Nobody Here But Us Chickens

I love a good roasted chicken. Lately, my favorite way to do it is to first brine the chicken a couple hours or overnight in a mixture of water, salt, soy sauce and lime juice.

The next day, I do a long poaching of the bird. First, I bring water in my big pot with built-in strainer to a boil. Then I put the chicken into the strainer, and place the strainer in the pot with the boiling water. The key is to make sure you have enough water so that the chicken is completely submerged. I immediately turn the heat to low and cover the pot. I then let the chicken cook on low like this for 10 minutes. After the time is up, I turn off the heat and let the chicken sit in the still-covered pot for an additional 15 minutes.

Afterward, I remove the strainer with the chicken in it and set this in the sink. As soon as the chicken is cool enough for me to pick up with my hands, I transfer it to a plate. Very gently, I work the skin of the breast loose from the meat without tearing it away from the bird. Then, I rub a mixture of sesame seed oil and soy soy sauce into and under the skin. I also lightly salt the entire bird with sea salt. Then, I let the chicken sit for at least an hour (and up to 4 or 5 hours) unrefrigerated. If you want to do this poaching a day ahead, just put the chicken in the fridge overnight. But make sure to take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature before going on to the next step.

When I'm about an hour away from my target dinnertime, I put crushed garlic, ginger and scallions mixed with grapeseed oil all over the bird and under that breast skin. Then I put the bird in a roasting pan and place it uncovered in a pre-heated 450 degree oven. I let it cook with this high heat for 15 minutes, or until the skin is starting to blacken. Then I remove the pan and put a half cup of water in the bottom of it. At this time, I also cover the entire chicken with foil or a roaster lid. When I'm ready to return the pan to the oven, I reduce the temperature to 300 degrees. After 20 more minutes of cooking on this low temperature, the bird is ready. But unless I am just starving by this point, I let the chicken sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes before carving.

This is a delicious and idiot-proof way to make moist and tender chicken.

For a variation of this same recipe, use olive instead of sesame seed oil to rub into the bird, and place a combination of rosemary, thyme, and oregano over and underneath the skin.

And while you're cooking, play this tune to get your giblets jumpin: