Best Brined Roast Chicken
This one roasts at a lower temperature to keep the brine seasonings from scorching.
How to Make It
Step 1
1
Prepare brine. Put chicken breast-down in brine, weight with a small plate, cover, and chill at least 8 and up to 12 hours.
Step 2
2
Drain chicken (discard brine) and pat completely dry inside and out. Rub chicken all over with oil, then set breast-up on a V-shaped rack in a 12- by 17-in. roasting pan; tuck wing tips under if you like. Let chicken stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°.
Step 3
3
Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally through thickest part of breast reaches 160°, 45 to 55 minutes for a smaller bird or 1 to 1 1/4 hours for a larger one; after 30 minutes, if any areas start to get dark, tent them with foil. Transfer chicken to a warm platter and let stand in a warm place about 10 minutes.
Step 4
4
Serve chicken with accompaniments.
Step 5
5
*To find small (uncooked) chickens, try markets that roast rotisserie birds (which are small) on-site.
Step 6
6
Make ahead: Up to 1 day, brine chicken as directed, then drain and chill.
Step 7
7
Nutritional analysis per serving for Mexican Chicken: 411 Cal., 55% (224 cal.) from fat; 43g Protein; 25g Fat (8 g sat.); 9g Carbo (5g Fiber); Sodium n/a; 134mg Chol
Step 8
8
Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving for Chinese Chicken.
Ingredients
1 chicken, 3* to 4 1/2 lbs., lumps of fat and tail removed, rinsed
About 1 tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil
Accompaniments
Directions
Step 1
1
Prepare brine. Put chicken breast-down in brine, weight with a small plate, cover, and chill at least 8 and up to 12 hours.
Step 2
2
Drain chicken (discard brine) and pat completely dry inside and out. Rub chicken all over with oil, then set breast-up on a V-shaped rack in a 12- by 17-in. roasting pan; tuck wing tips under if you like. Let chicken stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°.
Step 3
3
Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally through thickest part of breast reaches 160°, 45 to 55 minutes for a smaller bird or 1 to 1 1/4 hours for a larger one; after 30 minutes, if any areas start to get dark, tent them with foil. Transfer chicken to a warm platter and let stand in a warm place about 10 minutes.
Step 4
4
Serve chicken with accompaniments.
Step 5
5
*To find small (uncooked) chickens, try markets that roast rotisserie birds (which are small) on-site.
Step 6
6
Make ahead: Up to 1 day, brine chicken as directed, then drain and chill.
Step 7
7
Nutritional analysis per serving for Mexican Chicken: 411 Cal., 55% (224 cal.) from fat; 43g Protein; 25g Fat (8 g sat.); 9g Carbo (5g Fiber); Sodium n/a; 134mg Chol
Step 8
8
Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving for Chinese Chicken.
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