Crispy Roast Chicken
January 09, 2019
My gold standard for roast chicken is the crispy skin, salty chicken they serve at Oktoberfest, also called Wiesnhendl, or just Hendl. It is the perfect complement to a beer and can be made incredibly simply.
Thomas Keller’s Chicken Recipe only has 3 ingredients- the chicken, salt, and pepper. He actually states that many of the traditional recipes that brine the chicken, add oil or butter, or add other types of moisture are actually antithetical to the goal of crispy skin. The extra moisture may actually end up steaming the chicken instead of roasting it.
When you are done roasting the chicken, I recommend using a guide like this to carve it into even pieces. The remaining carcass can be used to make a flavorful chicken stock or congee.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken
- salt
- pepper
- Low Carb
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Roasting Rack
- Food Thermometer
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Pat the chicken completely dry.
- Truss the chicken, or poke a hole in the skin and thread the leg bones through the hole. Salt and Pepper the chicken liberally.
- Place the chicken on a raised rack. You want the drippings from the chicken to come off and away from the rest of the bird.
- Place the chicken into the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
- After that time, raise the temperature to 475 and continue to roast for another 10-20 minutes.
- Measure the temperature of the bird at the thickest portion (the thigh) and remove when the temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- When the chicken reaches the desired temperature remove from the oven and rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes.
- Carve and serve immediately.
This recipe was adapted from:
Written by Will Chiong who lives and works in New York building useful things.