"Fundamentally, people overcomplicate it, says Ed Smith, who has, rather conveniently, written a new book all about chicken, Peckish. Yes, you can cook it at a variety of temperatures, use different fats, wet brine or dry brine, etc etc, but, ultimately, if you put a good chicken in the oven and roast it, you will have a good meal. To elaborate on Smith's nonchalance, he has three key rules:"
"Second, it doesn't need as long in the oven as you might think. Whatever it says on the packet will be too long, says Smith, who roasts his chicken for about 50 minutes in a 210C (190C fan) oven. And, last, give it a rest: Your chicken will be better for sitting for 15-20 minutes, and will still be steaming hot when you cut into it."
Start with a small, slow-reared free-range chicken, ideally under 2kg. Salt the bird liberally inside and out and, if possible, leave it in the fridge for an hour to a day. Roast at a relatively high temperature; typical guidance on packets is often too long, so aim for roughly fifty minutes for a small bird. Brining overnight in water, salt, sugar and aromatics adds moisture and flavour. Rubbing or coating with neutral oil and placing lemon and rosemary in the cavity helps flavour and crisp the skin. Let the chicken rest 15–20 minutes before carving.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]