WEEK 37: YOUR BEST ROAST CHICKEN
Wishbone Roast Chicken with Herb Butter
Photography by Sarah Shatz
BY MONKEYMOM | SERVES 4 TO 6
A&M: This recipe, with its unassuming five ingredients, caught our eye for its use of simple techniques to achieve a flavorful bird with crisp skin. Monkeymom has thought a lot about roasting chicken: she has you tuck shallots and butter under the skin, season the bird, and then let it rest in the fridge, uncovered, for 8 hours. The butter keeps the meat moist and the air-drying in the fridge ensures a crackly skin. She also came up with an ingenious way to replicate the vertical roasting of “beer can chicken,” in which the chicken sits on top of a beer can while it grills: she sets the chicken on the tube part of a tube pan. The vertical positioning allows the fat to drip off the bird while it cooks, and we think it does a great job of helping to cook the chicken evenly, as every part is equally exposed to the oven heat. And did we mention that the finished bird is then served with an herb butter? Herb butter gets us every time.
WISHBONE CHICKEN
One 3-to 4-pound chicken
2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1 shallot, sliced thin
Freshly ground black pepper and salt
HERB BUTTER
4 tablespoons (½ stick) softened unsalted butter
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon finely minced flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon finely minced chives
- Wash and dry the chicken. Using your hands, spread the softened butter under the skin on the chicken breasts, especially the part near the neck. Tuck the shallots under the skin all around. Sprinkle with pepper, then salt the bird very generously all over. The key to a crispy skin is a dry bird, plenty of salt, and a hot oven. Place in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 8 hours or overnight.
- For the herb butter: In a bowl, combine the butter with the salt, parsley, and chives. Mash with a fork to mix thoroughly, then scrape onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the butter up to form a tube and chill in the refrigerator.
- To roast the chicken, heat the oven to 400°F. Use only one rack, placed in the bottom slot of your oven.
- Place the chicken, leg side down, on the tube insert of a 9-inch cake pan. This forms a stable base that will catch the drippings without leaking out. Tuck the wing tips behind the neck and pull the legs out to separate them from the breast. This helps them cook a little faster so the breast won’t dry out. If the skin has torn or is short, you can use a toothpick and pin it to the bottom end of the breast. Roast the chicken until the juices are no longer pink when you pierce the thickest part of the leg with a sharp knife. (My chicken was a little under 4 pounds and was cooked perfectly at 55 minutes.) Remove the nicely browned chicken from the oven. Let it rest on the tube while preparing the rest of your dinner.
- Slice the legs from the bird, then carve the breasts from the bones. Be careful not to cut the wishbone, which is near the neck cavity on the front top of the breast! I’ve disappointed my kids many times by accidentally breaking the wishbone prematurely.
- Slice the herb butter and serve with the carved chicken. A little dab of butter on the chicken goes a long way.
- Play the wishbone game.
Photography by Sarah Shatz
TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
monkeymom: “You can vary the herbs and use what you prefer: chervil, thyme, lemon zest, cayenne, etc. One bird, many options for flavoring.”
ABOUT THE COOK
Diana Chu is a scientist living in the San Francisco Bay area.
Her favorite recipe from a cookbook: “Carrot Cake Cupcakes from Barefoot Contessa Parties! An amazing treat. I make an unfrosted ‘muffin’ version by reducing the sugar by 1/3 cup, and substituting half the flour for white whole wheat flour. These are great bake sale and birthday treats for kids (no dairy, no nuts!).”
See her recipe for Caramelized Pork Bánh Mì.
WHAT THE COMMUNITY SAID
nannydeb: “You have just changed my life! We usually cook the chicken on a beer can (Pollo Boracho) inside a roasting pan. The can is always falling over with the chicken. I can’t wait to try it on my tube pan. Thanks!”