The last method I tried was Thomas Keller whole roasted chicken. Brined it , let it sit in the fridge uncovered for 48 hours . Then proceeded to roast on top of vegetables. Was it good. Yes . Was it crispy. No . Came to the conclusion it just steamed on top of the vegetables. Might try Kenjis spatchcocked method next . What’s yours favorite method . ? Thanks.
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Was it directly over the vegetables or on a rack?
You need air circulation for crispness of the skin, which won’t happen if it’s sitting on the vegetables. Their steam will reverse the effort of drying out the chicken inside and out.
But if you stick a rack so it’s raised above the vegetables and there’s room for the moisture to vaporize in the screaming hot oven before it hits the chicken, I’ve never had an issue.
This is my favorite way with a whole chicken. Pics of a few turns at it in the first link to the Keller COTM.
There are some prior threads that might be of interest.
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I placed it my all clad 13 " stainless fry pan . And into the oven .
It can’t be sitting directly on the vegetables if you want it to be crisp, because they will steam it and reverse the point of having dried it out.
You can roast the veg separately, or raise the chicken away from them using a rack in the pan.
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Its what I figured out . I believed the internet.
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I made this a long time ago. It was great but the warnings that your house will fill up with hot chicken smoke and flying fat is real. I didn’t make the bread salad that accompanies the chicken at Zuni.
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I’m lazy and we don’t eat the skin, so into the crock pot. Its also an easy way to add the flavors you want.
I also cook small turkeys the same way…
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Rub the skin with some baking powder before roasting.
Its my next move. Thanks
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I have two recipes that are very different in their presentation and results. The first is a Zuni-style chicken (with bread salad), but unlike the Epicurious version @ML8000 posted, I spatchcock the bird, which is usually about a 4-pounder. I use a loaf of homemade focaccia for the bread cubes and spread the bird on top of the cubes to roast. The skin is crispy, the meat moist, and the cubes make deliciously chicken-y croutons for the Caesar salad that accompanies it. It’s one of Spawn2’s most requested dishes when they come home.
The second is Chinese poached chicken, which is about as easy as it gets. In a pot that just fits a whole chicken, bring enough lightly salted water to cover the chicken to a boil (sans chicken). Immerse the chicken in the boiling water, cut the heat, cover, and set a timer for an hour. The chicken will cook very gently. Pull it out of the pot, drain the water from the cavity, and cut into bite-sized pieces. (This part can get messy.) I serve it with either a dish of salt, ginger-scallion sauce, plum sauce (home made), and/or oyster sauce.
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I do a dry brine - rinse, dry REALLY well with a lot of paper towels, inside and out, then season with salt, pepper, sometimes (but rarely) some dried herbs mixed in. I aim for at least 24 hours in the downstairs fridge. Let it come to room temperature for an hour, season lightly again with a bit more salt, maybe some dried herbs, then into a 425° oven for 20-25 minutes, then turn the heat down to 375° to finish roasting.
Sometimes a half lemon gets quartered and tucked in to the cavity with fresh rosemary and thyme; sometimes not. If it produces any liquid, I do baste occasionally with the fat.
While it rests on a platter, I strain the fat from any juices, then add chicken stock to the roasting pan, stir to get up the good bits, then add a flour slurry mixed with s/p, dried thyme and parsley and a healthy sprinkle of paprika. Add some Gravy Master for color and a bit of flavor, carve the bird, and call it good.
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My method is similar to yours, The Chickie Queen 
I’ve done the famous Zuni method a few times, each time setting off the smoke alarm 
, so I eschew the super-high heat method (and only made the bread salad once or twice). Def dry brine the bird for at least 2 days in the fridge. Ima sucker for crispy skin & hugely disappointed when it’s not.
I really like Samin Nosrat’s recipe, as the meat comes out juicy and perfectly seasoned, but the skin doesn’t get as crispy as I would like.
https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/buttermilkmarinated-roast-chicken
I don’t salt the chicken in addition to the buttermilk brine bc that makes it plenty salty already.
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I don’t really roast any poultry higher than 400 to avoid clean ups. That’s why I haven’t made the Zuni chicken in my kitchen. I have eaten it at a Chowhound’s house.
Chicken still turns out tasty, juicy and brown, roasted at 400 in my experience.
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Yes… as I age, I try to avoid preparation methods that require large clean ups.
I’m careful about keeping my oven clean, any small drip and I break out the oven cleaner and do a quick clean up. I hate doing a big “Hazmat” coughing session with the oven cleaner, small doses I can handle.
Most of the time I use liners in my crock pot, a quick wipe out and squeeze it into the dishwasher.
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I have been baking all my pie dishes and anything that might spill on cookie sheets covered with parchment lately, and that is helping with keeping my oven cleaner longer
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Anything I know that is going to be messy, I’ll try to fit it into this convection oven. When it gets too dirty, I take it out into the backyard, run an extension cord to heat it up, spray it real good with oven cleaner and let it soak. All of the fumes and mess are outside.
When it cools, I glove up – a quick wipe down and it can go back on the counter.
Those oven cleaner fumes really choke me and cause my throat to constrict. I mean they do a great job, but I’d much rather use them outside.
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I love trying out “whole chicken” recipes in the pressure cooker (instapot). I really love a version of Chinese White Cooked Chicken. Whole chicken cooked in water for a silly small amount of time and served with rice and various condiments and we like plain lettuce leaves. The mix of hot rice with chicken, savoury condiments such as ginger scallion oil and cold lettuce leaves is just delicious. The broth is an amazing bonus ! Can obviously be done without the pressure cooker…
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Ever since I made Marcella Hazan’s Roasted Chicken with 2 Lemons, this is my go to. It’s very simple. I buy a good quality chicken. I dry it well inside and out then I put salt and pepper inside and out and quarter 2 lemons and put them in the cavity; I don’t bother tying the legs together.
After cooking breast side down for 35 minutes I grab paper towels in each hand and turn the chicken right side up … chicken is not too hot yet. My chicken never sticks to the roasting pan.
Also, I rest the chicken after removing from the oven. The breast meat stays really tender and moist.
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I do have a large “jiggler weight” style pressure cooker. I’ve never thought about doing a whole chicken in it, but that sounds GREAT!!
I’ll definitely try it next time I get a whole chicken!!
Thanks!!
By the way, do you know how long it takes (one it reaches pressure)??
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So yummy… That perfect feeling of “this is good for me” as it’s poached but also very very moreish. This page gives great instructions and then you can play with it… The crazy thing is that you bring it to pressure and then turn it OFF. Depending on the weight of chicken you leave it in there for a specific time to de-pressurize. Pretty energy efficient as well.
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