlicly, herby, lemony, wine stock to make your gravy- superb

O dear... Just reading through this thread, came to the above post and thought Oo Yes I agree. Only when I quoted it now did I realise it was MY post!