Plain Simple Roast Chicken Recipes

GRANDMA'S SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Remove and discard insides of chicken. Rinse chicken with cold water and pat dry. Trim any excess fat.
• Combine salt, pepper, and paprika in a small bowl and sprinkle over chicken and into the cavity.
• Place vegetables and bay leaf in body cavity. Tie ends of legs together with a cord (I have never done this and it still turns out fine). Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under chicken.
• Place chicken, breast side up, on a broiler pan (or on a rack inside another pan) coated with cooking spray.
• Bake at 400 degrees for one hour or until meat thermometer inserted into thigh registers 180 degrees.
• Cover loosely with foil for about 10 minutes.
• Remove vegetables from inside chicken and throw them away.

MY FAVORITE SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.
• Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it's a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.
• Now, salt the chicken-I like to rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.
• Place the chicken in a sauté pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone-I don't baste it, I don't add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.
• Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the legs and thighs. I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oysters, the two succulent morsels of meat embedded here, and give the other to the person I'm cooking with. But I take the chicken butt for myself. I could never understand why my brothers always fought over that triangular tip-until one day I got the crispy, juicy fat myself. These are the cook's rewards. Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each. The preparation is not meant to be superelegant. Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with mustard on the side and, if you wish, a simple green salad. You'll start using a knife and fork, but finish with your fingers, because it's so good.

PLAIN & SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450° F. If using a cast iron pan, place pan in the cold oven and preheat the pan along with the oven.
• Bring chicken to room temperature and pat dry inside and out.
• Season inside and out with salt & pepper. Do not truss.
• Place on preheated cast iron pan or on a broiler pan, a disposable foil broiling pan placed on a baking sheet for stability, or on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Roast for about 45 minutes (around 12 minutes per pound) or until the internal temperature of the thigh measures 165°F.
• Pour juices out of the cavity and remove chicken to a warm plate. Cover with a foil tent (to keep it warm) and let the chicken rest at least 15 minutes.
• To serve, I remove the skin and pull the tender meat apart into pieces.

STUPID SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Place chicken into a roasting pan and insert lemon halves into the cavity; spread kosher salt over outside of chicken.
• Roast in the preheated oven until skin is browned and crisp, the juices run clear, and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, not touching bone, reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 1 hour. Let chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving.