I’m not sure why I never thought of this technique before. The biggest problem I have with most of the chickens I roast is that the white and dark meat are done at different times. It’s the great paradox of whole roasted chickens: they should probably be roasted separately. To get the dark meat done I usually have to dry out the white, or dig into a wing when I know it probably should have another 10 minutes in the oven. It’s a problem.
But an iron-skillet roasted chicken makes sense. The dark meat takes the longest to cook, so Mark Bittman places the chicken atop a heated iron skillet before it goes into the oven. The dark meat gets more direct heat. The white meat and the dark meat are done roughly at the same time. Not only that, but it’s done much quicker than any other roast chicken recipe I’ve tried. Honestly, it was done in 30 minutes.
Was it the best roasted chicken I’d ever had?
Of course not. Compared to some of the intense prepping I’ve done previously, this one is basic. I’d mess with the seasonings more next time. I’ve had better skin and more flavorful meat, but never this easily. As far as a get-it-on-the-table meal, I’m not sure if this Fastest Roast Chicken recipe can be beat. I even think it even had better texture than some of the high heat methods, though the flavor wasn’t as intense. It’s just another fantastic roasted chicken. I’ll try something a little different next time.
All gratitude need to be directed towards Mark Bittman, who continues to impress me.
Fastest Roast Chicken
- 1 chicken
- salt and pepper
- 1 bunch rosemary
Adapted from Mark Bittman's The Minimalist Cooks Dinner.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. When it’s about ready, set an iron skillet on a burner over hight heat for about 5 minutes.
Rub the chicken with salt and pepper. Plop the chicken on the iron skillet, breast side up. Immediately move to the oven. Set the timer for 30 minutes. After 20 minutes add some rosemary into the cavity of the bird.
When ready, remove the chicken and let sit for five minutes. Carve up. Dish out.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice! I'm gonna try this.
Have you tried brining your bird?
This looks great. I love cooking stuff, either on the top or int he oven, using cast iron.
For chicken, I recommend very emphatically that you use fresh Marjoram. It's INCREDIBLE. I cut the skin away from the breast where the hole for the neck and bottom cavities are, slide my hand between the skin and the meat and insert a little salt, pepper, butter, smashed garlic cloves and plenty of fresh marjoram. It's insanely good.
Oh, and you have another Mark Bittman fan here. He ROCKS!!!
Chewy,
I like brining birds…if I can possibly remember. What I love even more is salting. I actually did remember to do that last night. I'm also going to cover the sucker in duck fat and roast until the skin is copper-toned and succulent. But that's another thing altogether.
Trussing is a must for roasting chix. It makes a tighter packet and will even out the noted differing cooking times of legs and breast.
Anthony Bourdain notes quite rightly that if you feel squeamish about having a little pink near the bone of your poule a roti, then you don't deserve to eat the bird.
Also, for more even cooking (and stellar browning), you can do as Jacques Pepin does, which is, after the bird is trussed, roast in a 400 degree oven on one side for 25 minutes, flip to other side for 25 minutes, and the last ten minutes should be with breast side up. When it rests (and this should probably be done for most chickens out of the oven) you let it rest on it's sides (flipping it at about 7 minutes), or, if you don't mind a mushy looking breast, you let it rest on the breast, so that the juices flow back through the tasteless boobs.
This sounds delicious and easy, Nick. Perhaps putting the rosemary in the bird's cavity at the beginning might help make it more flavorful. I would also bruise the rosemary a little with a rolling pin beforehand to release even more flavor. And I'm a big fan of basting the bird a time or two with its own juices–makes it nice and golden brown.
so are we talking about a 3 lb chicken here? just wondering in terms of cooking time.
a great and easy way to achieve nice crispy golden skin is to coat it in soy sauce. And I agree, brining is important whenever possible…a must for turkey at Thanksgiving, it's in the oven so long.
Nick and Blake,
I really appreciate the tremendous amount of research y'all have put into your chicken. Honestly, one of my favorite parts about chicken roasting is the flexibility; as you two have admirably demonstrated, a roasted chicken can fast, painfully slow, seasoned or not; it can come out of the oven resplendent and crisp, or in need of a good blow-torching. I tend to roast my birds with leftovers in mind — really well herbed chicken makes weird enchiladas. I love the economy of a roasted chicken. Meat, gravy, stock; you get a lot more out of roasting a whole bird than buying boneless-skinless parts.
I'm rambling. The point is: well done. Thanks for your work. You've given me a lot of ideas.
Best,
Ross