How do the Best Chefs Roast Chicken?

Thomas Keller

My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken

Preheat oven to 450F

Remove the wishbone before cooking

Salt and pepper the cavity.

Truss the bird

Salt the chicken from high over chicken with 1 T salt.

Place chicken in sauté pan or roasting pan at 450F. Roast until done -- 40 -50 minutes.

Do not move the chicken during cooking. Thomas does not baste or add butter.

Chicken can be roasted on a bed of vegetables.

Add thyme, baste chicken with juices and let rest for 15 minutes.

Remove the twine. And, cut up chicken

Comments: "I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oysters... I take the chicken butt for myself."

Optional-- Slather the chicken with butter, and serve with mustard on the side.

Brining- Chef Keller notes that they brine their chicken first in the restaurant version.

Preheat oven to 350-400F

Prepare a mixture of butter, foie gras, truffles and ground brioche bread.

Stuff the softened mixture under the breast and leg skin. Put back in refrig for 1 hr. (see video below for methods).

Ina Gartner 

Perfect Chicken Recipe

Preheat oven to 425F

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Remove excess fat. Salt and pepper inside of chicken.

Stuff cavity with thyme, lemon cut in half and 1 garlic head cut in half.

Brush outside with 2 T butter then salt and pepper

Tie legs together with twine, tuck under wings

Add thickly cut carrots, onion, fennel tossed with 20 thyme stems, and salt and pepper to bottom of pan. Place chicken on top

Roast chicken 1 1/2 hours till juices run clear.

Jamie Oliver

Roast chicken with lemon and rosemary and roast potatoes

Preheat oven to 375F

Parboil coarsely cut peeled potatoes with a whole lemon and garlic cloves. Drain and reserve.

When ready to cook take out chicken, dry with paper towel and rub with olive oil

Take lemon and stab with holes. Add lemon garlic and thyme to chicken cavity.

Balthazar Cookbook

Riad Nasr
Lee Hanson

Preheat oven to 450F

Mash, thyme, rosemary parsley and softened butter into an even mixture and going through the neck, slide under the skin of both breasts

Stuff the cavity with chopped herbs and 1 garlic bulb split. Season cavity with salt and pepper.

Truss the chicken.

Heat olive oil until it starts to smoke in a saucepan and sear each side for 4 minutes (breast and leg) untouched turning only when bird is burnish brown. Then do top and bottom of chicken.

Add diced vegetables to roasting pan and sauté for 10 minutes to rendered chicken fat. Add olive oil if needed. 

Spoon out excess fat set chicken on vegetables and cook for 40 minutes or until done basting occasionally (cook till temp= 155F). If chicken begins to burn cover with a foil tent.

Tom Colicchio

From Colicchio -- Think like a chef

Heat oven to 375F

Wash and dry thoroughly the chicken. Season inside and out liberally with salt and pepper. Place rosemary and thyme in cavity and then truss the chicken.

Heat oil in pan till very hot, place chicken on its side and brown for 7 minutes. Repeat with other side.

Place chicken breast-side up and transfer to oven. Roast for 20 minutes then add butter. Continue roasting for 30 more minutes occasionally basting. 

Remove chicken.

Brine chicken in solution of 1 cup kosher salt (or 1/2 cup table salt) and 1/2 cup sugar to 1/2 gallon water for 1 hour. Pat chicken dry. Cut out backbone and press down to butterfly chicken. 

Prepare a compound butter containing mashed garlic, Dijon mustard, minced fresh thyme, salt and pepper.

Add butter mixture under skin of breasts. Brush chicken with olive oil.

Line a grilling pan with aluminum foil and add 1/4" sliced potatoes. Place a grilling rack over potatoes and place the chicken.

See References below for more details

Zuni Cafe 

Roasted Chicken

**Use a small bird

**Salt the chicken 1-3 days ahead of cooking--

Remove the lump fat inside the chicken. Rinse and thoroughly dry the chicken till it is very dry.

Using your fingers slide a small amount of fresh herbs under the skin of the breast, and the thickest part of the thighs. Salt both inside cavity and outside then cover loosely and refrigerate chicken for 1-3 days

Preheat oven to 475F.-- Note: This recipe uses high heat.

Preheat your pan over medium heat. Wipe the chicken dry and set it breast side up in the pan. As the chicken sizzles, place it into the hot oven and cook side down for 30 minutes, watching that it does not burn.

Remove the chicken and dry both the pan and chicken. Repeat the procedure on the uncooked side for 20 minutes. Then flip one more time to crisp the other side for 5 minutes.

Remove the chicken and rest it on a plate.

Use a small bird since it favors the high heat -- high ratio of skin to meat.

This recipe does not truss the chicken -- trussing prevents some of the skin to caramelize. 

No additional fat is added in this recipe.

Note: Resting a chicken in the refrigerator for a day or two loosely covered results in a crisper skin.

Prepare an elevated rack or a bed of vegetables can be used to elevate the chicken

Preheat oven to 450F. Season inside and out with salt, pepper only inside. 

Rub the skin with butter or oil if desired.

Insert an instant read thermometer into the chicken in the thick part where the thigh meets the breast.

Heat chicken at 450F for 20 minutes, then lower temperature to 325F.

When the internal temperature reads 140F add any vegetables to the pan beneath the rack.

Continue to roast until an internal temperature of 160F.

Remove chicken and rest.

Discard all but 3 T of fat from the roasting pan. Add tomato paste and flour and make a roux, whisk in herbs and some chicken stock till smooth. Simmer gravy till proper thickness and consistency. Strain the gravy through a fine sieve and season with salt and pepper.

Joel Robuchon

From: The Complete Robuchon

Remove chicken and butter 20 minutes ahead.

Season inside and out chicken.

Grease roasting pan with 2 T butter

Truss chicken and using a pastry brush coat chicken with butter 

Place chicken on its side , thigh and wing down (not on back or breast)

Chop giblets and put around chicken not under it

Heat oven to 410 F and cook for 25 minutes. Then remove chicken and cook on its other side with other thigh and wing down.

Pour 3 T of water over the chicken and return for 25 minutes.

Remove the dish from oven again. Put chicken on its back and rotate a quarter turn. Put in oven for 10 more minutes. Turn chicken on its breast and cook 5 more minutes

Remove chicken prick to see done.

Season with fleur de sel and pepper. Tent loosely and let chicken rest for 20 minutes with legs propped up so juices from legs flow into breast.

Placing the chicken on its side (thigh and wing side down allows this part of chicken to cook faster -- this is the thickest portion of the chicken and needs more heat)

Alain Ducasse

THE CHEF; Ambition and the Bird

herb butter slipped under the skin --optional can also use mushrooms.

Truss chicken

Sear chicken in pan on stove with butter

Heat oven to 400F. Brown chicken pieces to be used as rack for chicken and flavor sauce.

Place chicken in oven breast side up and roast 20 minutes. 

Place whole chicken on its side on top of chicken pieces, return to oven and roast 10 minutes. Turn chicken and roast 10 minutes. Turn chicken breast-side up and roast about 15 minutes longer, until done and juices are no longer pink.