Francis Lam, a brilliant food writer and the host of the radio show The Splendid Table, interviewed the famous chef Jacques Pepin a few years ago.

Francis asked Jacques: “I noticed in your new book, the very first recipe is for a simple roast chicken: no brining, no spicing, just a hot pan and a hot oven. So, let me ask you, why is a simple roast chicken such an iconic dish for French chefs?”

Jacques answered: “For different reasons. It’s like a hard-cooked egg – something that there is no recovery from if you don’t do it right. It’s so simple, like a bread, when you have a real bread made with flour and water and yeast, and that’s it. It has to be done right. Otherwise, there is no recovery.”

Jacques waxes eloquent about his beloved roasted chicken in the New York Times 1989 article “The Chicken Dinner, Both Humble and Noble.”

“Changing a meal’s status requires more than a change of name, but not much more. Roast chicken is still roast chicken whether you label it haute cuisine, bourgeois cuisine or country cooking; even calling it “poulet roti” will not transmogrify this simple bird. Move, however, from the kitchen to the dining room and from everyday dishes to fine china, then add an appetizer and dessert, and a family meal becomes a festive dinner for guests.”

See Jacques Pepin’s recipe for the third roasted chicken. The unusual, tricky method makes juicy flesh and crispy skin.

Last but not least, I glean tips from everywhere and everyone. Top Toronto chef Mark McEwan on the TV show The Heat advises cooks not to truss the chicken – it will prevent to crisp skin of the legs.

Roasted Chicken Stuffed Under the Skin

There are many things traditionally prescribed in cooking that, to me, make little sense. That goes for stuffing a chicken in its cavity where the flavour of the stuffing mixture has little chance of permeating the meat. Instead, stuffing under the skin of the chicken flavours the meat, especially the breast. The famous California chef Wolfgang Puck showed me his way of doing the latter – specifically, inserting an aromatic mixture of minced garlic and fresh herbs between the bird’s flesh and skin – on a rare visit to Toronto in the mid-1980s. Like many chefs, he also recommends butterflying (or spatchcocking) – i.e. removing the backbone and flattening the bird before roasting. Jamie Oliver’s tip: Stuffing butter mixture under the skin with a narrow spatula. I usually use an organic chicken. I prefer to serve it with roasted vegetables.

3 to 4 lb (1.35 to 1.8 kg) chicken
6 tbsp salted butter, softened (or soft goat cheese)
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme or a combo)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
Juice of half a lemon
½ cup chicken stock
½ cup dry white wine
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.

To butterfly chicken, use sharp scissors or poultry shears to slice through bones along each side of backbone; remove backbone and reserve for chicken stock. Press on breast with heel of hand so chicken lies flat. Using fingers, gently loosen chicken skin from flesh on both sides of breast and on both legs. Try not to tear the skin.

In bowl, combine butter, herbs and garlic. Stuff butter mixture under chicken skin, dividing it between breast and thigh areas.

Place chicken, skin side up, in wide roasting pan or earthenware baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Roast in oven 40 minutes. Pour stock and wine around chicken. Roast about 10 minutes more or until juices run clear when pierced with fork. Transfer to warmed platter.

For sauce, scrape up browned bits from bottom of pan; strain juices through fine-meshed sieve. Skim off fat; add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with roasted vegetables.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Simple Roasted Chicken

This simple roasted chicken recipe does not ask you to baste the chicken, adjust the oven temperature up or down or rotate the chicken periodically during the roasting time – as many recipes do – but it produces a reliably moist and tasty chicken. Adapted from a recipe from the vintage Piret’s cookbook by George and Piret Munger, the original did not have a gravy. You can use a vertical rack, if you prefer instead of the traditional horizontal rack — roast time should not change. If you like, you can loosen the chicken skin over the breast and legs and rub some of the herb mixture between the flesh and skin. I adapted the gravy from Canadian Living.

2½ to 3 lb (1.125 to 1.35 kg) chicken
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
½ tsp each: dried marjoram and oregano
¼ tsp each: dried basil and thyme
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil

Gravy:

4 tsp butter, softened
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
¼ cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock, preferably sodium-reduced

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place chicken on rack in shallow roasting pan. Remove giblets, if any, from chicken cavity. Remove any large pieces of fat.

Using mortar and pestle, mash garlic, salt, pepper, marjoram, oregano, basil and thyme into a paste; stir in lemon juice and oil. Rub about 1 tbsp of mixture inside chicken. Rub rest of mixture into chicken skin, all over chicken. (Mixture is runny; some will drip into pan.) Roast chicken for 1 hour, without basting.

Transfer chicken to cutting board; rest for 10 minutes. Tilt roasting pan so drippings collect at one end.

Make Gravy: Skim fat from pan drippings, reserving 1 or 2 tablespoons of the fat. In small bowl, whisk together reserved fat, butter and flour. Place roasting pan over medium heat; whisk in wine and scraping up browned bits. Whisk in stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; gradually whisk in butter mixture, 2 teaspoons at a time, until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Strain through fine-meshed sieve.

Makes about 4 servings.

Jacques Pepin’s Roasted Chicken

It’s a quirky, tricky method of roasting chicken but it works – it creates juicy meat and crispy skin. You’ll need a large, sturdy ovenproof (with metal handle) nonstick frying pan to make this roast chicken – the second best is a cast iron skillet. There’s no need to truss. Browning the chicken stovetop for a short time on both sides before putting it in the oven and turning it side-to-side every 20 minutes makes it golden brown and incredibly juicy. It is helpful to use a silicon oven mitt when flipping the chicken from side to side. Be careful not to rip the skin.

3½ lb (1.5 kg) chicken
½ tsp each: salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp each: butter and olive oil

Preheat oven to 425F.

Remove neck and giblets (if any) from chicken; cut away any large pieces of fat around openings. Tuck wing tips up and behind chicken. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper.

In large heavy ovenproof nonstick frying pan, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat. Place chicken in pan on its side; cook for 2½ minutes. Turn chicken over onto other side; cook for 2½ minutes. Transfer pan to oven with chicken still on its side. Roast uncovered for 20 minutes. Turn chicken onto its other side; roast for 20 minutes. Turn chicken onto its back, baste with fat in pan, and roast for 10 minutes or until breast is golden and thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads at least 180F.

Remove pan from oven. Transfer chicken to cutting board. Skim fat from pan drippings. Carve chicken and serve with pan juices adn roasted vegetables.

Makes about 4 servings.

TIP: If you have time, pour the pan drippings into a heatproof bowl. Add two or three tablespoon water to the frying pan; cook over medium heat, stirring to scrape up browned bits, to deglaze pan. Add to the drippings in bowl; let stand briefly. Skim off and discard most of the fat. Serve with chicken.