Roast chicken

To roast a Chicken:

  1. Brine for 12 hours (1450g water, 112g salt, 32g honey, 2 lemons, aromats)
  2. Temper for 2 hours
  3. Cook to 140° in Combi oven at 144° (takes about 3 hours)
  4. Rest for 45 minutes
  5. Brush with oil, broil to brown

Experiment log

2020-02-27

Trying ChefSteps approach with injected brine.

  1. Injected 100mL 5% brine in each breast and 75mL in each leg.
  2. Steamed for 5 minutes.
  3. Rested in fridge on rack for 3 days.
  4. Roast at 144°

2019-12-11

Roasted in the Combi oven at 420°F with 0% humidity. Even better browning, cooked in about 40 minutes (after ~30m of tempering). Browning somewhat splotchy. Skin wasn’t crackling-crisp, but it was burnished and tasty. Quite juicy.

2019-12-02

Roasted in the Combi oven at 360°F with 0% humidity. Nice browning, though not fully mahogany. The meat didn’t seem overcooked, though I didn’t take its temperature after roasting. Took a little under an hour, after about 2 hours of tempering. The skin ended up a bit leathery. I’d like to try a higher temperature next time.

2019-11-13

Tried roasting in the Combi oven at 260°F with 0% humidity. It cooked well before the skin was browned. I’d try 320°F next time.

2019-06-24

  1. Brined with MasterClass recipe for 12 hours (1450g : 112g : 32g : 2 lemons)
  2. Started at 9:30 PM the previous day
  3. Removed at 9:30 AM, didn’t rinse, put on a plate in a fridge.
  4. Took out of fridge around 2.
  5. Put in oven around 3. 150° at 100% until 143° at core, then 135° at 0% to hold.
  6. Got home around 5:30; it had been holding about half an hour, so about 2 hr cook time.
  7. Took it out of the oven around 6:30. Was quite dry.
  8. Drained pan juices (a bit under 1C), made quick pan sauce with beurre manie
  9. Browned on convection @ max + broiler, turning once. Took around 10 minutes.
  10. I didn’t oil it this time.

Came out great. Sauce was nice too. Chicken a little under salted in breasts, but dark meat was right. Skin was nicely brown but not crispy.

2019-03-06

  1. Brined with Bouchon recipe for 24 hours (1/5 scale)
  2. Started around 2 PM the prior day
  3. Rinsed, removed wishbone, salted, peppered
  4. Did 155° at 85% until 145° at core. Started around 2:30.
  5. It kind of stalled out—I think the probe had hit the bone. I came and took the chicken’s temperature in a few places, and it had hit the mark. That was about 4:45.
  6. Then 130° at 0% until 6:00.
  7. Drained the pan juices (there were kind of a lot of them—about 1C)
  8. Then convection @ max + broiler.

Results:

  • Awesome mahogany browning on the breast and the top part of the leg.
  • Seasoned through, bringing out aromatic flavors from the brine
  • Breast texture perfect, not at all mushy
  • Next time I’d:
    • do the same thing
    • try turning the chicken before browning
    • try shooting for 140° instead of 145°

2019-02-26

  1. Brined with Bouchon recipe for 19 hours (1/5 scale)
  2. This meant starting the brine at 4 PM the day before I intend to cook it at 11 AM
  3. Then dried, removed wishbone, salted and peppered
  4. Did 155° at 85% until 145° at core. Started around 12:30.
  5. Took less than 3 hours.
  6. Then 130° at 0% until dinner (around 7:00).
  7. Then convection@max + broiler.

Results:

  • Best chicken I’ve ever made. Crispy skin, rich, moist.
  • Breast still not totally seasoned through. Texture less soft but not perfect.
  • Next time I’d:
    • brine for 24 hours
    • season cavity more aggressively
    • season again before browning
    • shorten total cooking timeline

2019-02-18

  1. Brined with Bouchon recipe for 11 hours (1/5 scale)
  2. Removed wishbone
  3. Combi at 20% humidity at 150° at 11:00 AM from fridge
  4. Around 5:00, upped combi to 25% @ 160°.
  5. Hit 140° around 5:45, removed
  6. Preheated to 435° @ 0%, oiled + salted chicken and returned to oven around 6:15
  7. After about 10 minutes, removed, temp was 150°.
  8. Switched to convection + broiler, returned a few more min. Temp hit 156°

Results:

  • Crispy skin! Lots of tearing
  • Brine was tasty. Could use a little longer in the brine I think
  • Texture a little mushy. Let’s speed up the cooking a bit.
  • Probably would try convection+broiler sooner next time
Last updated 2023-07-13.