Roast a chicken for Thanksgiving ... you won't miss the turkey
Like most cooks, I've had many conversations on the proper way to roast a whole chicken.
Some argue that roasting with the breast side down is the very best way to keep the bird moist enough, while others insist that method produces a zebra-striped bird stamped with its roasting lines.
And what's the correct roasting temperature?
There are so many techniques out there; many people I know claim that their recipe is "the best."
My dear pal and colleague, Laurie Burrows Grad, esteemed for her cookbooks and prowess in the kitchen, is adamant that this is "The One" ... the best roast chicken ever.
It is seriously simple and delicious.
To butterfly a whole chicken means to remove the chicken's backbone so you can open it like a book, or a butterfly, and lay it flat. If you don't want to butterfly the chicken, ask your butcher to do it for you. The reason for cutting out the backbone is so that the chicken cooks evenly.
Laurie suggests that you embellish the chicken with rosemary or other fresh herbs. I sometimes cut up an orange or a sweet Meyer lemon and add it to the potatoes on the bottom of the pan.
You can also add carrots and mushrooms to the potatoes.
I have tried a butterflied turkey for Thanksgiving and found it cooked much faster than the traditional whole bird. I hadn't tried a butterflied chicken before.
It works beautifully. Be assured: You will have a crispy, moist chicken with this high-heat butterflied method.
If you're having a small group this Thanksgiving, try a butterflied chicken for your entree.
Serve some fresh cranberry sauce on the side and you won't miss the turkey.
• Diane Rossen Worthington can contacted at www.seriouslysimple.com.
© DIANE ROSSEN WORTHINGTON