A great roasted chicken, well seasoned with crispy skin, is a perfect company dish during the holiday season, or any season for that matter. I think that butterflying and brining the bird are wonderful techniques to insure a juicy, evenly cooked and flavorful feast. Free range chickens, while flavorful, are sometimes tough and brining helps tenderize them. Do not brine a kosher chicken because they have already been salted and effectively brined during the koshering process.

Brine

1/2 T peppercorns, ground
1 bay leaf, ground
1 T dried thyme
5 cloves garlic, minced
3-5 allspice berries, ground
2 qts water
2 qts ice
1 C kosher salt (Diamond, or ¾ C Morton kosher, or ½ C table salt. Each of these amounts will weigh about 6 oz)
¼ C sugar

Roasted Chicken

1 4ish lb chicken, butterflied (pictures below)
1 T olive oil
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp rosemary
½ tsp sage
½ tsp tarragon
½ tsp pepper
1 small onion, quartered
1 carrot, scrubbed and cut in pieces
1 rib celery, cut in pieces
1 sm orange, lemon, or apple quartered
Fresh herbs (opt)

To brine the chicken – Combine pepper, bay leaf, thyme, garlic & allspice with the salt & sugar. Add 2C water & bring to boil. I do this in the container I use to brine the chicken since I have an insta-hot. Steep at least 5 minutes stirring to make should the sugar and salt are dissolved, then add to remaining water and 2 quarts ice. Stir until ice is half melted and the brine is less than 40° F before adding your chicken.  Brine chicken breasts an hour, (you can do a half recipe of brine) whole chickens for 2-3 hours. Drain; rinse the chicken, pat dry before continuing with the recipe. For extra crispy skin, let the chicken sit uncovered in refrigerator to dry out (4-5 hours).

To cook the chicken -Rub the chicken with the oil and seasonings  (do not salt if brined and save a little to mix with the onion mixture). Place the onion, veggies, fruit and herbs in the pan and top with the seasoned chicken. Roast in a 400° oven (convection if you have, now at least you can use it for one recipe) until the skin is browned & thigh temperature is 170° about 45-60 minutes. Time depends on the size of the chicken and whether or not you are using convection. Enjoy.

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