Salt Roasted Chicken

For a years and years, I’ve been a fan of brining pasture-raised meats. For a decade or longer, any time I thaw out a frozen chicken or a package of pork chops, I do it by completely immersing the meat in salty water. Thawing has to be done anyway, right? Might as well season the meat while we wait. I used to say the words, “I don’t care if there’s a more delicious way to make chicken than thawing it in brine.”

But once we tried Samin Nosrat’s method of adding plentiful amounts of salt directly onto the meat as soon as you get it into the fridge, we understood things were going to have to change around our house.

The good news is that nothing could be simpler or more reliable. The bad news is that you’re about to be just as ruined for other chicken recipes as we are.

Recipe

One pasture raised roasting chicken, about 3.5 lbs

30 grams of fine sea salt, about 5.5 teaspoons

Process

The best way to start is with a digital cooking scale. The second best way to start is with optimism and grit. You’re going to put a whole lot of salt on this chicken, it’s going to taste perfect, and that’s going to be it.

For a 3 1/2 pound chicken, you’ll want to use between 5 and 6 teaspoons of salt. That’s 30 grams for you scientists.

Unwrap the chicken and allow it to thaw for several hours in the fridge. You want to be able to cut out the backbone with a pair of sharp kitchen shears. It’s easy if you’re brave.

Flatten the chicken out and salt both the ribcage side and the skin side with the salt.

Allow the chicken to thaw completely in the fridge.

Roast at 400 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes, until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees at the thickest part of the thigh.

Serve with salad greens and good company.