How You Roast a Chicken Says So Much About You. Here's How I Make Mine.

Roasting a whole chicken can reflect personal preferences, from low-and-slow to hot-and-fast methods. Succulent dark meat requires enough roasting time for tough connective tissues to melt into tender gelatin. A quarter-sheet pan with low sides helps hot air circulate and promotes even heat across the skin. Salt should be applied modestly to avoid overbrining and a deli-meat texture, with specific amounts adjusted for kosher salt brands. Salt can be measured in advance to reduce cross contamination. Seasoning can be customized by mixing spices, such as cinnamon, coriander, and fennel seeds, and sprinkling them over the bird, focusing on the skin.

"To get truly succulent dark meat, you need to roast a whole chicken long enough so that the tough connective tissues can melt into tender gelatin. I roast my birds on a quarter-sheet pan, which is 9 by 13 inches and just about contains a moderately sized chicken (no smaller than three pounds and no bigger than five). It allows for a steady breeze of hot air to circulate around the bird, thanks to the pan's low sides, and more direct, even heat all over the skin."

"My own Goldilocks method has evolved over the years, but it ultimately always lands in the same measured spot: 400 degrees, about 20 minutes per pound. Just hot enough, and just long enough. With a good book and a glass of wine? Or are they like Barbara Kafka, a hot-and-fast, smoke-out-your-kitchen type who cooks it at 500 degrees for just under an hour? Maybe they grew up on the Food Network and they're more like Ina Garten, whose perfect formula is 425 degrees for 1 hours?"

"I also salt my birds modestly oversalting can lead to overbrining and an unpleasant deli-meat texture. Per pound of chicken, I go for teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt specifically, which is less salty by volume than table or sea salts. If using Morton coarse kosher salt, reduce that amount to a scant teaspoon per pound. I measure my salt ahead of time into a small bowl, to avoid cross contamination as I handle the raw chicken, but also so I can riff."

"Into that salt, I let my whims lead the way: For this particular version, I was feeling cinnamon, coriander and fennel seeds, which I realized smelled like a bowl of pho. I sprinkle this mixture all over the bird, focusing on the t"

Read at cooking.nytimes.com