How to Cook the Perfect Roast Chicken

Spatchcocking the chicken leads to juicier breast meat and fully cooked legs. [Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

A roasted chicken represents so many things. First, the mastery of basic cooking technique, since it's one of the classic dishes that novice cooks are told to learn first. Second, it's an iconic comfort food. It's also a symbol of the beauty that's possible in even the simplest of things—pay attention to a few key details, give it some love (but not all that much time), and the chicken turns into one of the most delicious foods out there. And, while a roast chicken is good year-round, it's a dish that, at least for me, is connected to cold weather. I guess it goes back to that comfort and simplicity thing. It's what I'm craving right now.

Kenji's recipe for a whole roasted chicken is brilliant because it doesn't lose sight of those fundamental qualities. He doesn't over-complicate it with lengthy preparations and plan-ahead tasks. And yet he improves on the classic recipe just enough to make the difference between good roast chicken and great.

First, he spatchcocks (a.k.a. butterflies) the bird by cutting out its backbone and pressing it flat. It's a technique that's most often used for grilling, since it helps get the chicken into a flatter shape on the grill. But it's a good technique for roasting too, since it positions the breast at the center of the roast with the legs and wings surrounding it: that way, the legs and wings are hit with the most heat while the breast, which is prone to drying out, stays protected.

Then, while the bird is cooking, he uses that backbone to make what is essentially a quick brown stock, roasting the spine pieces and aromatic vegetables until browned, then deglazing with vermouth or sherry and water. He cooks this quick stock down until it has thickened into a jus, an equally perfect and simple sauce to spoon over the chicken.

Nothing fancy, just solid technique and a little bit of love. It's exactly as it should be.