Perfect Roast Chicken with Warm Bread Salad
Serves 4-6
Julia Child famously said that a perfect roast chicken requires a “greed for perfection”. This version requires a bit of forethought but could hardly be easier. And it’s nearly the perfect chicken meal — shatteringly crisp skin, moist and flavorful meat, and and light arugula salad studded with croutons of crusty bread flavored with chicken drippings and browned in chicken fat.
This is a dish that showcases the goodness of chicken itself, so you want the best bird you can get your hands on. If you’ve sprung for a pasture-raised chicken at the farmer’s market, this is a recipe that will highlight that kind of quality product.
You need to let the chicken dry-brine for 24 hours, so plan ahead.
Ingredients #
- 1 (approx. 4 lb) whole chicken, giblets removed and discarded
- 4 1”-thick slices of country-style bread (a crusty, round loaf), bottom crust removed, cut into cubes (about 5 cups)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 7 tbsp olive oil (divided)
- 2 tbsp champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 scallions, sliced thin
- 2 tbsp dried currants or golden raisins
- 5 cups baby arugula
Equipment: #
- Sharp kitchen shears or poultry shears
Instructions #
For the dry-brine process: #
Place chicken, breast side down, on cutting board. Using kitchen shears, cut through bones on either side of backbone; discard backbone. Do not trim off any excess fat or skin. Flip chicken over and press on breastbone to flatten.
Using your fingers, carefully loosen skin covering breast and legs. Rub ½ teaspoon salt under skin of each breast, ½ teaspoon under skin of each leg, and 1 teaspoon salt onto bird’s cavity. Tuck wings behind back and turn legs so drumsticks face inward toward breasts. Place chicken on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet or on large plate and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 hours. The salt working under the skin will brine the meat, while the bare skin will dry in the cool air.
For Cooking: #
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Spray 12-inch skillet with vegetable oil spray.
Toss bread with broth and 2 tablespoons oil until pieces are evenly moistened. Arrange bread in skillet in single layer, with majority of crusted pieces near center, crust side up. The crust pieces may burn if they’re not under the chicken during roasting.
Pat chicken dry with paper towels and place, skin side up, on top of bread. Brush 2 teaspoons oil over chicken skin and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast chicken until skin is deep golden brown and thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through roasting.
While chicken roasts, whisk vinegar, mustard, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper together in small bowl. Slowly whisk in remaining ¼ cup oil. Stir in scallions and currants and set aside. Place arugula in large bowl.
Transfer chicken to carving board and let rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Run thin metal spatula under bread to loosen from bottom of skillet. (Bread should be mix of softened, golden-brown, and crunchy pieces — if any pieces are too wet, flip them over and return the skillet to the oven for a few minutes.)
Carve chicken and whisk any accumulated juices into vinaigrette. Add toasted bread and vinaigrette to arugula and toss to evenly coat. Transfer salad to serving platter and serve with chicken.