I was on a Keller-Kick. I’m not ashamed to admit it. He’s a Culinary Rock Star and we are but his mere groupies 🙂
I have long since wanted to make his Roast Chicken as he has so often named it as one of his desired “last meals on earth”. I’ve seen him demo it several times (and seen other bloggers give it a spin) and loved the simplicity of it all.
With an extra chicken and fresh thyme conveniently in the fridge, I had no excuse. And although I already had the recipe to refer to, I took the opportunity to view the following video for reassurance:
Looks easy right? And deliciously juicy? Well, it WAS! On both accounts! The skin was crispy and well seasoned—the meat extremely tender. And because of the extra step of removing the wishbone before trussing the bird, it was beautifully simple to carve.
I am happy to report that my young niece and nephew gobbled it up for dinner. And by “gobbled”, I actually mean “inhaled”. Kid Tested and Approved!
If Turkey seems a tad overwhelming or just simply too much for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday, give Thomas Keller’s Roast Chicken a try. So easy and delicious that you’ll be able to save your energy for all of the Black Friday sales/shopping the next day. 🙂
_________________________________________
“Mon Poulet Roti” (Roast Chicken)
From Thomas Keller’s “Bouchon” Cookbook
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.
Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it’s a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.
Now, salt the chicken— I like to rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it’s cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper. (Love freshly ground pepper!)
Place the chicken in a sauté pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone — I don’t baste it, I don’t add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don’t want. Roast it until it’s done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.
Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the legs and thighs. I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oysters, the two succulent morsels of meat embedded here, and give the other to the person I’m cooking with. But I take the chicken butt for myself. I could never understand why my brothers always fought over that triangular tip — until one day I got the crispy, juicy fat myself. These are the cook’s rewards. Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each. The preparation is not meant to be super elegant. Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with mustard on the side (Which I don’t feel necessary as the chicken turned out to be quite flavorful) and, if you wish, a simple green salad. You’ll start using a knife and fork, but finish with your fingers, because it’s so good.
theculinarychronicles.com 
Beautiful color. Looks so tasty. Continue on with the Keller Kick…yes yes. 😉
Thanks for the encouragement! 🙂 I think the upcoming holidays may be the perfect excuse for me to squeeze in 1 or 2 more of his recipes-lol!
Years ago Gene Burns had chef Marc ? on his show who talked how much better turkey turns out using high heat roasting. After trying it, Gene Burns talked about the delicous results and said he will never slow roast a turkey again! Your chicken looks and sounds delicious.
Thank you Maria! I must admit that I did think of you when I was making it. I think it may have been a smidgen better than Costcos! 🙂
This looks PERFECT! Pure perfection. I can’t wait to try this Keller-style roasted chicken. Great post!
THANK YOU so much! It was so surprising how easy it was—and better yet, delish!
By the way, I really enjoyed the friends Thanksgiving Post you all did! It all sounded yummy!
just watched the utube and your chicken looked just like his! great job
Awww shucks….THANKS! I know, you would have really LOVED it! All natural–with no extra fat needed! 🙂
Yummylicious, Poulet roti! Kids test never fails to amaze me. They tell you the truth, right at your face! I got it with my 4.5 yr old son. He looks, smells and if he likes first both, then he will eat it. If he looks up and says to you, “Mommy, mmmm, it’s good” with his thumb up…Spot on!
Great cooking there!
Thank you so much! How does the saying go “Out of the mouth of babes”?? No garnish or pretty plating can fool kids 🙂
Cheers and thanks for reading!
I’m a big Thomas Keller fan too. I’m going to add you to my blog list. I like your posts. 🙂
Thank you for the Foodie Love, Ninette! 🙂
When each one of the lug screws have been loosened, eliminate
the metal hoop and also the old drum head from the drum.
It can be anything including specialized silver jewellery, diamond
jewellery or a particular jewellery item such as bracelets, earrings, or wedding
rings. There are many of these pieces of semi-precious jewellery around and
I am sure that you will be able to find just the right piece in the correct colour to match that special summer wedding outfit.
The answer lies in LOTRO crafting, or the professions
that every player can take. As per the statistics, the gem and
diamond industry makes about 17 percent of India’s total exports.
Rees’ husband of 21 years (they divorced in 1994) was Christopher
de Lerisson Cazenove. What do you need to know and most importantly,
how can you ensure you get it right. There numerous outlet that
offers beautiful Indian fashion jewellery in exceptional quality material including precious stone, kundan, wood, lakh, pearl and etc.
Today, jewellery is seen not only as something with high fashion quotient, but
also a form of investment. You should give importance to
features like its size, durability, style
and colour. Treat yourself to a gorgeous silver diamond cluster
flower belly bar or for good luck why not request a belly bar designed with your birthstone.
Some people get so anxious during a driving terst they never try again. One great
thing about SEO is that there are countless tools out there whicxh can give you key insightss into your competitor campaigns.
You also have a Twitter account, and through that you nott only find news to share with your Friends and on your website, but you also mix
with others in the widget world.
You must have already tasted a variety of pies such
as pizza, pumpkin pie, banana cream pie and so many more.
We dwell in a busy society where by all people seems to be seeking for rapid fixes and that includes foods.
A cup of cooked black beans contains 8 grams of fiber and a cup of cooked pinto beans contains 12 grams.
On average, products go on sale once every 4 to 6 weeks.
And I felt that that adding fresh baked pies, breads like banana
bread, peach and jam and jelly to our offerings would
be something that would work for us. Scoop out only what you need each morning and microwave.