A perfectly roasted piece of chicken is one of the most delicious things in the world to me. It doesn’t have to be fancy at all (much like this post), and the beauty of nature can be allowed to shine through. Here I took a whole chicken and quartered it (you can opt to let the grocery store do this for you if you don’t want to practice your butchering skills) and seasoned it with just some salt and pepper. Preheat your oven to about 375 degrees. Place an oven-safe skillet on the burner and add a small layer of a neutral (i.e. vegetable or canola) oil. Here, it is VERY important that the pan/oil are very hot. You don’t want them to burn, but if they’re not hot then you won’t get the nicely browned skin that you want because the chicken will just sort of steam. (I don’t think you’d want steamed chicken, would you?) Place the pieces skin side down until nicely browned. Then flip over and finish in the oven until cooked through (about 20 minutes or so). The white and dark meat may finish at different times, so that is just something to keep in mind. Be sure to keep this recipe/technique in your back pocket whenever you want to make an easy main course. Feel free to spice it up a little bit by adding your favorite seasonings.
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