I went to Zuni Café back in February and vowed to make the roast chicken at home because I just can't justify spending $50 for roast chicken... I didn't make the warm bread salad this time because this was a trial run but I was pleasantly surprised at how well the chicken turned out. While the prep was a little messy and left me paranoid about raw meat safety, the rest of the recipe was easy to follow. This roast chicken recipe is perfect to make for a dinner party. I had a lot of leftovers that I used to make chicken salad and stir-frys throughout the week.
Zuni Café Roast Chicken
Adapted from Alexandra Cooks
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
One small chicken, 2 3/4 to 3½-pounds
4 tender springs fresh thyme, marjoram, rosemary or sage, about ½-inch long
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
Remove and discard the lump of fat inside the chicken. Rinse the chicken and pat very dry inside and out. Be thorough - a wet chicken will spend too much time steaming before it begins to turn golden brown. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Approaching from the edge of the cavity, slide a finger under the skin of each of the breasts, making 2 little pockets. Now use the tip of your finger to gently loosen a pocket of skin on the outside of the thickest section of each thigh. Use your finger, shove an herb sprig into each of the 4 pockets.
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Choose a shallow flameproof roasting pan or dish barely larger than the chicken. Preheat the pan over medium heat. Set the chicken breast side up in the pan. It should sizzle.
Place the chicken in the pan in the center of the oven and listen and watch for it to start browning within 20 minutes. If it doesn't, raise the temperature progressively until it does. The skin should blister, but if the chicken begins to char, or the fat is smoking, reduce temperature by 25 degrees. After about 30 minutes, turn the bird over - drying the bird and preheating the pan should keep the pan from sticking. Roast for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on size, then flip back over to recrisp the breast skin, another 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the oven and turn off the heat. Lift the chicken from the roasting pan and set on a plate. Set the chicken in a warm spot and leave to rest. The meat will become more tender and uniformly succulent as it cools.
Set a platter in the oven to warm for a minute or two. Cut the chicken into pieces; arrange on the warm platter. Drizzle the chicken with some pan drippings if you wish.
