Perfect Roast Chicken, Or, How to Use a Chicken: Part I

Is there anything as perfectly simple as a roast chicken?  Simply perfect?  I've spent a lot of time thinking about what constitutes a perfect food.  Versatile.  Nutritious.  Easy to prepare.  Delicious.

Sure, there are several foods that fit this definition.  My favorite food, peanut butter, comes pretty close.  Eggs are often billed as the perfect food.  Once thought of maligned for their high cholesterol content, they are now touted as a necessary part of any diet (the experts insist the fat is the good kind).  They even come in their own packaging.  However, you get a lot more out of a chicken.  A chicken can be baked, fried, roasted, grilled.  A chicken has white meat and dark meat, both useful for their own purposes.  A chicken gives you leftovers for a week and bones to boot.  So, is it the chicken or the egg?

I'm not going to weigh in; I am a fan of both, though I admitted eat eggs far more often than their grownup counterparts.  But there is something oh so comforting about having a chicken roasting in your oven.  That chicken means you know there will always be something in the fridge to fall back on.  It makes your house smell like a home.  (And it rewards the cook with secret gifts.)  And, even buying only organic and free-range, my chicken ran me about ten bucks and will feed us for many meals.

Everyone should know how to roast a chicken.  There is barely anything to know.  Season, truss, and stick it in the oven.  It may not be perfection, but it's as close as we're allowed to come.

Perfect Roast Chicken
Serves many

1 chicken (mine was 4 lbs; choose organic and free-range when possible)
kosher salt
pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Rinse the chicken, and dry it very well.  Moisture will create steam, and your chicken will not be marvelously crispy.

Salt and pepper the cavity, place in a roasting dish, and truss your chicken.  Learn how to truss a chicken right now if you don't know how.

Take about a tablespoon of kosher salt, and rain it down upon the chicken.  You want an even coating, which will crisp up and make your chicken's skin irresistible.  Season with pepper.

Put the chicken in the oven, and leave it alone.  Do nothing.  Resist the urge to do anything.  No basting, no changing the oven temperature.  My chicken needed about an hour and a half; allow yourself about 20 minutes per pound.

Take the chicken out of the oven, and baste with its juices.  Let it sit for 15 minutes.  Remove the twine, and immediately consume the chicken butt.  This is your reward for cooking a chicken.  You should also drain the fat into a jar and save for the next time you require chicken fat.

Serve with a salad for the perfect meal, or carve and save the meat for later meals.