How to Roast a Chicken

Also, one more thing! Sorry longest post ever..  I have NEVER had a chicken that wasn't covered in butter and oil, that was still this juicy and amazing! And I buy all fresh herbs now.

My First Comment but I have been obsessed with your website for a month now. I tell everyone I know about it! This was one of the first recipes I tried and it came out phenomenal. My boyfriend thinks I am a professional chef these days because of all the homemade food I have been cooking. And he loves the cut in the food budget I have been able to make now. Although, its hard to cook for two. Maybe you could do an episode on tricks of cooking for two? Like, freezer tips, portion tips, and most importantly what meals have the most similar ingredients so that nothing goes to waste! Thanks for all your help! I would love to know other recipes for cooking a whole chicken. Like, what if you want to use the meat for Tacos? Would I cook it differently? I am done buying chicken breasts and buy my chickens whole now. And use every piece! Can I do that with other animals?

My roast chicken (or any poultry) is to put some butter and  herbs under the skin over the breast meat. You can separate the skin from the meat a little bit to make a little pocket. This trick guarantees moist and flavorful breast meat every time.

I tried the Roasted Chicken. It should be noted that the time period of roasting depends on the size of the bird. I followed directions but found that the meat near the leg bone was still too pink for me eventhough the juices ran clear. You must be very careful that your chicken is not under cooked. You could get very sick so follow thw recepie but make sure the chicken is cook. After I cutted up my chicken and noted the pinkish meat near the leg bone, I placed it back in the oven for 20 more minutes at 350 degrees with the pinkish meat side up. It came out perfect. I used what appeared to be the same size chicken. It came out perfect. juicy and tastey!

Just put this in the oven. My roommate and I are suckers for anything spicy, and I didn't have any fresh herbs on hand. So I used a combination of dried rosemary, mesqueet seasoning, and old bay for a taste of home (yay! Maryland!) Hope this comes out alright.

LOVE all of your videos EXCELLENT on step by step, costs, servings and EVERYTHING and I am a seasoned cooker and baker

Great video, Rebecca!  I've really been enjoying your site.  Your mom sent me over here.  I'm a food blogger/freelance writer in Sarasota.  I actually met your brother here last weekend.  Your chicken looks terrific.  I just posted one of Keller's roast chicken recipes, myself.    http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2010/04/18/the-perfect-roasted-chicken/

Can you use the same method to cook a duck?

My choir teacher makes a kickass roasted chicken with rosemary and tyme.

I make my roast chicken with quartered lemons and a few garlic cloves in the cavity.  It smells and tastes amazing!

"Roast Chicken is Failproof"
Sad, I have made 2 and 50% of them failed.  :(

I'm a big fan of Beau Monde seasoning on my chicken. A little olive oil or melted butter (my preference) to make a sauce, add the Beau Monde, brush over the chicken periodically as you are cooking (roughly 165 F or when juices are clear) and viola, tasty goodness. 
You might also want (if your bird came from a super market) to check the packaging for rough cooking times. Birds that are range fed, or kosher typically have different times, and may look different around the bones than commercially packaged chickens.

Great episode! Thanks for showing us timid cooks that it's just roasting a chicken and not the battle of birdzilla. I also love that there's the bonus of a ton of recipe variations once people start posting.

I have to agree that Humphrey is high on the cute scale this time. Poor pup seems like he's such a good boy just waiting patiently for something yummy to come his way. Like any pup, never enough love or treats if you ask them, I'm sure.

Alton Brown suggests making a compound herb butter and rubbing it under the chicken's skin, and just putting salt on the outside. This makes a ridiculously juicy flavorful chicken with crispy skin, and because the herbs are under the skin they don't burn.

...a good idea to wash your hands thoroughly after handing the raw bird (and all surfaces as well).  Salamonella.  No joke if you get sick!

I like to rub my roast chicken with Dijon mustard and other seasoning. That way the mustard crisps onto the skin forming an extra delicious crispy layer. The other method I like for roast chicken is to cut slits in the skin and slid pieces of garlic underneath.

Just want to say that my favourite chicken seasoning would be summer savoury. You'll find the tastiest kind on the east coast of canada. Great tutorial!

My favorite way to cook chicken is to smoke it. I prep the bird much the way you do. I cover with seasoned salt, stuff it with 4 or 5 strips of raw bacon and then smoke for 16 hours or so in my wet smoker. The meat has an amazing flavor and is falling off the bone tender.

I like lemon on my chicken, Both while roasting and as a sauce. I juice one lemon and place only the lemon rinds in the cavity of the chicken. When the chicken is cooked I deglaze like you demonstrate using white wine a little broth and the lemon juice. Thrown in some artichoke hearts and capers. And you have a play on chicken picata with the flavor of a whole chicken   DELISH!!! you can leave the artichokes and capers out and just enjoy a lovely lemony sauce.

I love making chicken the classic, Mum's-Friday-Night Shabbas-Dinner style by generously spreading apricot jam all over the chicken and then bread crumbs (or corn flakes) over top.  It is SO good, and when the jam crisps with the chicken it is so sweet and delicious (and goes really well with the chicken-fat flavour) that it is everyone's favorite part.  unfortunately, that often means I am left with the reject piece of chicken that everyone has already picked all the skin and jam off of. damn. lol

We continually failed at simple roasted chicken until we finally realized that it was not cooking evenly because our stove was miscalibrated! Now that we know we compensate with an extra 50 degrees of temp and will try to replicate your beauteous bird. Looks like you started with a really nice specimen, too. BTW, Humphrey is particularly adorable in this episode!

I actually never roast my chicken. I have a big stoneware baker and usually make baked chicken. It's not crispy and crunchy on the skin, but the meat falls off the bones and the breast (my favorite) is never dry. Also, I usually throw mini potatoes around the base to bake in the fat at the bottom.

Thanks for this recipe! As a vegetarian cooking for meateaters I can never really tell if food really comes out tasting good. I hope this simple recipe will boost my meat cooking confidence.