Chicken with fresh green beans sauteed with oyster mushrooms.
1 whole (3 – 4 pound) chicken
1 Tablespoon butter
Salt and Pepper
Kitchen twine
Skillet
Lemon (optional)
Everybody wants to figure a good way to roast a chicken. Jacques Pepin just demonstrated his way it is very simple and comes out perfect.
All you need is a whole chicken. The better quality the better the end result. A bit of butter, salt, pepper, kitchen twine, a skillet and an oven. This is for a 3 – 4 lb chicken.
I like to unwrap the chicken and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to dry out a bit. Makes for a crispier skin. Season with salt and pepper all over and in the cavity. I like to put in a half a lemon in the cavity for a bit of flavor.
Truss up the chicken. This isn’t too necessary but it makes for more even cooking, doesn’t flop everywhere and looks better.
Heat oven to 425F.
Once the chicken is prepped, put the skillet on the stove over med high heat and melt a tablespoon of butter. Add the chicken and roll a bit in the butter just to get it smeared all over and lightly brown. Roll the chicken onto its side and place in oven for 20 minutes. Once that is up, carefully remove it and roll to the other side. Roast for 20 minutes. After that 20 minutes, roll onto its back and roast for the final 20 minutes, basting every 5 minutes or so with the drippings.
When finished, remove from the oven and the pan. Place on a cutting board. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of drippings into a jar or fat separator. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of chicken stock to the hot pan and stir up all the baked on bits. Bring to a simmer and add the de-fatted juice back to the pan. This step isn’t necessary, though. Add a slurry of potato starch or corn starch to thicken. Serve chicken with the sauce. Done.
