The Best Crispy Roast Chicken Recipes

THE BEST ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Mix butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a bowl.
• Loosen skin on chicken breast; rub butter mixture between skin and breast meat. Press on the skin to distribute evenly. Rub oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper all over; place lemon halves inside cavity. Set in a baking pan.
• Roast in the preheated oven, basting after 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Let rest before carving, about 15 minutes.

CRISPY ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Pat chicken dry, and place, breast side up, on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425F. Loosen and lift skin from breasts, thighs, and legs with fingers. (Do not totally detach skin.) Stir together butter, salt, and pepper. Spread evenly underneath loosened skin. Carefully replace skin. Place lemon, onion, and garlic in cavity, and tie legs together with kitchen twine.
• Roast in preheated oven until a thermometer inserted in thickest portion of breast registers 165F, 60 to 70 minutes. Let rest 20 minutes before carving. Discard skin, lemon, onion, and garlic.

CRISPY ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Line roasting pan with foil.
• Adjust oven rack to middle position.
• Place roasting pan on rack and heat oven to 475 degrees.
• Coat V rack with cooking spray.
• Combine cornstarch and 2 teaspoons salt in small mixing bowl.
• Poke holes all over chicken skin, using skewer.
• Rub cornstarch mixture evenly over chicken.
• Remove roasting pan from oven.
• Place chicken in V-rack, wing side down.
• Roast for 15 minutes.
• Remove roasting pan from oven and, using wad of paper towels, flip chicken so that other wing is facing up.
• Roast another 15 minutes.
• Again remove roasting pan from oven and, using wad of paper towels, flip chicken so that breast side is up.
• Roast chicken another 20 minutes.
• Remove chicken from oven and insert chicken on angelfood cake pan or empty soda can.
• Rest for 10 minutes.
• Carve chicken and serve.

CRISPY ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• In a spice grinder or mortar, combine kosher salt, caraway seeds, sage, fennel, coriander, and rosemary. Grind to a coarse powder. Transfer spice mixture to a bowl and stir in paprika, garlic powder, flour, and onion powder; mix in vegetable oil to make a smooth paste.
• Pat chicken halves dry with paper towels and tuck wing tips up behind the back. Brush spice paste onto chicken halves, coating both sides, taking care to season under wings and legs. Place chicken halves in baking dish or roasting pan with skin sides up, leaving space around chicken so halves aren't touching.
• Roast in preheated oven until a thermometer inserted in a thigh reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 1 hour. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

THE BEST ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle generously with at least 4 teaspoons salt all over the outside of the bird and inside the cavity. Let the chicken sit at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the salt to penetrate. Or you can refrigerate it, uncovered, up to 1 day ahead.
• Set a wire rack inside a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
• Toss the lemon wedges, garlic and herbs with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Stuff the lemons, garlic and herbs in the cavity of the chicken. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wing tips underneath the back. Transfer the chicken to the prepared baking sheet. If you refrigerated the chicken, let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour before roasting.
• Just before roasting, brush the oil over the entire outside of the chicken (but don't worry about the bottom), making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies so they evenly brown. Roast the chicken, rotating the baking sheet after 35 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and crispy and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 155 degrees F, 70 to 80 minutes (the temperature will climb to 165 degrees as the chicken rests).
• Let the chicken rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes (do not tent with foil or the chicken will overcook and the skin will get soggy).
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and discard the lemons, garlic and herbs. Carve into serving pieces.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

BEST ROASTED CHICKEN YOU'LL EVER HAVE!!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450.
• Wash and completely dry the chicken, inside and out, (this is the key, you do not want the bird to steam).
• Sprinkle liberally with freshly cracked pepper and Kosher or Sea salt (if all you have is table salt use only a little).
• Place in a roasting pan sprayed w/ a tiny amount of oil.
• Roast uncovered in a 450 oven for one hour.
• Let the chicken rest 15 minutes on a cutting board.
• Slice chicken and serve with the pan juices.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Let chicken and 1 tablespoon butter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove and discard the plastic pop-up timer from chicken if there is one. Remove the giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Rinse chicken inside and out under cold running water. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside.
• In the center of a heavy-duty roasting pan, place onion slices in two rows, touching. Place the palm of your hand on top of lemon and, pressing down, roll lemon back and forth several times. This softens the lemon and allows the juice to flow more freely. Pierce entire surface of lemon with a fork. Using the side of a large knife, gently press on garlic cloves to open slightly. Insert garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and lemon into cavity. Place chicken in pan, on onion slices. Cut about 18 inches of kitchen twine, bring chicken legs forward, cross them, and tie together.
• Spread the softened butter over entire surface of chicken, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place in the oven, and roast until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear when pierced, about 1 1/2 hours. When chicken seems done, insert an instant-read thermometer into the breast, then the thigh. The breast temperature should read 180 degrees and the thigh 190 degrees.
• Remove chicken from oven, and transfer to a cutting board with a well. Let chicken stand 10 to 15 minutes so the juices settle. Meanwhile, pour the pan drippings into a shallow bowl or fat separator, and leave onions in the pan. Leave any brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan, and remove and discard any blackened bits. Using a large spoon or fat separator, skim off and discard as much fat as possible. Pour the remaining drippings and the juices that have collected under the resting chicken back into the roasting pan. Place on the stove over medium-high heat to cook, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, raise heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the stock until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Strain the gravy into a small bowl, pressing on onions to extract any liquid. Discard onions, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter until melted and incorporated. Untie the legs, and remove and discard garlic, thyme, and lemon. Carve, and serve gravy on the side.

LOW-FUSS CRISPY ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450°F. Place a 12" cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet in oven.
• Pull off excess fat around cavities of chicken; discard. Using paper towels, thoroughly pat dry chicken inside and out. Arrange chicken breast side up on a cutting board. Gently loosen skin covering breasts and thighs. Tuck 4 thyme sprigs under loosened skin, 1 sprig for each breast and thigh.
• Combine 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a small bowl. Pat dry cutting board and chicken again, then tie legs together with kitchen twine.
• Using a metal skewer or paring knife, poke 20-30 holes all over chicken, paying special attention to fatty (thickest) parts of skin. Season chicken with salt mixture, placing a pinch inside cavity, but primarily covering outside of bird.
• Cut remaining thyme sprig crosswise into 3-4 pieces and place in a large bowl. Add potatoes, onions, oil, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a generous pinch of pepper. Toss to combine.
• Carefully remove skillet from oven. Transfer potato mixture to skillet (mixture will sizzle), then place chicken, breast side up, on potato mixture. Return skillet to oven (remember, handle is hot!). Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 160°F and thickest part of thigh registers 175°F, 45-55 minutes.
• Remove skillet from oven. Using tongs or a large wooden spoon inserted into cavity, transfer chicken to a large plate. Give potato mixture a stir, then return to oven. Let chicken rest about 5 minutes.
• Using a sharp knife, slash stretched skin between thighs and breasts to let steam escape. Carefully tilt bird and plate over a large bowl to drain juices; reserve juices. Let chicken rest until potatoes are fork-tender, 15-25 minutes more.
• Tilt chicken and plate again over bowl with juices to drain any last bits, then transfer chicken to a cutting board and carve. (If juices have cooled and congealed, gently rewarm over low heat or for 10 seconds in the microwave.)
• Arrange chicken on a platter. Serve with roasted potatoes and onions alongside, spooning juices over.
• Cooks' Note: If time allows, after patting dry and salting chicken, place on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, or on a V-rack set in a roasting pan, and chill, uncovered, at least 12 hours or up to 2 days. This 'dry brine' will result in a flavorful juicy chicken with even crispier skin.