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ROAST CHICKEN — POULET RÔTI
BY THOMAS KELLER
Ingredients
· Two 2 1/4- to 2 1/2-pound chickens
· Brine (see the recipe for the Brine at the
end of the main recipe)
· Kosher salt and freshly ground black
pepper
· 2 tablespoons canola oil
· 2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves
· 1 cup Chicken Jus warmed (see the
recipe for the Chicken Jus at the end of
the main recipe)
· Fleur de sel
When I roast a chicken, one of my favourite things to cook at home, I usually just salt it thoroughly and put it in a hot oven, but at the restaurant we like to brine our chickens, which results in very juicy, uniformly seasoned birds, with deep brown, crispy skin. The brine does dehydrate the skin, though, because the salt pulls moisture from it as it adds avour. If you see that the skin is beginning to brown too quickly, lay a sheet of foil over the bird to de ect the heat without trapping steam and moisture.
To brine the chickens:
Rinse each chicken under cold running water. Put the chickens in the pot of brine, weighting them with a plate if necessary to keep them submerged. Refrigerate for 6 hours.
To roast the chickens: Preheat the oven to 475°F.
Remove the chickens from the brine (discard the brine), rinse them, and pat dry with paper towels. Season the inside of each one with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. To truss the chickens, place one chicken on a tray with the legs toward you. Tuck the wing tips under the bird. Cut a piece of kitchen twine about 3 feet long and centre it on top of the neck end of the breast. Lift the neck end of the bird and pull the twine down around the wings and under the chicken, then bring the ends up over the breast, toward you, and knot the twine, pulling it tight to plump the breast. Bring the ends of
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the twine around the ends of the drumsticks and straight up. Tie as before to pull the drumsticks together and form a compact bird; tie again to secure the knot. Repeat with the second chicken. Let the chickens sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before roasting.
(The trussed chickens can be refrigerated for a few hours, but remove them from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking.)
Season the outside of the chickens with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Place two heavy ovenproof skillets about 10 inches in diameter over high heat. (Heating the skillets will help keep the skin of the birds from sticking to them.) When they are hot, add half the oil to each and heat until hot. Put the birds breast side up in the skillets, and then into the oven with the legs facing the back of the oven.
Roast for 40 minutes, checking the birds every 15 minutes and rotating the skillets if the chickens are browning unevenly. After 40 minutes, check the temperature of the birds by inserting an instant-read thermometer between the leg and the thigh: The temperature should read approximately 155°F. (The chicken will continue to cook as it sits, reaching a temperature of about 165°F.)
When the birds are done, remove from the oven, add the thyme leaves to the skillets, and baste the birds several times with the juices and thyme leaves. Let sit in a warm spot for about 10 minutes.
TO CARVE:
Cut the twine between the legs of each chicken and pull on one end; the entire piece will pull away easily. Cut each bird into 4 serving pieces. Remove each leg by cutting through
the joint where the thigh joins the body. Slice off each side of the breast, leaving the wings attached to the breast meat; cut off and discard the wing tips.
TO SERVE:
Arrange one piece of breast and a leg on each serving plate and top with about 1/4 cup chicken jus. Sprinkle with eur de sel.
Makes 4 Servings
CHICKEN JUS
Variations on the same principle, at Bouchon stock and jus are distinguished from each other by ingredients, cooking time, and uses. A stock uses primarily bones and is cooked longer than a jus. A jus is made with abundant bones and meat and is
RECIPE