Look no further roast chicken

Back when I was living in Algeria, it feels like ages ago yet it was only less than seven years ago, we had a nearby butcher specializing and selling only chicken and chicken derived products: besides uncooked chicken (whole, cut up, butterflied, deboned…) they had chicken pâté with pistachios, chicken pies and quiches, pastilla and spicy samsa, both made with homemade brick dough, bologna, chicken sausages, and their famous rotisserie chicken, which was beloved in the whole neighborhood. If you had the chance to get their rotisserie chicken, which you would have to wake up early for, you will bring to your table much more than just a roasted bird with crispy skin. The butcher gives you in a shallow tray, nestled underneath the chicken, some green olives swimming  in a tick, saffron colored sauce with caramelized onions and golden potatoes that have been cooked (almost fried) in the chicken drippings of the rotisserie. Heavenly! All you might add to this meal is a green salad and a piece of bread.

Back home, the sauce with the olives can be duplicated, but the chicken is a different story: the skin is never crispy, the breast dries out and the thighs are sometimes undercooked. Until I came upon Thomas Keller technique for perfect roast chicken; his philosophy is pretty simple, straightforward and 100% foolproof: the drier the meat, the crispier the skin, the better the roast chicken. All he does is pat dry the chicken with paper towel, season it inside and out with salt and pepper and roast it in a heavy skillet for almost an hour without basting or disturbing until crispy and irresistible. I added my touch of back-home-rotisserie-chicken with spices like saffron, turmeric and ginger and paprika which adds warmth and a lovely aroma to the already delicious chicken. You can also use Ras el hanout for the spices listed below. Really, don’t wait seven years, bring a chicken home today for dinner and let it roast itself for you and your family.

Spice rubbed roast chicken

cooking technique inspired by Thomas Keller

Recipe: 

One 2- to 3-pound farm-raised chicken

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp saffron

1 tbsp canola oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Unsalted butter


Algerian Ras el hanout can be substituted for the spices

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better. Mix the canola oil with the spices and set aside.

Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it's a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.

Now, salt the chicken— rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon), then rub the spice mixture all over the chicken. When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.

Place the chicken in a sauté pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone—I don't baste it, I don't add butter. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Baste the chicken with the juices and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

Remove the twine. Cut up the chicken. Slather the meat with some melted butter and serve immediately.