The Red Queen and Roast Chicken

"You have an unusually large head, I would love to hat it!"
"Hat it?"
"What I could do with this monument, this orb!  Well then, shall it be a bonnet or a boater?  Or something for the boudoir?  Cloche, dunce hat, bed cap, coif, snood, babush, yamaka, pork pie, tam'o'shantor, bi-corn, tri-corn, bandeau..."- Mad Hatter to the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland.


Well, that is quite a list of hats.  There were more but the Mad Hatter was speaking so fast I couldn't catch them all.  I do love this Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland.  It's a little dark and scary, fabulous to look at and I am always taken by how a milliner's, or hatter's, workroom in a movie looks so much like mine.  You must be able to make many different hats!

Cooking chicken is the same.  Should it be poached, fried, breaded, pounded, sautéd, baked, boiled, broiled, barbecued, stuffed, ground, deboned, skinned, braised or roasted?  Believe me I have tried it all.  Like making a favorite hat, I have a favorite cooking method.  They say you can tell how well someone cooks by their roast chicken.  And everyone seems to have their own way.  I have combined several techniques and I think this is the best way to roast a chicken, thanks to Julia Child, Mario Batali and Jamie Oliver.  I use a rack in the pan so the heat is all around the chicken and I can strew vegetables in the bottom.

Roast Chicken

3-4 lb. organic, free-range whole chicken
1 tsp. sea salt
1 bunch sage leaves
1 lemon, quartered,
4 tbs. compound butter; softened butter mixed with finely chopped tarragon, thyme leaves and sea salt
olive oil
vegetables for strewing; can include carrots, potatoes, peppers, fennel
1 large cast-iron skillet and a chicken rack

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees

Remove the bag of chicken parts.  Save for later.  Rinse the chicken in hot water and dry thoroughly with paper towels.  Sprinkle the inside cavity with sea salt. Stuff in the bunch of sage leaves.  Squeeze a little lemon juice from each quarter into the cavity and stuff in the lemon wedges.  Loosen the skin over the breasts and spread 2 tbs. of the compound butter over each breast under the skin.  Tuck the ends of the wings behind the back of the bird.  I don't truss, I like the legs open so the inside thigh meat cooks before the breasts dry out.  Make a small slit in the inside thigh where it connects to the body, this will also help to cook the thighs by the bone.  Massage the chicken all over with olive oil.


Place the chicken on its side on the rack.  Roast in the hot oven for 15 minutes.  Turn the chicken over to the other side and roast another 15 minutes.  Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and put the chicken on its back.  Baste with any juices in the pan.  Strew your selection of vegetables in the pan, baste with the juices and continue roasting another 30-45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes.  The chicken is done when the temperature reaches 160 degrees, or the leg wiggles and the juices are clear.  Remove the chicken to a platter to rest and cover loosely with foil.


Stir the vegetables and continue roasting until they are caramelized and tender.  Serve family style with the carved chicken.


You can then use the carcass and the neck, etc. from the bag of parts to make a stock. (Except the liver, which I sauté and add to a potato salad). Simmer gently in water to cover for 1-1 1/2 hours with a carrot, celery, bay leaf and a bouquet of herbs or parsley stems.  Skim any foam off the top as it simmers.  Cool, strain, store in fridge, use within 2 days.

Yummy, evenly cooked every time.  Thanks to Julia for the roasting each side first technique, to Mario for the tip of slitting the thigh and to Jamie for the compound butter under the skin.  A perfect creation...


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