If I were to tell you that this dish is super-easy, would you believe me? Most of Thomas Keller’s recipes are long and arduous. Not this one. And to me, there’s really nothing quite so tasty as a freshly roasted whole chicken hot out of the oven. Read on.
After being away for a few days (attending our oldest grandson’s high school graduation – see Logan, right) and after having numerous rich (and very enjoyable) meals, some in, some out, we were ready for a more simple, less caloric dinner once we got home. I picked up a nice big, fat 6 pound chicken at Trader Joe’s – a whole chicken.
Then, I was reading through some other people’s blog posts and learned about the Amateur Gourmet – have you ever read his blog? He won Saveur’s #1 rating for best overall blog. The magazine’s list of blogs is long. Really long, although some are categorized. Most of them I’d never heard of. Oh my, I’m in trouble . . . I already follow about 60 food blogs. How am I ever, ever going to keep up? But I had to go back through some older posts on the first ones I looked at. Anyway, on someone’s blog there was a link to watch a youtube video of Thomas Keller making one of his many chicken recipes. This one from Bouchon, the eponymous restaurant in Napa Valley.
The video was really interesting. And it looked so EASY! So I scribbled down the simple directions and did it – with only minor modifications. I let the roasting chicken I’d bought sit out at room temp for about an hour to get it closer to room temp. To the inside cavity I added a thyme sprig and salt and pepper. Then I prepared all the vegetables (I used onions, celery, carrots and later on during the baking time added about a pound of sweet potato chopped up). You can use your own choice of veggies. Those were lightly drizzled and tossed with olive oil and put in the bottom of a roasting pan. I used a Teflon-coated 9×13 pan and loosely covered the bottom with the veggies.
Next you truss the bird so the wings and legs are tight up against the body (I didn’t do this one step cuz I was lazy), then rub it all over with some olive oil and sprinkle liberally (really liberally) with salt, pepper and I added some dried thyme. The birdie is placed on top of the veggies and popped into the oven. Keller’s 3-4 pound bird roasted in a 450° oven and was done in about 45 minutes. My chicken at 6 pounds took about 80+ minutes. I also lowered the temp by 25° too because the bird was so big. You want to get chicken to an internal temp of about 165°.
Once out of the oven I removed the chicken to a grooved cutting board and let her sit with a little dome of foil over her to keep her warm. Also covered the roasting pan with all the veggies in it – and they were pooled in a lovely liquid of juices and fat. Talk about tasty! I tasted one piece of sweet potato (to make sure it was cooked through – it was) and could hardly keep my fork out of the pan.
The veggies went onto the plate along with pieces of the dripping, juicy chicken. With a salad, that was dinner. Fantastic is about the only word to describe!
What I liked: first, how EASY it was. Secondly, the flavor – oh yes – the salt really made a difference. It was extra-specially juicy. And the veggies – I had to talk to myself about not eating the entire pan full of veggies all by myself. They were that good.
What I didn’t like: gosh, nothing. It was magnificent. Worth doing again and again.
printer-friendly PDF
MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
Thomas Keller’s Roast Chicken & Vegetables
Recipe By: From a youtube video of Thomas Keller
Serving Size: 4
NOTES: The nutrition info assumes you will consume all the chicken skin, which you may not do! You can use your own choice of vegetables – these were my choices. Keller says one of the secrets to this chicken is the generous amount of salt on the outside. Most of it will stay with the skin, that you probably won’t eat anyway. It adds lovely flavor to the chicken.
3 1/2 pounds whole chicken
Salt and pepper sprinkled on the inside cavity
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt — (or more)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large thyme — sprig, for inside chicken cavity
VEGETABLES:
4 large carrots — peeled, chopped large
2 large onions — peeled, cut in big chunks
3 stalks celery — chopped
1/2 cup parsley — chopped
1 1/2 pounds sweet potato — (or use a turnip)
1 tablespoon olive oil — tossed with the veggies
Finishing salt for garnish, if desired
1. Allow chicken to sit out at room temp for about an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 450°. [I used a larger 6 lb. roasting chicken so cooked it at 425° for about 90 minutes.]
3. With a boning knife, remove the wishbone (makes for easier cutting after it’s baked – this is not a mandatory step).
4. In a roasting pan that’s a few inches larger than the chicken, add the cut and chopped vegetables. Drizzle them with a little bit of olive oil and toss with your hands.
5. Truss the chicken so the wings and legs are snug against the chicken body. [Note: I was lazy and didn’t do this step.] Rub the exterior of the chicken with the olive oil.
6. Place chicken on top of the vegetables [Since sweet potatoes cook quite fast, I didn’t add those pieces until 30 minutes before I thought it would be done]. Sprinkle chicken liberally with salt and pepper. [Note: I added some dried thyme to the exterior – not in Keller’s recipe.]
7. Place in oven and roast until the chicken is golden brown and has reached an internal temperature of 165°. Remove from oven and allow to rest on a cutting board for 15 minutes. Cover veggies so they don’t get cold. Slice chicken and serve with vegetables along side. If desired, sprinkle the top of the chicken with some finishing salt [I didn’t think it needed it since I’d used ample salt already].
Per Serving (assumes you eat all the skin): 835 Calories; 48g Fat (52.3% calories from fat); 54g Protein; 45g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 247mg Cholesterol; 971mg Sodium.
Leave a Comment!