If you’re going to make one roast chicken, this should be it
Photo: Rachel Vanni/Tasting Table
If you’re going to trust anyone with a roast chicken recipe, Julia Child is a wise choice. In this adaptation of her classic recipe, Child rubs the bird with butter and salt before roasting it in the oven, rotating it often to get golden skin all around. If you’re ever afraid of roasting poultry, this recipe is simply foolproof.
As Child explains in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, basting is crucial to a golden bird. However, speed is also crucial to ensure you aren’t letting out all of the heat from the oven every time you baste. (If you do, your bird will take longer to cook and will never get as crispy.) And while Child goes all out with a pan sauce of shallots cooked in chicken fat, we also love sopping up this chicken in its juices, making sure to scoop up the caramelized onions in the pan.
To learn more, read “Just Julia.”
Recipe from adapted ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1,’ by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck (Penguin Random House)
