Roast Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Wash the chicken thoroughly.
Season the chicken and fill it with dressing.
Steam the chicken until very tender.
Roast
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Wrap the legs and wings with old muslin cloths to prevent over-browning.
Place the chicken in the hot oven and roast for 30 minutes.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Fowl or chicken
- Provides the main protein and body of the dish; steaming first softens its tough connective tissue.
- Dressing
- Fills the cavity, adding moisture and flavour as the bird cooks.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the skin and flesh and helps the surface brown.
The step that matters
Wrap the legs and wings with muslin. Legs and wings are thinner and cook faster than the breast. Covering them with muslin slows their browning so they do not dry out or burn while the rest of the bird finishes roasting.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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