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The Ultimate Roast Chicken
I don’t care who you are or where you come from—everyone needs a roast chicken recipe in their back pocket. It’s one of the most versatile meals you can make. It can be a relatively hands-off weeknight dinner or the centerpiece of a table when you have guests over. I often make one during the week and stretch it across several meals. For the best results, I spatchcock the chicken, or I remove the backbone so the bird can lay flat. This helps it cook more evenly and gives you more surface area for crispy skin. And don’t throw away that backbone or neck—those are perfect for enriching the pan drippings that become our sauce. If you have the time, I highly recommend salting the chicken and letting it sit uncovered in the fridge overnight. This dry brine allows the salt to penetrate the meat while drying out the skin so it roasts up beautifully golden and crackly. If you’re short on time, though, you can absolutely salt it and roast it right away. Before the chicken goes into the oven, I like to build some flavor in the pan by caramelizing lemon, shallots, and garlic. Those aromatics infuse into the chicken stock while the bird roasts, creating what is essentially liquid gold underneath the chicken. But instead of turning those drippings into a traditional roux-thickened gravy, I take things in a slightly brighter direction. I turn them into what I call a gravy vinaigrette—whisking the roasted garlic and lemon with dijon mustard, a touch of honey, and olive oil. The result is lighter and fresher than classic gravy, but still packed with deep roasted chicken flavor. Serve the carved chicken with those sweet roasted shallots and plenty of that gravy vinaigrette spooned over the top, and you’ve got a meal fit for royalty.
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