• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Weeknight Dinners
      • Weeknight Pasta
      • Weeknight Chicken
      • Weeknight Fish & Seafood
      • Weeknight Eggs
      • Weeknight Tofu
    • CSA Recipes
      • Beets
      • Cabbage
      • Corn
      • Eggplant
      • Kale
      • Peppers
      • Potato
      • Radish
      • Sweet Potato
      • Swiss Chard
      • Tomato
      • Zucchini
    • Vegetarian
    • Dinner
      • Chicken
      • Beef, Pork, Duck & Lamb
      • Seafood & Fish
    • Soup
    • Appetizers
    • Bread
    • Pasta
    • Pizza
    • Salads
    • On the Side
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
  • Bread Baking 101
  • Resources
    • Julia Child Notecards
    • How to Start a Food Blog
    • Photography
    • Help With Your CSA
    • Art for Sale on Minted
      • Heirloom Pear
      • Heirloom Apple
    • Recipe Archives
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
    • Press
  • Cookbook
    • Classes & Events

Alexandra's Kitchen

A food blog with mostly simple, sometimes fussy, always seasonal recipes.

« Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Orange...
Cauliflower, Broccoli &... »

May 14, 2014 62 Comments

The Crispiest Spring Chicken

Skip to Recipe

This recipe for roast chicken is divine — crispy skin, golden brown all around, juicy meat. But I love the recipe for another reason, too: the sauce, which couldn't be simpler to make. I've been serving this chicken with lightly dressed mustard greens and fresh bread. This meal — this sauce — demands it. // alexandracooks.com

A few weeks ago I mentioned I was reading The Dirty Life. Can we pretend we’re in book club for a moment? I want to share a passage:

First, here’s the background: Author Kristin Kimball left New York City to interview a young farmer named Mark, fell in love, and shortly thereafter started a new life with him on a farm near Lake Champlain. The Dirty Life chronicles their first year at Essex Farm, which currently provides food year-round for over 200 families.

“When we would talk about our future in private, I would ask Mark if he really thought we had a chance. Of course we had a chance, he’d say, and anyway, it didn’t matter if this venture failed. In his view, we were already a success, because we were doing something hard, and it was something that mattered to us. You don’t measure things like that with words like success or failure, he said. Satisfaction comes from trying hard things and then going on to the next hard thing, regardless of the outcome. What mattered was whether or not you were moving in a direction you thought was right. This sounded fishy to me.

This conversation played out many times, with me anxious, Mark calm, until once, as we sat together reviewing our expenses, I was almost in tears. I felt like we were teetering over an abyss. I wasn’t asking him to guarantee that we’d be rich. I just wanted him to assure me that we’d be solvent, that we’d be, as I put it, okay. Mark laughed. “What is the worst thing that could happen?” he asked. “We’re smart capable people. We live in the richest country in the world. There is food and shelter and kindness to spare. What in the world is there to be afraid of?”

I loved this. Isn’t it inspiring? Discuss.

While you exchange thoughts, let me tell you about this chicken, which is about the only thing I’ve made for weeks, and something I foresee keeping in the rotation despite the imminent arrival of grilling season.

It comes from the latest Martha Stewart Living, and what I loved about the recipe were two simple tips for getting the skin crispy:

1. Let the chicken stand at room temperature uncovered for one hour before cooking.

2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels so skin doesn’t steam in oven.

If you do these two things, in addition to letting the meat rest for 10 minutes before carving, your roast chicken will be divine — crispy skin, golden brown all around, juicy meat.

But I love the recipe for another reason, too: the sauce, which couldn’t be simpler to make. After the 30 minutes of roasting, you remove the chicken from the platter, and pour a mixture of basil, garlic, red pepper flakes and red wine vinegar over the sheetpan, which deglazes it, removing all of those flavorful crispy bits sticking to the bottom. The chicken then returns to the pan, where it rests for 10 minutes, during which time more juices release and mix with the herbs and vinegar.

That’s it — while the bird rests, the sauce materializes, and it couldn’t be more delicious. I’ve been serving this chicken with lightly dressed mustard greens and fresh bread. This meal — this sauce — demands it.

This recipe for roast chicken is divine — crispy skin, golden brown all around, juicy meat. But I love the recipe for another reason, too: the sauce, which couldn't be simpler to make. I've been serving this chicken with lightly dressed mustard greens and fresh bread. This meal — this sauce — demands it. // alexandracooks.com

These are the sauce ingredients: olive oil, red wine vinegar, basil (or parsley or whatever herb you like), garlic and crushed red pepper flakes:
sauce ingredients

To get nice crisp skin and an even golden color, it’s important to dry off those chicken pieces really well:
drying off chicken

The chicken roasts with salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 30 minutes at 450ºF.
ready for the oven

herb sauce

roasted chicken & herb sauce

Even the breasts are juicy:
sliced breast

This recipe for roast chicken is divine — crispy skin, golden brown all around, juicy meat. But I love the recipe for another reason, too: the sauce, which couldn't be simpler to make. I've been serving this chicken with lightly dressed mustard greens and fresh bread. This meal — this sauce — demands it. // alexandracooks.com

Here’s how to quarter a chicken:
whole chicken

First, cut it in half:
chicken in half

Then remove the backbone from the breastbone:
removing back bone from breastbone

Then, split the breast in half:
splitting the breast

Then, remove the backbone from the legs:
separating the legs

This video might offer some guidance, too, but you don’t have to separate the drumstick from the thigh, and you don’t remove the breast from the bone:

The Niskayuna Co-Op carries the most delicious mustard greens. They are so tender and barely require a dressing. For this meal, if I don’t feel like making a dressing, I just arrange the mustard greens on a serving platter, lay the pieces of chicken overtop, and pour all of the juices over everything. The heat of the chicken wilts the greens ever so slightly, and they are just delicious:
mustard greens

How have you all been cooking those ramps?
ramps

I’ve been roasting them. Delish.
ramps on sheetpan

Print

The Crispiest Spring Chicken

Prep 10 mins

Cook 30 mins

Total 40 mins

Author Alexandra

Yield 4

Slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), quartered and backbone removed, room temperature (see photos/video above for guidance)
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup (optional, see notes in recipe) extra-virgin olive oil
  • kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
  • 1 cup packed parsley or basil or tarragon (or whatever), chopped (or pulsed in food processor, see notes)
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (or a couple of cloves, minced with herbs in the food processor)
  • 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, or more or less to taste

Instructions

  1. An hour before baking, remove chicken from fridge, quarter it (if you haven't done so already), and let it rest on a cutting board or the rimmed sheetpan you will use to roast it on. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. I find my chicken gets the most evenly golden brown when I roast it on the highest rack. This definitely creates a more smokey oven, but it does work nicely.
  2. Pat chicken dry really well with paper towels and transfer to rimmed baking sheet (if it's not already there). Rub chicken with 1 tablespoon oil; season liberally all over with salt and pepper. Arrange, skin-side up and roast until golden (or until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (without touching bone) registers 160 degrees), about 30 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, make the sauce. I use the food processor, and because I omit the 1/4 cup olive oil and use the pan juices in stead, (which amount to about 1/4 cup; see notes below for following original recipe), I simply pulse the basil with the garlic, red pepper flakes, and red wine vinegar, then pour this sauce over the sheetpan after the chicken finishes roasting. If you like this idea, when the chicken finishes roasting, transfer it to a plate for a second, pour sauce over the pan, scrape up those crispy bits, return chicken to pan and let it rest for 10 minutes. Just before serving, spoon the sauce over the chicken pieces. I find that waiting to pour the sauce overtop helps keep the skin crispy.

Notes

This is what the original recipe suggests: Transfer chicken to a plate. Pour off and discard fat from baking sheet; return chicken to pan. Whisk together remaining 1/4 cup oil, vinegar, parsley, garlic, and pepper flakes in a bowl. Season with salt. Spoon sauce over chicken and let stand 10 minutes before serving with accumulated pan juices and sauce.

Did you make a recipe?

Tag @alexandracooks on Instagram and hashtag it #alexandracooks.

Filed Under: Chicken, CSA, Dinner, Fall, Mustard Greens, Spring, Weeknight Chicken, Weeknight Dinners

AK Logo

Welcome!

I send out weekly emails sharing seasonal and simple recipes. Come join the fun!

Follow me: Instagram / Pinterest / Facebook / YouTube

« Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Orange & Chocolate | Fair Trade Giveaway
Cauliflower, Broccoli & Pepita Salad »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kelly says

    April 19, 2015 at 4:28 pm

    Stumbled upon this recipe about a month ago and have made it twice since then. So amazing! Thank you for teaching me how to quarter a chicken and how to make moist roasted bird! And the sauce, unbelievably yummy with parsley OR basil.

    Reply
  2. Mary Christine says

    May 6, 2015 at 7:16 pm

    Found this recipe this afternoon, stopped at the grocery store on my way home from work, came home and made it. SO good. I’ll make it again, but not on a weeknight!

    Reply
  3. keke says

    May 27, 2015 at 2:07 pm

    I made this dish with white rice and instead of red wine vinager, basil or parsley, I used cilantro and rice wine vinager. Because that’s what I had on hand. The chicken skin was delicious and very crispy and the leg quarters were so juicy! My mother in-law complimented on the skin being so crispy. Needless to say my fiancé loved it. He ate without saying a word until it was all gone !)

    Reply
  4. Dee says

    October 20, 2015 at 12:50 pm

    Can you use Red Wine instead of rwv in the sauce? I’m thinking if I already have a bottle open… may as well use some of it for cooking…

    Reply
    • alexandra says

      October 21, 2015 at 5:26 am

      You probably could, but I think you might want to add a splash of vinegar to the finished sauce because it adds a nice bite and cuts the dressing a bit. But yes, red wine will definitely deglaze the pan nicely and will offer some acidity too. Hope you like it!

      Reply
  5. Coleen says

    March 22, 2016 at 10:41 am

    My sister and I found your recipe on Pinterest {Where else!?} and I am going through your post reading your tips etc., and thought I would share… I am headed back to my hometown for Easter dinner when we’ll be making this, which is good ol’ Nisky! Such a small world! Glad I found your little slice of the www!

    Reply
    • alexandra says

      March 23, 2016 at 7:28 pm

      No way!! That is so awesome! I LOVE Nisky. Seriously, as soon as we arrived, it felt like home. I will be heading out of town on Sunday 🙁 but I am happy our paths will somewhat cross 🙂 Hope the chicken turns out well!

      Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Never Miss A Recipe

Popular Right Now

  • Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake Buttermilk-Blueberry Brea...
  • My Mother's Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make My Mother’s Peasant...
  • Orange-and-Ricotta Pound Cake & A Few Gift Ideas Orange-and-Ricotta Pound...
  • Ina Garten's Mustard-Roasted Chicken Ina Garten’s Mustar...
  • Overnight, Refrigerator Focaccia = The Best Focaccia Overnight, Refrigerator F...
  • Vegan Chocolate Mousse (Aquafaba + Almond milk) Vegan Chocolate Mousse (A...
  • Ina Garten's Pasta Alla Vecchia Bettola Ina Garten’s Pasta...
  • The Easiest (Best?) Ribs You Will Ever Make + Delicious Buttermilk Cornbread The Easiest (Best?) Ribs...
  • Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake • Mother's Day • Handmade Accordion Book Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake...
  • Marcella's Stewy White Beans (Brined not Soaked) Marcella’s Stewy Wh...
Set of 9 Julia Child Quote Notecards

Set of 9 Julia Child Quote Notecards

$15.00 | Buy Now

My Cookbook

Amazon • Barnes and Noble
Books-a-Million • Indie Bound

Follow on Instagram

Load More...
Follow on Instagram

Footer

Bread Toast Crumbs

stay connected

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Copyright© 2018 · Brunch Pro Theme by Shay Bocks