Debug

[5 - 5] here at America's Test Kitchen we've

[5 - 6] published hundreds of recipes for roast

[6 - 9] chicken over the past 30 plus years and

[9 - 10] today I'm here to tell you that you

[11 - 13] don't need any of them that's a joke

[13 - 15] it's a joke actually we have so many

[15 - 16] great recipes that you should try I've

[17 - 18] linked a few of my favorites below this

[18 - 20] video but today I want to talk more

[20 - 21] broadly about the best practices you

[21 - 23] need to know to consistently nail a

[23 - 25] perfect roast chicken I'm talking about

[25 - 29] shopping spatchcocking skin care salting

[29 - 31] roasting a concept I call cooking on the

[31 - 33] counter and saucing let's start at the

[33 - 35] store I think we can all agree that

[35 - 37] poultry shopping can be confusing there

[37 - 40] are big birds and small birds and so

[40 - 41] many labels I'm not going to get into

[42 - 43] what each and every one means today but

[43 - 45] there's a big one we want to pay

[45 - 47] attention to and that is air chilled

[47 - 49] versus water chilled air chilled poultry

[49 - 50] is hung from a conveyor belt and

[50 - 52] circulated around a cold room this

[52 - 54] relatively lengthy process builds in

[54 - 56] time for some enzymatic breakdown of

[56 - 58] muscle tissue this leads to meat that is

[58 - 60] noticeably more tender than water chill

[60 - 61] poultry we're talking about Brands like

[61 - 63] Mary's and bell and Evans water chilled

[63 - 65] poultry has been dunked in a cold

[65 - 67] chlorinated bath which causes it to

[67 - 69] retain water this dilutes flavor hinders

[69 - 71] skin crisping and in a sort of sneaky

[71 - 73] way inflates cost while air chill

[73 - 75] poultry is often price here per pound

[75 - 76] remember that you are paying for the

[76 - 79] retained water at the price of chicken

[79 - 80] and according to the USDA It's Not

[80 - 83] Unusual for poultry to pick up 8 to 12%

[83 - 85] retained Water by weight nobody wants

[85 - 87] that if you can please buy air chilled

[87 - 90] number two spatcock for faster more even

[90 - 92] cooking we have great recipes that roast

[92 - 94] a whole chicken but my preferred method

[94 - 96] is to do a tiny bit of butchering known

[96 - 98] as spatch cocking or butterflying spat

[98 - 100] cocking can help get dinner on the table

[100 - 102] faster and the chicken will cook and

[102 - 104] brown more evenly spat cocking means to

[104 - 106] cut out the backbone so that the bird

[106 - 108] can lay flat for roasting spatcock

[108 - 109] probably derives from the word

[109 - 112] spitchcock which means split cook and

[112 - 115] was used as early as 1597 in reference

[115 - 119] to splitting eels so now you have that

[119 - 121] information it's easy to do with a pair

[121 - 123] of good kitchen shears and I really

[123 - 124] prefer this method to using a chef's

[124 - 126] knife which can be a bit dangerous all

[126 - 128] you do is lay the chicken breast side

[128 - 130] down and starting at the tail end cut

[130 - 132] along either side of the backbone all

[132 - 134] the way to the top like this then repeat

[134 - 136] on the other side and simply remove the

[136 - 138] backbone now I know I don't have to tell

[138 - 140] you all this but of course save it to

[140 - 142] make chicken stock now you flip the

[142 - 145] bird so that it's breast side up and

[145 - 146] press down on the breast to crack the

[146 - 148] breast bone and flatten it to about the

[148 - 150] height of the legs and finally truss the

[150 - 152] legs together at the end this puts

[152 - 154] tension on the legs like this so they

[154 - 156] pull away from the breast this way all

[156 - 158] of the skin between the breast and thigh

[158 - 160] does it Bunch up and stay soggy during

[160 - 162] roasting now look what we've got instead

[162 - 163] of a round bird shape with a hollow

[163 - 165] interior and some parts tucked away from

[165 - 167] heat you've got a flat chicken that will

[167 - 169] cook much more evenly and where all the

[169 - 171] skin is facing up where it can render

[171 - 173] and crisp that is beautiful speaking of

[174 - 175] skin it's just like the dermatologists

[175 - 177] always say you can't underestimate the

[177 - 180] value of a good skincare regimen and

[180 - 182] well the same holds true for chicken the

[182 - 183] first thing I'm going to do is use my

[183 - 185] fingers to loosen the skin covering the

[185 - 187] breast and leg portions all I'm doing is

[187 - 189] sliding my fingers between the skin and

[189 - 190] the meat and I'm being careful not to

[190 - 192] tear the skin here's why this step is so

[192 - 194] important skin doesn't dry out well if

[194 - 196] it's attached to meat because water

[196 - 198] continually diffuses from the meat into

[198 - 200] the skin so the surface of the skin can

[200 - 201] Brown deeply while the underside is

[201 - 203] still moist putting an air gap in there

[203 - 205] helps the skin become drier during

[205 - 207] cooking next I take a metal skewer and

[207 - 209] poke holes in the fat deposits on the

[209 - 211] top of the breast and thighs those fat

[211 - 212] deposits are easy to spot because they

[213 - 215] look opaque Under the Skin like this

[215 - 216] this provides places for fat and

[216 - 218] moisture to escape which leads to

[218 - 221] crispier skin next up salt as you all

[221 - 223] already know salt has super powers in

[223 - 225] the kitchen that go Way Beyond seasoning

[225 - 227] in fact I just did a whole episode about

[227 - 229] a bunch of Salt's hidden towns that you

[229 - 230] should definitely check out after we're

[230 - 232] done talking about chicken there's a

[232 - 233] link below the video salting chicken

[234 - 235] before cooking it not only Seasons the

[235 - 237] meat deeply but also makes it cook up

[237 - 239] juicier and more tender when salt is app

[239 - 242] to Raw poultry dissolves in the surface

[242 - 244] moisture and diffuses into the bird

[244 - 245] there it changes the structure of the

[245 - 247] muscle proteins allowing them to hold

[247 - 249] onto more of their own natural juices

[249 - 251] let's go over a few pointers that make

[251 - 253] the salting process easy and effective

[253 - 255] first use kosher salt its large course

[255 - 257] grains are easier to see and control

[257 - 259] than fine grain table salt diamond

[259 - 261] crystal kosher salt is the Test Kitchen

[261 - 262] favorite you can see how its delicate

[262 - 264] Hollow crystals are easy to pinch and

[264 - 266] distribute evenly I use 1 teaspoon of

[267 - 268] kosher salt per pound of chicken that's

[268 - 271] 3 G of salt for 450 gram of chicken

[271 - 274] second you want to Salt both Under and

[274 - 275] Over The Skin chicken skin will

[275 - 277] seriously slow down the movement of salt

[277 - 279] into the meat so we want to bypass it

[279 - 281] and apply it directly measure out the

[281 - 282] salt you need so that you can avoid

[282 - 284] cross-contamination and then work it

[284 - 286] under the skin on the breast and thighs

[286 - 288] then rub more over the entire surface as

[288 - 290] well as the underside and third salt

[290 - 292] needs time to do its thing you should

[292 - 294] refrigerate a salted chicken for at

[294 - 296] least 12 and ideally 24 hours and if

[296 - 298] your fridge can accommodate chilling it

[298 - 300] uncovered that's even better because the

[300 - 302] moving air will evaporate moisture from

[302 - 304] the skin so it's more primed for

[304 - 305] Browning now if you're currently saying

[305 - 307] to the screen Dan I don't have that kind

[307 - 309] of time I'm hungry today I got you you

[310 - 311] can roast the bird right away but you

[311 - 313] may want to reduce the salt a bit as it

[313 - 314] won't have time to evenly diffuse into

[314 - 316] the meat go with a half a teaspoon per

[316 - 319] pound of chicken it is time to cook I'm

[319 - 320] going to give my chicken a quick brush

[320 - 322] with some melted butter the fat will

[322 - 324] help transfer heat evenly to the skin it

[324 - 325] adds some protein that will increase

[325 - 327] Browning and some of it will land in the

[327 - 329] skillet and enrich the chicken juices

[329 - 331] I've got a teaspoon of vegetable oil and

[331 - 333] a 12-in skillet cranking over high heat

[333 - 335] once we see some smoke in goes the bird

[335 - 337] the 12-in skillet is our preferred

[337 - 338] vessel for roasting chicken for a couple

[338 - 340] of reasons one it allows us to get the

[340 - 342] pan really hot on the stove before

[342 - 344] adding the bird this jump starts the

[344 - 346] cooking of the leg quarters which need

[346 - 347] to cook to a higher temperature than the

[347 - 349] leaner more delicate breast meat and the

[349 - 351] other reason is that the skillet shape

[351 - 353] is perfect for collecting and trapping

[353 - 355] all of the rendered fat and juices from

[355 - 357] the bird then we transfer the bird to a

[357 - 360] 400° oven we found this this temperature

[360 - 361] to be the sweet spot for roasting whole

[362 - 364] Birds it's hot enough to produce great

[364 - 365] Browning and crisping but low enough to

[365 - 367] minimize the splattering that lands on

[367 - 369] the sides of the oven and creates lots

[369 - 371] of smoke okay for the best roasted

[371 - 373] chicken you have to finish cooking it on

[373 - 374] the counter I know that sounds a little

[374 - 376] strange so I'll explain when our bird

[376 - 379] hits 150° in the breast we're going to

[379 - 381] take it out of the oven transfer it to a

[381 - 382] board and let it rest if that sounds

[382 - 384] like a low temperature to stop cooking

[384 - 387] chicken allow me to explain you can cook

[387 - 390] poultry to a temperature below 165 ° and

[390 - 392] still make it completely safe to eat in

[392 - 393] fact the USDA has time temperature

[393 - 395] charts that show that holding chicken at

[395 - 399] say 155° for 43 seconds kills just as

[399 - 403] much salmonella as 165° for less than a

[403 - 405] second but that's not even what we're

[405 - 406] doing here because we haven't stopped

[406 - 409] cooking this chicken food continues to

[409 - 410] cook even after it's been removed from

[410 - 412] the heat Source because heat moves from

[412 - 414] a hotter area to a cooler area so most

[415 - 416] of the heat concentrated on the surface

[416 - 418] of the bird will keep moving to the

[418 - 419] center while some will disapp ate into

[420 - 421] the air and it'll do that until the

[421 - 423] temperature equalizes throughout to

[423 - 424] compensate for that you have to remove

[424 - 426] it from the heat Source Early we are

[426 - 428] going to let this bird rest for at least

[428 - 430] 15 minutes but you can go longer it will

[430 - 432] climb those final degrees while sitting

[432 - 434] on the counter for a deeper dive on

[434 - 436] carryover cooking and resting check out

[436 - 437] my good friend Lon Lamb's show

[437 - 439] technially she has an episode all about

[439 - 441] carryover cooking there's a link below

[441 - 443] this video finally we're going to turn

[443 - 445] our Focus to the liquid gold sitting in

[445 - 447] the skillet I might argue that the best

[447 - 449] part of roasting a chicken isn't even

[449 - 451] the bird itself but all these rich

[451 - 453] chickeny juices that accumulate in the

[453 - 455] skillet they're full of fat and savory

[455 - 457] drippings which make them a fantastic

[457 - 458] flavor base for cooking some vegetables

[458 - 460] to have alongside the chicken or for

[460 - 463] making a quick pan sace let's whip up

[463 - 465] that pan sauce I'll pour off all but 1

[465 - 466] tblspoon of fat from the skillet then

[466 - 468] I'll soften some shallot and garlic and

[468 - 470] Bloom some minced thyme then we add

[470 - 472] chicken broth and Dijon mustard and

[472 - 474] scrape up all of the flavorful fond

[474 - 476] we'll reduce it down to about 3/4 of a

[476 - 478] cup which only takes a few minutes then

[478 - 479] we finish with a couple tablespoons of

[479 - 481] butter and some Sherry vinegar the

[481 - 483] mustard gives it good body and bite and

[483 - 485] the Cherry vinegar adds nutty tang and

[485 - 486] depth the butter gives it this Rich

[487 - 488] silky gloss that makes even the simplest

[488 - 491] roast chicken feel downright special or

[491 - 493] you can use the drippings to cook and

[493 - 495] glaze a veggie like these green beans

[495 - 496] pour off half of what's in the skillet

[497 - 499] add the beans cover and steam until

[499 - 500] tender then remove the lid and cook

[500 - 503] until the liquid is reduced and clingy

[503 - 505] wow I have so many wonderfully chickeny

[505 - 506] things in front of me I think it's time

[506 - 508] to BU the plate I'll take a few thick

[508 - 510] slices of soup super juicy breast meat a

[510 - 512] pile of schaly green beans and then

[512 - 515] spoon on my rich tart Savory chicken pan

[515 - 517] sauce let's take a bite M the chicken is

[517 - 520] so juicy and Incredibly well seasoned

[520 - 522] that skin is great the sauce is

[522 - 524] wonderful the beans are a dream this is

[524 - 526] a Triple Chicken threat and it is

[526 - 530] definitely how to eat roast

[530 - 532] chicken thanks to the entire Cooks

[533 - 534] Illustrated crew for roasting thousands

[534 - 536] of chickens over the years and compiling

[536 - 538] all of this great Intel and Kudos

[538 - 540] especially to senior science research

[540 - 542] editor Paul Adams for pointing out that

[542 - 544] cool connection between spatchcocking

[544 - 546] chickens and Eels if you got any other

[546 - 547] tips and tricks for roast chicken

[547 - 549] Perfection drop them in the comments I

[549 - 551] want to hear it all thanks for watching

[551 - 554] and I'll see you next time