The Perfect Roast Chicken

Roast chicken is a satisfying cool weather dish, and making a flavorful, moist chicken is very easy.

In The Early Show's series with Williams-Sonoma, Five-Minute Cooking School cookbook author and cooking teacher Tori Ritchie shows how to make the perfect roast chicken, offers a quick version of the dish, and an unusual serving suggestion.

Whole chickens are typically labeled either "roaster" or "fryer." "Roasters" tend to be 4 to 6 pounds while "fryers" are smaller birds. The recipes Tori shares Friday call for roasters.

Here are the steps for roasting a delicious chicken:

1. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. It will probably need to sit out for 45 minutes to an hour. A room-temperature chicken will roast more evenly than one that's cold.
2. Season, season, season! Any combination of herbs, fruits or vegetables will help you add flavor to the chicken. To add the most flavor to the chicken, carefully pull the skin away from the body and slip sliced lemons and thyme sprigs under the skin. Also place salt, pepper, lemons and thyme into the cavity of the chicken.
3. Next, rub butter or oil all over the outside of the chicken. This serves two purposes. It allows the chicken to brown and look attractive. It also soaks into the chicken, essentially basting it and keeping it juicy.
4. The final step before slipping the bird into the oven is to tie the legs together with some kitchen string. This helps the chicken keep its shape (otherwise the legs would splay apart as the bird cooked) and thus roast evenly.

   Place the chicken on a "V rack" in the roasting pan. The shape of this rack further helps the chicken maintain its shape and allows it to brown evenly because air and heat can circulate around the entire bird.

5. Roast chicken recipes typically call for the bird to stay in the oven for around an hour-and-a-half. How to know if your chicken is done? An instant-read thermometer should register about 170 F. Ritchie's trick: if the chicken's leg wiggles freely in its socket and juices are running clear, it's done.
6. Once you've pulled the chicken from the oven, carefully tip the bird so that juices from the cavity run down into the pan. Then, flip it over on its rack so the breast is facing down, closest to the pan bottom. This allows all of the juices inside the chicken to run down into the breast, making it even juicier. The chicken should sit for 10 to 20 minutes before carving so the meat can absorb all of these juices.

• First slice off the legs, cutting between the thigh and the drumstick. Look for a small "V." This is where you should position your knife to cut.
• Then carve off one breast at a time. You don't have to cut the chicken breast into nice slices, like you would with a turkey. Ritchie says that the breast is too small and the meat simply won't hold together for that. So you don't have to feel like a failure if your breast meat looks messy when you're done.

If you need to speed the preparation time, instead of slicing lemons, garlic or other items and slipping these under the skin, you can rub the bird and the cavity with a flavored oil. Ritchie suggests making a paste of the flavored oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme, but you don't have to do this.

Click on page 2 for recipes.
Recipes

Lemon-Thyme Chicken

To infuse the chicken with delicious flavor, lemon slices and fresh thyme sprigs are tucked underneath the skin and also placed inside the body cavity. When separating the skin from the breast meat, take care not to tear the skin.

Ingredients:
1 chicken, 6 to 7 lb., giblets and neck removed
from cavity
7 or 8 thin lemon slices
4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock, plus
more if needed
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour

Method:

1. About 30 minutes before roasting, remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Preheat an oven to 450°F. Oil a V-shaped roasting rack and place it in a roasting pan.
2. Remove and discard any pockets of fat from the chicken cavity. Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. With the chicken placed breast side up and starting at the neck cavity, slip your fingers under the skin and gently separate the skin from the breast meat on both sides, being careful not to tear the skin. Carefully slide 4 or 5 lemon slices and half of the thyme sprigs under the skin, spacing them evenly. Season the cavity with salt and pepper, and place the remaining lemon slices and thyme in the cavity. Tuck the wing tips under the back. Tie the legs together with kitchen string. Rub the chicken all over with the butter. Place the chicken, breast side up, on the rack.
3. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Add the carrots, celery, onion and the 1 1/2 cups stock to the pan. Continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, away from the bone, registers 170° to 175°F, 1 to 1 1⁄2 hours more. Remove from the oven. Slip a pair of tongs in the chicken cavity and carefully tip the bird, draining the liquid from the cavity into the pan. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the roasting pan and pour the contents of the pan through a medium-mesh sieve into a large measuring pitcher. Using a spoon, press on the contents of the sieve to extract as much liquid as possible. Skim off and reserve 3 Tbs. fat, discarding the remainder. Add stock if needed to the pitcher to total 2 cups.
5. In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the reserved fat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until well blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly stir in the 2 cups liquid. Add any juices from the carving board. Cook, stirring constantly, until the gravy is smooth and thickens slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper.
6. Carve the chicken and arrange on a warmed platter. Pour the gravy into a warmed bowl and pass at the table. Serves 8.

Chicken Roasted with Tuscan Lemon Pepper Oil and Thyme

Finely sliced sun-dried lemons, essential oil of lemon and whole peppercorns mingle in Olivier's Tuscan Lemon Pepper Oil. Use it to enliven vegetables, leafy greens, seafood and poultry, such as this roasted chicken.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. Olivier Tuscan Lemon Pepper Oil
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 chicken, about 5 lb., rinsed and patted dry

Method:

1. In a small bowl, combine the oil, thyme, salt and pepper and stir to form a paste.
2. Using your hands, separate the skin from the chicken around the breasts and legs, being careful not to tear the skin. Rub some of the oil mixture under the skin, then rub the remaining mixture on the outside of the chicken and inside the cavity. Place the chicken in a large sealable plastic bag or wrap with plastic wrap and set on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 400ºF.
4. Place the chicken on a rack in a large roasting pan. Roast, basting occasionally with the pan juices, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone, registers 170ºF, about 1 1/4 hours.
5. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serves 6.

Roast Garlic Chicken and Walnut Salad (Salade de Poulet Rôti aux Noix)

One of the main walnut-producing areas of France is near Grenoble, in the Dauphiné. Consequently, walnuts and walnut oil are elements in many of the regional dishes, from first courses to desserts, and often appear in combination, as they do here, which produces a complexity of flavors. Garlic, slipped beneath the skin of the chicken, delicately scents the meat. Together, the walnuts and garlic form a flavorful companionship. This is a substantial warm main-dish salad to serve for lunch or dinner, preceded perhaps by a simple charcuterie platter or crudités.

Ingredients:
1 chicken, about 3 lb.
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup chicken stock

For the walnut salad:
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3 Tbs. walnut oil
1 1/2 tsp. Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
5 cups green-leaf, red-leaf or other leaf lettuce, or a mixture

Method:

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F.
2. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Rub the chicken inside and out with the salt and pepper. Using your fingers and starting at the cavity, gently separate the skin from the breast meat, reaching as far back toward the neck and as close to the thighs as possible to create a pocket. Be careful not to tear the skin. Slip the garlic slices between the skin and the meat, spreading them evenly over the breast. Place the chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Add the stock to the pan.
3. Roast, basting occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh, away from the bone, registers 170°F, or until the juices run clear when a knife is inserted into the thigh joint, about 1 1/4 hours. Transfer to a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
4. Meanwhile, begin making the salad: In a small fry pan over low heat, toast the walnuts, shaking the pan often, until a nut piece is golden brown when cut in half, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the walnut oil, vinegar, shallot, salt and pepper. Tear the lettuce leaves into bite-size pieces and add them to the bowl. Using tongs, toss gently to coat the lettuce well with the dressing.
6. Arrange the salad on a platter and sprinkle with half of the toasted walnuts.
7. Carve the chicken, slicing the breast meat and separating the thighs from the legs. Arrange the thighs, legs, wings and the sliced breast meat on top of the salad, including any bits of garlic that slipped from beneath the skin while carving. Sprinkle with the remaining walnuts and serve warm. Serves 4.