Weeknight Roast Chicken

I intended to take a picture of the chicken, but I forgot.  Then I went looking online for pictures of roast chickens, and then I lost interest.  So just imagine a beautiful roast chicken coming from my oven.  You can picture me in an apron, heels, and pearls if you’d like, though I wasn’t wearing that.

This recipe claims to solve the age-old problem when roasting a chicken…the breast dries out while the thighs are undercooked. I used to have this problem a lot, but I think it’s been a decade or 2 since it happened to me. Still, I do like to try out a new roast chicken recipe from time to time.

The recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen, and on the episode where they showed the recipe, they said it happened by accident. They had tried heating the pan in the oven at a relatively high heat ahead of time, then putting the chicken in the pan (I have a few roast chicken recipes that do this, to get the thighs cooking faster), but about 1/2 way through, the power went out. They left the chicken in the cooling oven, and took it out when it looked done. The results were delicious, they claimed. As always, I’m game. Here’s the recipe, from ATK.

Weeknight Roast Chicken
We prefer to use a 3 1/2- to 4-pound chicken for this recipe. If roasting a larger bird, increase the time when the oven is on in step 2 to 35 to 40 minutes. Cooking the chicken in a preheated skillet will ensure that the breast and thigh meat finish cooking at the same time.

Ingredients

• 1tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2teaspoon pepper
• 1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded
• 1tablespoon olive oil
• 1recipe pan sauce

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position, place 12-inch ovensafe skillet on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine salt and pepper in bowl. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Rub entire surface with oil. Sprinkle evenly all over with salt mixture and rub in mixture with hands to coat evenly. Tie legs together with twine and tuck wing tips behind back.

Transfer chicken, breast side up, to preheated skillet in oven. Roast chicken until breasts register 120 degrees and thighs register 135 degrees, 25 to 35 minutes. Turn off oven and leave chicken in oven until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 25 to 35 minutes.

Transfer chicken to carving board and let rest, uncovered, for 20 minutes. While chicken rests, prepare pan sauce, if using. Carve chicken and serve.

I won’t leave you hanging. Here’s the recipe for their pan sauce. I do love a good pan sauce, which I often make by deglazing the pan with a little white wine or chicken broth, then adding a little butter. This is a bit more complex as it has shallots, mustard, and tarragon.

Pan Sauce
Ingredients

• 1 shallot , minced
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• Pepper

Instructions

While chicken rests, remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat from now-empty skillet (handle will be very hot) using large spoon, leaving any fond and jus in skillet. Place skillet over medium-high heat, add shallot, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.

Stir in broth and mustard, scraping skillet bottom with wooden spoon to loosen fond. Simmer until reduced to ¾ cup, about 3 minutes.

Off heat, whisk in butter, tarragon, and lemon juice. Season with pepper to taste; cover and keep warm. Serve with chicken.